DRC backs sketch-plan for mixed-use, valet-served hotel/residential at 50 South Millbridge with commentary

The Design Review Committee recommended approval, with committee commentary, for a three-story mixed-use sketch plan at 50 South Millbridge that combines a small hotel, residential units and street-level retail space, with an automated valet parking system proposed in a subterranean garage.

Developer representatives Sean Gilbert and Amanda Macheri said the project is a long-term hold with a compact footprint at the corner of Millward and Pearl. The proposal combines six to seven hotel keys with 11 residential units (including deed-restricted affordable units under a 2-for-1 bonus) and proposes an automated two-deck vehicle-storage lift in the underground garage to maximize parking capacity within the constrained site. The design team presented a pedestrian-focused sidewalk and street-tree plan, a heavy-timber hotel entrance that brings natural light down into the lobby, a small retail space at the corner intended for a neighborhood business, and a mix of brick/cut-stone and wood-rain-screen materials to break up massing.

Committee members praised the project's corner activation moves and the buried parking strategy, and they suggested further simplification of the material palette and careful detailing where materials meet. Members also encouraged the team to pursue a stronger retail activation at the street level if feasible and to confirm the reliability and sizing of the automated parking system to accommodate local vehicle types.

After discussion the committee voted to recommend approval of the sketch plan with the committee's comments recorded for staff and the planning director.

Staff will proceed with zoning and parking compliance checks and coordinate with the applicant on material detailing and the possibility of increasing active retail frontage.