Downtown Commission reviews Macklin development concept and approves multiple Certificates of Appropriateness

The Downtown Commission reviewed a conceptual plan for a two‑building residential project called “the Macklin” and approved multiple Certificates of Appropriateness (COAs) for downtown design projects at a meeting (date not specified).

The commission’s discussion centered on the Macklin, a proposal for two L‑shaped buildings along West Broad Street and West State Street that would include two seven‑story residential buildings, ground‑floor amenity or retail space and two levels of mechanical parking. Developers told the commission the Broad Street building would hold about 120 residential units, the State Street building about 126 units, and the two garages would provide roughly 136 and 141 parking spaces respectively; the plan also shows an amenity deck with a pool and a winter garden. The design team said the project draws visual cues from the site’s history — including references to the former Macklin Hotel and a crystal ice factory — and uses brick façades with metal, recessed balconies and an interior courtyard to break massing.

Why it matters: The Macklin is the largest item on the agenda and would add several hundred dwellings and substantial parking near downtown rail lines; the project team told commissioners they intend to include affordable housing but said specific percentages and financing remain to be determined. Ownership and development partners present told the commission they have been working with local preservation groups and design consultants and scaled the project down from earlier proposals in response to market conditions.

Developers and design team members who spoke included Doug Pack (co‑owner of the Spaghetti Warehouse and project partner) and representatives of Moody Nolan and other…