Saying it is too large and doesn’t fit in with the surrounding neighborhood, a committee on Tuesday unanimously denied the latest plans for a five-story hotel developers want to build in Faubourg Marigny.
The plans call for the 81,258-square-foot hotel to be built at 621 Elysian Fields Ave.
Neighborhood residents who are against the proposed hotel packed the small room where the Historic District Landmarks Commission’s Architectural Review Committee met. During public comment, they said the building will be inches away from some homes and is not appropriate for the historic district.
“Tourists don’t come to New Orleans to see new hotels,” said Barbar Lafleur, who lives near the site.
The Preservation Resource Center has voiced its opposition to the project because of its size.
Residents have said they are not against a hotel but they do not want one of that size in the area. A scale model of the hotel to show how it would compare to the surrounding homes seemed to be a key factor in the committee voting against the latest plans.
Plans have been sent back for modifications three times since June 2023, HDLC records show. Gary Gilbert, a principal architect with Coleman Partners Architects, said there have been about half-a-dozen meetings with neighbors and revised plans have been done at the committee’s request.
The Times-Picayune reported that the Faubourg Marigny Improvement Association sued the City Council after it approved the size of the hotel. That case remains pending in Civil Court.
Moments before the committee recommended denial, Gilbert asked that the committee approve the latest plans so the HDLC can continue to work out details.
The applicant can appeal the ARC’s decision to the full HDLC.
The property is owned by Baton Rouge-based 621 Elysian Fields LLC, according to city records.
