Bald Mountain Lodge developers were sent a clear message Monday night that their proposed five-story hotel on Main Street would be scrutinized from every angle before the Ketchum Planning and Zoning Commission even votes on approving the design.
All five commissioners pointed out that the extra care being placed on reviewing the design is due to the project's location between River and First streets, across from the Best Western Kentwood Lodge, not because they're against the project.
"This is a foreground piece of architecture," Commissioner Michael Doty said. "It will be a meet-and-greet, saying, 'I'm Ketchum, here I am.'"
Commissioner Deborah Burns was the first to comment that the building—taller than all others in town—would be the first thing most people see driving into Ketchum from the south.
"I want to know I'm somewhere when I look at that corner coming into Ketchum," she said.
The other commissioners' views fell into step with her concerns.
"The building will be iconic just because of where it's going to sit," Commissioner Rich Fabiano said.
Commissioner Steve Cook echoed that sentiment.
"I have contemplated where this building is, a lot," Cook said, adding that he's "quite a ways away from where this is approvable."
Cook said that even though the lodge developers received P&Z approval for a planned-unit development in early December and endured one previous design meeting, that doesn't guarantee design approval now, especially for this project.
"Don't minimize your efforts at this point," he said. "I want to see a significant re-evaluation."
Doty was on the same page and said the building needs to be "visionary" because of its location, and so far the design doesn't meet the location's needs.
Project manager Jim Garrison said the P&Z's suggestions for something more than an ordinary hotel were too vague, and he requested specifics on materials, massing and size.
"We need to get to the next stage, so the design can move forward," he said.
All commissioners except Fabiano explicitly stated sometime during the meeting that they weren't worried by the 68-foot-tall stature of the hotel. However, Fabiano never expressed concern over the height or building mass, either. All five commissioners did express concerns over exterior facades and architectural elements
"I've got a wish list as long as this table," Cook said.
Cook said he knows his suggestions can't all be integrated into the project and compromises must be reached.
Most of the requests from the commission related to a desire that the lines of the 231,400-square-foot hotel flow as one building. The current design calls for two underground floors and five above ground. The five above-grade floors would be built in two layers, one layer from the first to third floor for the 87 hotel rooms and another from the fourth to fifth floors for the 26 residential units. The exterior walls of the top two floors would be set back anywhere from eight to 12 feet from the rest of the hotel below and would also switch materials from primarily stone to wood and stucco.
"I feel like I'm looking at a cake with two different layers," Burns said after watching a 3-D tour of the exterior.
Fabiano tried to convey to the designers that the P&Z doesn't want to redesign the hotel but fine tune it.
"I do think we're close," he said. "We just need to work on it together and make sure we have the right project. And I think we do."
A follow-up meeting has yet to be planned. Garrison said he, the owner and designers need time to digest the P&Z's list of suggestions.
Trevon Milliard: tmilliard@mtexpress.com
The proposed five-story Bald Mountain Lodge, seen here from the corner of River Street and Washington Avenue, would be the tallest hotel in downtown Ketchum. Courtesy graphic.
