“It seems like a pretty neat thing — it brings that New Orleans feel to the building,” Tucker said. “But we’re not New Orleans. We don’t really have that here.”

The other issue is views, which the city protects in its ordinances with a requirement that a building on the King Street lot should, after four stories, “step back” 15 feet.

“We studied these vista views up to the Capitol as part of the city’s rewrite of our Downtown Plan, completed in 2012,” Tucker said. “It talks about long views up Hamilton Street, from King Street, Lake Monona and Willy Street.

“You can’t just look at the corners and give them a pass just because the lots are small. You have to decide what the real impact is from the long view, not just the practical impact on the lot.”

Verveer will likely propose an amendment that allows the building to forgo the step-back requirement.

The other important aspect is neighborhood support. Already, some on the street have heard about the plans and are excited about them.

“Anything that brings energy and diversity onto the block is great,” said Dino Maniaci, who own’s Woof’s, a gay sports bar a few doors down from the parking lot.