BOZAR gives Sixth Street Station a mixed review

What are the benefits to town and is it “Crested Butte” enough?

by Mark Reaman

The latest rendition of the Sixth Street Station concept in Crested Butte is in a very preliminary and philosophical phase. The developers of the project came before the Board of Zoning and Architectural Review (BOZAR) in a work session on December 22 and received assorted feedback about the latest idea.

Debate about the size (60,000 square feet), layout (two big buildings placed between two open parking lots), the idea itself (an 88-room condo-hotel), whether it is “Crested Butte” enough, whether eliminating much of the mixed use retail space is really a benefit to the town, and whether the board should consider the economic feasibility along with architecture, were some of the points made in the two-hour informational session. Some board members liked it, others had major concerns, and in the end, the proposal will go through a thorough review.

That review may actually start with the Town Council. Because the developers are asking for a rezoning of the property from B-2 to T (Tourist) that would allow a larger FAR (floor area ratio), the Town Council has to approve such a request. The idea is that basically two three-story buildings of 30,000 square feet each placed on two lots would absorb all the FAR allocated to the four lots.

Town staff thinks the council should be presented with that rezoning idea as a first step. If the council declines the request, it would not allow the current proposal to proceed as presented. “The B-2 zoning doesn’t give us the density needed to be an efficient hotel,” Sixth Street architect Gary Hartman has said.

“While B-2 is a zone for more mixed use, the T zone is more narrowly focused on tourist accommodations, which is what this project is now with the Crested Butte Hotel idea,” said Crested Butte building and zoning director Bob Gillie. “The crux of the matter is FAR and setback issues. It is important to understand the streetscape and how a rezoning will change that.”

Hartman, along with a partner in the development group, Bruce MacIntire, who is an investor in The Peaks Resort in Telluride, presented the history and potential future for the Sixth Street Station project.

“This came out of the Crested Butte desire for hotel rooms in town,” explained Hartman. “This land is the best opportunity to put in an economically viable hotel.”

The lots in question essentially stretch from Gothic Field to the north of Crested Butte along Sixth Street. The developers are looking at taking the density allowed on both end lots and moving it to the two middle blocks that would be split by Teocalli Avenue.

MacIntire said the end lots would be used for parking. The north lot across from the Gas Café would be valet parking for hotel guests. The south lot by Gothic Field would be overflow hotel parking, self parking for guests and parking open to the general public. Each lot would accommodate about 50 spaces but it was mentioned that valet parking can usually squeeze in a few more vehicles.

Three affordable housing apartments for hotel staff members would be constructed in the basement of the buildings. A basement corridor would run between the two structures. There would be balconies for many of the rooms. A small bar space would be open near the main lobby off the primary entrance to the hotel on Teocalli Avenue.

BOZAR member Austin Ross asked what the benefit to town would be to rezone the property and move toward a hotel versus the previous plan of a mixed-use development.

Hartman said the difference in zoning would cost the project about 20,000 square feet, “so the economics start to be hampered.”

“So you are saying the benefit to town is a Crested Butte desire for hotel rooms,” asked Ross.

“It has been for a long time,” responded Hartman. “I think the business community really would like to see this happen. It brings in 88 hotel rooms with people who would eat and shop on Elk Avenue. It also provides a bed base tax to help the town coffers.”

BOZAR member John Meyer mentioned that public parking in that end of town could also be considered a town benefit.

“I think it is more valuable to have a mixed use project along the corridor like the currently approved plan,” said Ross. “I’m hesitant to move away from that and lose that mixed use along the Sixth Street corridor. It is beneficial to that part of town. This sounds very singular in its use. I understand hotel rooms in town can be important but there is zoning for that in the same area.”

“We can change the zoning of a parcel to meet the changing times,” said BOZAR chairperson Liz Sawyer. “I’m coming from the opposite perspective. I think Gary and his team are heading in the right direction. It opens up parking. I have heard concerns about the Elk Avenue and Sixth Street Station business conflict and it pulling people from Elk.

“This is similar density-wise to the previous proposal,” Sawyer continued. “It is compacting it but it was always three stories. Three stories are not new to town anymore. As far as changing the zoning to T, I can work with that.”

“Elk Avenue isn’t empty and at times is overcrowded,” responded Ross. “Having more retail on that side of town can be a benefit.”

“All I heard with Anthracite Place was that was a space for a needed boutique hotel and this provides one,” said Meyer. “I can work with the rezoning.”

“Even if it was kept at B-2, you could get a boutique hotel there,” said BOZAR member Roxana Alvarez Marti.

“The question is, we are looking at two very large buildings,” said Gillie. “Each could be bigger than Anthracite Place or the Center for the Arts. You are looking at 60,000 square feet in building. These will be two of the biggest buildings in town. It is something we always struggle with.”

“There are other elements I’m not thrilled with,” added Alvarez Marti. “The parking is so incredibly visible and that’s a detriment to the corridor. I also agree with Austin on some points. Having retail there off Elk would probably keep rents down. The biggest concern for me is the sizing. I’m troubled by the trend of enormous buildings coming down that corridor. So I’m not thrilled with the request to change the zoning for FAR. I’m really not sure about the parking lots.”

“Not everyone in every room will drive,” said MacIntire. “It’s an all-suite hotel and valet parking can put more cars onto that north lot. The south lot won’t have 24-hour parking so it won’t be filled with junkers.”

“Valet lots can look like a parking piñata,” said Alvarez Marti. “It’s not as organized and I’m trying to imagine what that would look like as you come into town from Mt. Crested Butte.”

“I agree there is a challenge to hide it and not make it look like a used car lot,” said Macintyre. He said he understood that more people drive in Crested Butte than in places like Telluride.

“I think the public parking by Gothic Field would be used,” said BOZAR member Erik Nauman. “So there are amenities. I think more people will drive to the hotel in the summer than in the winter. Massing is definitely large and I get what you need for economies of scale.”

MacIntire addressed some of Ross’ concerns. “Does Crested Butte want a hotel? Eighty-eight rooms is tiny,” he said. “Is it more desirable for town planning to not have a hotel? We want the guests to stay downtown and go out shopping and eating in town. You could build a motel on the B-2 zoning but in a nice hotel, things go vertical and we need the T zone.”

“The buildings are definitely big,” said Ross. “I also worry about them looking bigger because they’ll be next to what could look like Walmart parking lots. What’s the message it sends to people as they enter and exit town?”

“We live in a community where parking dictates developments rather than the other way around,” said Hartman. “I’d love more park space there. I truly believe 56 parking spots are what’s needed and not 100. But that’s the town requirement.”

“I’m not sure what the elegant solution is but two big parking lots are not the elegant solution,” said Ross.

“The last thing we want is parking lots to be a detriment to a four-star hotel,” said Hartman.

“Just in general I think Crested Butte looks a different way,” said BOZAR member David Russell. “This doesn’t look like Crested Butte to me. I’m resistant to the zoning change right now.”

“The economics of when the previous project was approved are different from today,” said Hartman. “Underground parking is just too expensive.”

“The buildings in the previous plan are similar in size to this proposal,” said Sawyer. “As for the massing, our town is growing and these big buildings are what is coming through.”

Hartman said the biggest building in the previous proposal was 22,000 square feet.

“The look is much more of a box with this new proposal as well,” said Alvarez Marti.

“They are asking for a boutique hotel,” said Sawyer. “We have to think about if the town needs this. Do we believe it has to stay as a unit? That will drive a lot of the massing. We did that with Anthracite Place.”

“Two 30,000-square-foot buildings are huge in this context. It will look like one 60,000-square-foot building,” said Ross.

The philosophical concept of how the hotel would impact short-term home rentals in Crested Butte was also brought up.

“This is like a Grand Lodge,” said Sawyer. “Will it cut into VRBOs and is that good or bad?

“No one knows,” said Gillie. “Is there a saturation for short-term rentals in this town? What is the economic analysis?”

“Overall, I’d love to see different options from Gary,” said Alvarez Marti. “Can we break up the massing? Can we handle the parking differently?”

“And don’t forget snow storage,” added Russell.

“So right now it is clear as mud,” summarized Gillie.

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“There are varied opinions on the board and this meeting was meant to get the board to start thinking about the issues. Digest it and think it over during the next few weeks. Ultimately your question is ‘What is consistent with the scale of Crested Butte?’ Is it appropriate for business models and economics to drive that or not? What would you like to see? Can they do a parking structure? Are there other options out there to address the issues?

“There is still a lot we don’t know,” Gillie continued. “B-2 is supposed to be a little more open. The openness is all gone on these building lots. It is now up to them to take this variety of opinion to heart. Hopefully they’ll think about how to address some of the issues brought up.”

“We appreciate all the comments and take them to heart,” assured Hartman.

Hartman said the goal is to get the rezoning request in front of the Town Council “sooner rather than later.” No specific date has been targeted; Hartman said the development group needed to prepare impact statements detailing amenity and project impacts with the rezoning prior to making the submission.