May 18–With one less floor, more parking spaces and a new plan for segregation of public and private dollars, the latest design of Frederick's proposed downtown hotel and conference center has seen its public debut.
Developers Plamondon Hospitality Partners, architects with Bates Architects and several state, county and city officials unveiled a 3-D design model and renderings of the project to an excited crowd Thursday at the Delaplaine Visual Arts Center.
The multi-million dollar hotel is planned for 200-212 East Patrick St., which currently contains the former Frederick News-Post building and historic Birely Tannery site.
The design proposes four floors with 180 rooms, roughly 20,000 square feet of rentable meeting space, and between 160 and 170 parking spaces, according to the details revealed Thursday.
Earlier renderings included five floors and 240 rooms.
Mayor Randy McClement also proudly announced that the project, which will use public and private dollars to come to fruition, no longer allocates any public money for construction or operation of the hotel or conference center buildings.
The developers will pay for all construction and operation costs of the physical structures, McClement said, while the public funds, which are slated to come from the city, county and state, will be used for land acquisition, site preparation, utilities and on site public parking. In an earlier plan, public funds were to be used for the construction cost of the structures.
The new design also includes improved access from East Patrick Street, complete rehabilitation of the former News-Post building and demolition of the historic Birely Tannery building at the rear of the property. The architects plan to restore the historic elements of the site as they move forward with the request to demolish the building. The next step is taking the plans to the city Historic Preservation Commission.
If all goes as planned, officials hope to begin construction by 2018, with a tentative opening date of 2020.
This story will be updated.
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