The city’s Design Review Board has approved revised plans for a new 90-room hotel at 1111 Camino del Rio.
The new designs show large public patios and a café facing the river.
The review board approved the plans with conditions. It is requiring the company to ensure that the upper floors are set back from the first floor to reduce the appearance of the building’s height.
If the revisions are in line with the board’s direction, it is unlikely the project has to again go before the review board, said Planning Manager Scott Shine.
It is possible work could start on the hotel in the spring, he said. The name of the hotel has not been made public.
The Durango Planning Commission originally approved the plans for the hotel in April, and that vote was expected to be the last for the new development to replace the remnants of the building at 1111 Camino del Rio. But since that vote, the company that owns the land hired a new architect, who revised the design of the building, Shine said, which required the project to go before the design board. Developers will not have to go back to the planning commission for approval.
The demolished building was home to Animas Herbal, The Rock Lounge and other tenants before it was vacated in preparation for the new hotel. A fire destroyed the building May 21, and it was torn down in June. The cause of the fire remains undetermined.
As part of the development of the site, the hotel must extend the Animas River Trail from Iris Park, put in sidewalks along the front of the building and build a pedestrian connection between the river and Camino del Rio.
A median to help control and manage traffic in front of the building will also be required.
mshinn@durangoherald.com
