Newark City Council gives controversial 7-story Main Street hotel the go-ahead

The Newark City Council approved a controversial plan to turn a historic Main Street mansion into a seven-story Hyatt hotel and commercial development.

Despite concerns about the hotel's size, parking and whether the new building would overshadow Main Street, a majority of the council was either in favor of the development or, at the very least, felt that it was in compliance with city code. 

The meeting Monday night lasted nearly seven hours, with residents speaking both on behalf of and against the hotel. 

“It’s good to see the passion throughout the city, whether or not you all agree," said Councilman Stu Markham, acknowledging that even he might prefer a smaller building. 

But the city's solicitor had reminded council members to base their decision on whether the hotel would “affect adversely the health or safety” of Newark residents or “be detrimental to the public welfare or injurious to property or improvements.”

“If we don’t follow our code, the next stop is court," Markham said. "And if we don’t follow our code, we’re going to lose.”

Jerry Clifton raised similar concerns about voting no. 

“We are constitutionally sworn officers," he said. "We have to follow the rule of law.”

Two members of the seven-person council voted against the plan: Jennifer Wallace and Mark Morehead. 

“Main Street is overwhelmingly retail and residential. This is not," said Wallace, who felt the hotel would detrimentally affect the character of downtown. 

Morehead had similar concerns. 

Lang Development Group, which owns Finn McCool’s among other buildings, plans on demolishing much of the Green Mansion — a historic Italianate-style building with distinctive green granite — and incorporating the façade into the new hotel.

Lang would likewise demolish the nearby Abbott’s Shoe Repair building next to Caffé Gelato. The development group would essentially merge three addresses — 92, 94 and 96 East Main Street — into one.

Fierce debate

The plan has provoked debate in Newark, where several longtime residents have spoken out against the hotel, calling it “totally out of character” and “grossly out of scale.”

“I’m not opposed to a hotel on Main Street, but this project seems entirely out of scale for our city," Sheila Smith said Monday night. "Newark is not a big town … It’s a crowded little town, and this big building will feel imposing." 

Michael McGrath, interim president of Preservation Delaware, urged the City Council to save the mansion.  

"Historic buildings are a key component of the history and the quality of life in small towns and cities like Newark," he said. "It's not just about the past, it's about the future." 

An architectural historian from the University of Delaware expressed concern that an advisory committee had not been formed to weigh in on how the Green Mansion could be preserved as part of the hotel design process, which he said city code calls for. 

"If the Green Mansion, which is arguably one of the most, if not the most, historic structure in the city of Newark does not trigger this, what will trigger this?" he asked Monday. 

There were also several community members in favor of the development because of its potential to re-energize Main Street and serve as a boon to the businesses there.

“I believe a project like this can help Newark evolve," Mike Monagle, owner of Delaware Running Co., told the council, asking them to vote yes. "I believe it can help Newark continue to thrive." 

A representative from Aetna Hose, Hook & Ladder Company said the hotel represented additional tax revenue, which could help fund the fire department. He also said the Green Mansion as it stands poses a fire hazard to the community. 

Earlier this month, the city's seven-member Planning Commission deadlocked over the project, voting 3-3 on the plans. One member was absent.

Those who voted against the project were concerned about both the size and the impact the development would have on parking. 

Right now, Lang leases some of its property on Main Street to the city for parking. The hotel would take back about 70 spaces from City Lot No. 3.

The parking garage would have 244 parking spaces, and the development group estimates that, depending on how full the hotel is, between 36 and 130 of those will be open to the public. 

The new hotel 

The $30 million building would be seven stories tall and would feature the following:

• A 144-room Hyatt hotel
• A restaurant for public and guest use
• 19,500 square feet of office space on the second and third floor
• 10,500 square feet of commercial space
• An open terrace on the fourth floor with a swimming pool
• An ivy-covered parking garage that would be open to the public, as well as hotel guests
• Preservation of about 34 feet of the Green Mansion, worked into the design of the new hotel. The back half of the building will be torn down.

Green granite or stone will be carried up to the third or fourth floor, in keeping with the mansion's historic roots.

The building itself will be about 79 feet tall, which is allowed under city code but rises above nearby buildings. It would be built like a “wedding cake,” the development group said, with the tallest part of the building set back 60 feet from the street.

In comparison, the nearby Washington House, where Stone Balloon and Mod Pizza are, is six stories and 65 feet tall. 

Jeff Lang told the City Council Monday night that his development group had studied what kind of shadow the hotel would cast and determined that there would be "very, very little to no impact on the street." 

He said they had also revised the original plans to include tiered landscaping that would "soften" the front of the building and help it blend in on Main Street.

Lang said the Hyatt will create more than 200 new construction jobs during its 15-month construction period. 

Once open, he said the Hyatt will generate several full- and part-time jobs, with an estimated annual payroll in excess of $1 million. The Hyatt will also generate another 75 new service jobs, as well as 10 new employees in related capital investment companies, Lang said. 

Lang Development Group estimates the hotel will sell more than 40,000 room nights — that’s the number of rooms booked multiplied by the number of nights each room is reserved — each year.

Other economic benefits, according to Lang, include: 

• A combined $2.4 million in additional revenue for local businesses
• Annual city and state lodging tax in excess of $450,000
• New property tax and utility revenue in excess of $550,000
• An overall net economic gain to the city in excess of $375,000

Councilman Jason Lawhorn said a majority of residents believe a hotel on Main Street is a good thing, even if they don't like the scale of the new building. 

“I think the hotel does give us a rock of stability in the face of competitive threats," he said, voicing the fear that new development and a hotel proposed at the University of Delaware's Star Campus could negatively impact the downtown, even if it does boost the city's economy overall. 

“And then, just the straight financial impact is significant," he said.  

MUST-READ STORIES FROM DELAWARE ONLINE

Dam removal along Brandywine one of 25 projects to restore the Delaware watershed

Suspect in woman's homicide, dismemberment was arrested for DUI inVirginia

Widower determined to come back after vandal damages Hockessinbusiness

Contact Jessica Bies at (302) 324-2881 or jbies@delawareonline.com. Follow her on Twitter @jessicajbies.