News of the Proposed Galvan Hotel

On January 27, the Historic Preservation Commission held a public hearing on the proposal by the Galvan Foundation to redevelop the buildings at the corner of Warren and Fourth street into a hotel to be called "Hudson Public." Before the commission heard from the public, Walter Chatham reported that he and his client had decided that two hotel rooms were not worth the effort, and they had given up the plan to add a third floor to the two Greek Revival rowhouses that are part of the ensemble of buildings.

Initially, a third roof with a gambrel roof had been proposed for these two buildings.

Because the HPC had misgivings about the gambrel roof, Chatham proposed an alternative: a mansard roof, like the roof being proposed for the infill building.

The HPC was not enthusiastic about the mansard roof either and encouraged Chatham to respect the original design of the two rowhouses.

What Chatham proposed on January 27 reflects that.

The problem with the new proposal for the rowhouses is that it makes the infill building with its mansard roof more prominent.

During the public hearing, Matt McGhee asserted that the buildings had been designed by the same person and were very high quality. He suggested that the designer of the buildings might have been A. J. Davis. He called the buildings "a noble ensemble" and urged, "It would be a great asset if these buildings were restored and the missing building rebuilt." Regarding rebuilding the missing building, McGhee maintained, "All the information is available to get it right."

Also commenting during the public hearing, Christabel Gough questioned the introduction of the mansard roof on the infill building, calling it an "alien style." She acknowledged that the mansard roof was meant to mask the elevator overrides but advised that masking may not be the best solution. She suggested that the elevators could be set farther back from the street and the overrides treated as the utilitarian features they are. She also proposed that the facade of the infill building echo the four bay fenestration of the building that was lost.

Image courtesy Matt McGhee

 

The subsequent discussion among members of the HPC focused primarily on the infill building and its mansard roof. Phil Forman, HPC chair, defined the issue regarding the elevator overrides as "cover the damn things or expose modernity for what it is." Matthew Tether, the architect collaborating on the project, said they had made a good decision about the rowhouses, but removing the proposed third floor on those buildings shifted the focus to the infill building and its mansard roof. HPC member Miranda Barry observed that the mansard roof "draws attention to itself." Architect member Chip Bohl expressed the opinion that the mansard roof was "overly grand." 

The architects agreed to give the proposed mansard roof some thought, although Tether said he would have to "manage the message going back to my client." It is likely that a revised design for the infill building and more information about the plans for the storefronts facing Warren Street will be presented at next meeting of the HPC, which takes place on Friday, February 10, at 10:00 a.m. 

To view the video of the January 27 meeting of the HPC, click here. To join the HPC meeting scheduled for February 10 remotely, click here.

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