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Show .... . ..r'Ir; ,. ! -v S2 at Marsac , " i ii i Mi- inf i p . Arrows point to controversial glass atrium of proposed Marsac Hotel at the entrance to Park City's historic Old Town. Council cals special meeting to decide RDA hotel issue . .... .7 - by CHRISTOPHER SMART , ,'q', Record staff writer IV. A vote on whether to approve the i ,r i much-debated design for the Mar$ac , redevelopment hotel rwas; dramatically delayed last week, setting set-ting the stage for the Park City Council to decide the issue j at a -special meeting Wednesday. ,f i - During a heated discussion last week, the city council, which sits as t the Redevelopment Agency board, . reached a stalemate with a Chicago , developer over design of the propos-, ed hotel. , A number of councilmen havje asked ask-ed the project's architect to alter the most controversial elements pf the . plans. However, architect Walter; Lawrence would not yield when asked ask-ed to reduce the prominence oflhree large glass atriums that would protrude pro-trude from the hotel's north, east and west quadrants. Lawrence, who represents First National Realty and Development Co., said such design changes "will hurt the integrity in-tegrity of the project." Councilman Bill Coleman convinced convinc-ed the panel not to take a vote in the heat of debate and the panel agreed j to decide the hotel issue Wednesday, ,Nov..27,atl:30p.m: 1 ;.i;':CpUricnm"AHorrJga.ril,who .favors the design and was poised to vote for it last week, said Monday he would try to "put the ball back in his (Lawrence's) court." Horrigan said he would ask the council to approve the hotel's design, subject to the reduction or elimination of the large glass atriums. The project's critics contend the current design of the hotel which would overlook the historic : i district would diminish the flavor of Old Town. The RDA hotel would , i jbe i built between Swede Alley and : jiMarsac Avenue at the intersection of ' frPeejr Valley Drive and Heber ,uAyfinue. Time is running out for the current j-: RQA board. Three of the board's members leave office Dec. 31 and fiths two incoming board members . arejess than enthusiastic aboutthe f hotel design. That combination has t biturned the negotiations into a , i pressure cooker. :7s AJt the Nov. 21 RDA work session, , Hofrigan called for an end to the ,; discussion and a vote. With Councilman Coun-cilman Jim Doilney out of the coun-ifjryfe coun-ifjryfe board members split over the concept and Mayor Jack '(Green who would cast a tiebreak- dngiVote said he favors the project. y Councilman Bob Wells and Green fear that if the project isn't approved approv-ed now, an RDA hotel could be delayed indefinitely. "The RDA board gets to decide if we want a five-star hotel, or not ... Let's take a vote," said Horrigan. But Councilman Tom Shellenberger, who has been the project's pro-ject's most vocal critic, told the board the design was not fitting for Park City's historic district. "If that hotel is buijtgtjjsjtit will - be.(. the biggest travesty to'fheiSonc"" district yet." Shellenberger's view was supported sup-ported by architect Allen Roberts, who sits on the Park City Historic District Commission. Apart from the glass cubes, which have become the central issue in the debate, Roberts said the proposed design is not a good one. "I see a lack of flow a lack of integrity," in-tegrity," he said, indicating that the design uses many different angles and a multitude of roof pitches that are hot sympathetic to the historic district. -l' "It's as if this was designed in a vacuum ... It doesn't belong here," Roberts said. Councilwomen-elect Kristen ; Rogers, and Ann MacQUoid, who will xgoo.njtaQ seats on the board, voiced ioffiR8$Mn t0 the proposed design. Rogers argued that the contemporary contem-porary design would do nothing to increase in-crease tourism. - "No one wants to see another Main Street Marketplace," MacQuoid said, referring to the modern and controversial design of the Old Town mall. She agreed that the hotel design didn't seem right for Park City. "It reminds me of driving down MacArthur Boulevard in Newport Beach." But Wells and Green said they could not take issue with the design. Further, both men said the hotel is needed for the economic viability of Main Street. "Maybe the historic gods will strike me with lightning, but I disagree," Wells said of the arguments , against the design. "What I am looking at is the economic viability of the historic jdistript. People don't buy goods on Wells said he wanted to proceed as soon as possible with the hotel. During a pause in the discussion, Green said he would vote for the pro- ' ject. But just when it appeared as though the design might win a slim approval, Horrigan said he may not vote for the project over the strong objections from Shellenberger, Coleman Col-eman and the two incoming board members. |