Flagstaff commission approves hotel and parking garage design with conditions to reduce perceived mass

The Flagstaff Heritage Preservation Commission voted to approve a certificate of appropriateness for a proposed hotel and attached parking garage at 19 West Birch Avenue, but required the applicant to submit revised visualizations intended to reduce the project's perceived mass on historic downtown streets.

The motion, made by Commissioner Emily Dale and seconded by Commissioner Alec Overman, conditions approval on resubmitted renderings that swap the 5th‑story limestone treatment with 2nd‑story brick so the commission can evaluate whether that material change reduces the building’s apparent height and better aligns with design handbook guideline N2, which asks that new buildings appear "similar in mass and scale with historic structures in the area." Commissioner Caitlin Stewart recused herself earlier in the hearing.

Lauren Clementino, the city’s heritage preservation officer, told the commission the applicant had revised its submittal since a May review to increase use of malapai stone at the ground floor and to subdivide large façade planes by varying materials, recesses and massing articulation. "The applicant has provided additional materials and staff's recommendation is that a certificate of appropriateness for the design of the buildings be approved," Clementino said during the staff presentation.

The applicant’s representative, architect Tyler Mark, said the project meets applicable code limits (the design is within the 60‑foot maximum allowed) and described other changes made after the May meeting. "All of the Ground Floor is now malpai," Mark said, adding that façades and the parking garage are subdivided with brick, malapai, limestone tile, stucco and glass. He also emphasized site constraints that led to the garage location and explained the team’s plan to add pedestrian activation along LaRue and Birch with small, plug‑in "micro retail" pads and potential mural art on the garage to break up massing and enliven the street.

Commissioners, while acknowledging material improvements, continued to press on massing and context. "I’m still a little concerned about the scale and the massing," Commissioner Emily Dale said, noting many downtown historic buildings are smaller in scale than recent midcentury and contemporary examples. Chair Duffy Westheimer suggested a material swap and color contrast might visually reduce height: "Light colors move forward and darker colors move back," he said, advising the applicant to explore that approach.

Public comment was limited to one speaker, Maury Herman (a Downtown Business Alliance member), who urged careful use of the design handbook’s mitigation techniques and supported the micro‑retail activation. "When I read guideline N2, it's clear to me that you can mitigate for width based on variation. It's not so clear to me that you can mitigate for height," Herman said, asking the commission to review his written submission.

On balance, commissioners said the package met the narrower concerns previously raised about guideline N5 (materials similar to historic use) but that N2 (mass and scale) required visual testing. The motion approved by the commission (and recorded as passing with no opposed votes in the meeting audio) requires the applicant to submit the material‑swap renderings for review; the commission asked for street‑level example renderings of proposed micro retail and murals for informational purposes only.

The commission’s staff and the applicant noted those informational renderings would likely be conceptual: murals, micro‑retail plans and exact storefront details will be developed later in the project sequence. The applicant stated the rooftop bar will close earlier than many downtown bars; Mark said the project’s bar would shut down at midnight.

Next steps: the applicant may proceed with site plan work while preparing the conditioned renderings; the commission will be provided the material‑swap visualization for follow‑up review, and informational street‑level renderings to show how micro retail and murals might break up large façades. The commission closed the public hearing and moved on to the next agenda item.