A Holman Site Hotel

By Bill Kampe

We have a proposal for a large hotel on the Holman Site. I am not in favor of the current proposal

The Holman site, which runs from the front of the Holman Building on Lighthouse Ave down to Central Avenue, has been underused for almost 20 years. It creates a void in the center of our city. A hotel could bring direct revenue to the city plus add "feet on the street" to improve the vitality of our downtown.

We now have before the city a concept proposal for a hotel on that site. It presents a choice between:

• Increased revenue for the city and improved business vitality downtown
• A very large structure in the heart of our city, and an irreversible step for our city

The Holman property is owned by Mr. Nader Agha. There is widespread interest in some hotel on that site. I am not in favor of the current proposal.

The Holman Building is generally about 4-5 stories on Lighthouse, with some additional structure on top and set back from the façade. Our current zoning limits the remaining 60% of the site to 40 feet in height with some setbacks. To build a hotel, the property owner and his developer are requesting a zoning change to allow 75' height with 100% lot coverage for the entire block. This change requires a vote of the people, and it will be on the November ballot.

The Issues

During the community meeting on August 30, two very important factors came out, plus one recent observation from a vantage point I had while walking a neighborhood.

• Water + the developer commented that the discussion on water supply is confidential. The water solution is far too important to be a confidential discussion not shared with the public.
• Apparently Mr. Agha has chosen to keep the Holman Building itself largely for existing retail purposes. That means the hotel must fit into the rest of the lot, forcing the proposal to be higher than otherwise necessary, and with minimal setbacks.
• I recently saw the Holman Building from a new vantage point, from uphill from the southeast. I was startled at the size of even the existing building without the hotel. And the sides of the Holman Building are very unattractive; a hotel project could improve this, but the current proposal does not.

I believe it will be a benefit to the development process to say "no" on this round of voting. It will send a clear message that a hotel must be of a more appropriate scale. And that means the space of the Holman building must become a bigger part of the solution. We can have and also need a lower and more graceful match to the surroundings.