The German Village Commission on Oct. 1 will discuss a $30-$35 million hotel proposed for Livingston Avenue. It's a boutique hotel, to be called The McGown, with 135 rooms and 139 underground parking spaces. The review comes after three members of the German Village Society board have resigned amid questions about the advocacy group's direction.

A developer planning a five-story boutique hotel at the northwest corner of German Village said his project will complement the unique neighborhood without replicating it.

The proposed 135-room hotel, The McGown, at 33 E. Livingston Ave., will be built with brick, glass and stainless steel "that would evoke a texture similar to that of the slate roofs in German Village," said Michael Casey, a principal at developer Wickford Holdings. The hotel would also have 139 underground parking spaces.

But some have concerns about the look, including Delilah Lopez, the executive director of the German Village Society, which hosted a meeting on the project earlier this month.

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She called the proposed project "alarmingly different" at five stories, and also had concerns about setbacks and aesthetics.

Some in the neighborhood fear that the project, which Casey said could cost between $30 million and $35 million, would start to transform historic German Village into something different. Casey said that's not the case.

"The idea that it's going to turn into Central Park with towering structures, it's a little bit of an unfounded fear," Casey said.

"We think German Village is a microcosm of the best in Columbus, the proximity, the walkability ... what (residents) like about Columbus at large," he said.

The German Village Commission, which reviews projects to see if they comply with neighborhood architectural guidelines, will be taking up the project at its Oct. 1 meeting.

"We think German Village is a wonderful location, with its proximity to Downtown, and it's populated with historic homes," Casey said. The developers bought two parcels for the hotel in 2018 for $2.5 million.

In the meantime, three members of the German Village Society board —including the president — have all resigned amid questions by some residents about the direction of the neighborhood advocacy group, and of German Village itself. Brittany Gibson, not one of the three who resigned, remains secretary until Oct. 8.

"We are looking to get the society back on track," said Bill Curlis, a longtime German Village resident and advocate and former society president. "We need folks on that board with experience and history with the group to make those decisions.

"We fear preservation efforts have not been as strong as they have been," Curlis added, specifically referring to The McGown, which he called a "huge hotel."

"We have always been a residential area. We don’t want the character of that historic neighborhood to be changed."

Cheryl Hacker, who has lived in German Village for more than 30 years and is a former German Village Commission member, pointed to development in the Short North, where projects built along North High Street grow taller.

"When they are done with the Short North, where are they going to go?" she said. "We need to get ahead of it."

Nancy Kotting, the society's historic preservation officer, resigned Aug. 1 after more than two years on the job. She told The Dispatch last month that the society's "unhealthy internal culture" played a role in her decision.

Lopez had said Kotting's replacement would hold the title of "director of mission and partnership," rankling some neighborhood residents concerned that "historic preservation" wasn't part of the title.

"There’s not a staff historic preservation advocate," Hacker said.

Lopez said last week that the society is discussing title changes for several positions. The person replacing Kotting will be "our lead educator and advocate for preservation," she said.

As for critics who said Kotting's replacement won't be be dealing with historic preservation as much, Lopez said, "The folks who continue to beat that drum are misinformed."

Lopez also said that the three people who resigned made it clear that they support the society, but they decided they wanted their personal lives back. "It's very demanding," she said of the board's work.

The president who resigned, Joshua Zimmerman, told The Dispatch that he didn't want to discuss his reasons for leaving.

mferench@dispatch.com

@MarkFerenchik