Four buildings on the 100 block of State Street would be transformed into a boutique hotel. But is it too big for Madison’s most famous street?
The building at 118 State St. has seen better days. Once a Mautz Paint store, the space was most recently Winedown, a bar that never quite took off.
Inside, the space is cluttered with half empty bottles of cocktail mixer, glassware, plastic flowers and a lot of dust.
But Eric Nordeen of Ascendant Holdings envisions it filled with people. He’s trying to get approval to turn the space, and three other buildings on the street, into a nine-story, 130-room boutique hotel. To hear Nordeen tell it, it will be a lot more than a mere hotel, starting with the reception area.
“It’s going to look and feel more like an active hospitality space than a formal lobby,” says Nordeen, as he gives Isthmus a tour of the buildings. “It sort of blurs the line of where does the restaurant and the bar end and where does the lobby begin. It’s all going to feel cohesive and be a place you’d love to hang out, whether you’re a guest of the hotel or not.”
The $40 million project, which has been in the works for about two years, continues to evolve with the recent acquisition of 124 and 126 State St. “I’d be more frustrated with the long process if it didn’t lead to a better design,” he says. “I think we’re getting there.”
Not everyone is in love with his vision. Although most people want to see the 100 block of State Street developed, some are concerned that plans would blow through the height limits established by the Downtown Plan and zoning regulations. They worry it will be an imposing presence on one of the city’s most historic blocks and lead to more State Street high-rises.
“Like many downtown development proposals, the design is in the eye of the beholder,” says Ald. Mike Verveer, whose district includes the project. “There are some extremely enthusiastic supporters and then there are those who feel it sets a very dangerous precedent to go in excess of the height limits that were set not that long ago.”
Under the proposal, the developers would raze 122 State St., a six-story building that was built in 1918 as a YWCA. Most recently it has served as an office building with the Fountain restaurant on the ground floor.
Nobody appears sad to see that building go.
Carolyn Fath
“Everybody believes that that side of State Street needs a shot in the arm because of the vacant storefronts,” Verveer says. “That has just been left for dead practically.”
The hotel would be operated by Provenance Hotels, a boutique chain with properties in Portland, Seattle, Nashville and New Orleans.
The plan calls for the facades of 118 and 126 State St. to be preserved on the State Street side — the rest of these two buildings would be demolished. The new building would have setbacks at three and four stories, before rising to eight stories. There would then be an additional setback on the ninth story where there would be a rooftop restaurant and bar.
On the Carroll Street side, an earlier proposal called for a setback at six stories. The most recent has a setback at three stories.
In having the setbacks, the developers are attempting to make the buildings look smaller from the sidewalk.
The developers also intend to activate the ground floor space with a restaurant and retail.
“It would create a much nicer-looking building that’s consistent with urban design guidelines and reestablish this corner as an active corner,” says Nordeen, referring to the corner of Carroll and Dayton streets. “This really short block connects to the Square and gets a lot of pedestrian traffic, but it’s not a really good pedestrian block right now.”
But city officials remain unimpressed with the design. Amy Scanlon, the city’s historic preservation planner, recommended against the current design in a May 14 report to the Landmarks Commission.
“Regarding the State Street frontage, staff recommends that the Landmarks Commission find that the new development is visually intrusive and may be large as to adversely affect the historic character and integrity of the primary façade of the adjoining landmark,” she wrote.
Dick Wagner, a member of the city’s Urban Design Commission, is also not yet won over.
“I’d say they have some more design work to do,” he says. “The first floor was very modern, and then on top was this very heavy building.”
Nordeen says his team is already working on revisions, which he hopes to present in June.
“The big design challenge always has been to integrate an appropriate State Street design strategy that is respectful to the historic fabric, look and feel of State Street. Yet still have a new building that’s not meant to look old, that looks good today and looks good in 10 years and so on.”
Dr. Timothy Harrington, who recently moved into the Ovation building, says the Provenance Hotel project is exactly what downtown needs.
“The 100 block of State Street and the block behind it are really filled with unattractive buildings, bad venues and an inactive streetscape that most people avoid,” he says. “Activating that block on both sides will really enhance the 100 block of State Street.”
Harrington says that he and his friends who live downtown are excited about the prospect of the rooftop bar. He believes that the demographics of downtown are shifting as more people move into high-rise condos.
“The group that I’m part of is a growing group of people who are moving downtown because of the exciting urban lifestyle in this emerging high-rise neighborhood,” he says. “We see ways it can be better yet.”
Peter Ostlind, who chairs the steering committee for Capitol Neighborhoods Inc., says the neighborhood also has its critics of the project.
“The biggest concern is the extra three stories they’re requesting beyond what’s available with the current zoning and what that means for the balance of State Street,” Ostlind says. “If it’s permitted for this parcel, why wouldn’t the next person down State Street ask for the same thing? At what point does the effort that went into the zoning and Downtown Plan cease to matter at all?”