Goodbye disco-era eyesore. Hello Lake Mendota panorama.

To address neighborhood concerns, a developer has dramatically changed plans to remake the historic Edgewater Hotel, lowering a 1973 addition to allow a two-tiered public terrace that opens views to Lake Mendota and reducing the height of a new hotel tower from 11 to eight stories.

The changes are winning raves from city officials, and business and neighborhood supporters. But they don't satisfy critics in the historic Mansion Hill neighborhood, who are still concerned about the height of the tower, traffic and parking and vowing to fight the new plan.

Robert Dunn, president of Hammes Co., paused the city review process last month to reshape plans and says the proposed $93 million "Edgewater at Mansion Hill" is his best and last effort to address issues raised by opponents.

"We've satisfied every concern in a very effective way," he said. "This is an opportunity for a distinctive class of hotel and a destination in the Downtown. We have an opportunity to create a great public space."

Mayor Dave Cieslewicz, who liked Dunn's initial proposal, and Susan Schmitz, president of Downtown Madison, Inc., praised the design.

But attorney Fred Mohs, part of a neighborhood steering committee studying the project, said the group will fight the plan and go to Dane County Circuit Court if needed.

"The lowering of the 1970s addition is excellent," Mohs said. "(But) the size and volume of the tower and the location of the tower are still unacceptable."

The group will fight "all the way. . . until we have no breath left," he said. "This will not be built as it's proposed."

Cieslewicz said Mohs and a core group of critics are now being "unreasonable," and that it's time to focus on Dunn's investment, a new Downtown destination, new public access to the waterfront, jobs and tax revenues.

Council president Tim Bruer said, "I'm becoming persuaded that this development is in the long-term best interests of the neighborhood and the city."

The final decision should be made by a simple majority of the council, not unelected officials or the courts, Cieslewicz said.

Preserves original

The new $93 million plan - smaller than the initial $109 million proposal - preserves the original Edgewater but shaves two floors off the 1973 addition to allow a two-tiered public terrace intended to honor Mansion Hill and open dramatic panoramas to the lake, Dunn said. Initially, the terrace was to be built atop the 1973 addition.

The plan would reveal more of the original, 1940s, art moderne-style hotel, which is blocked by the addition, and opens vistas from a grand staircase to the waterfront, Dunn said.

The change would improve lake views to the State Capitol, he said.

The new plan cuts the height of a new hotel tower from 11 to eight stories - the same height as the National Guardian Life insurance building next door. The tower would be tapered at its upper floors to make it seem less massive.

The total number of rooms, including 107 in the original hotel, drop from 228 to about 190. Parking spaces, including a current 108, drop from 364 to 233.

The new concept keeps amenities including restaurants, docks and piers that would make the Edgewater an asset for the neighborhood and a destination for the Downtown, Dunn said.

"This will become the neighborhood's place overnight," he said.

Meanwhile, the development would generate more than 700 construction jobs and 400 permanent jobs, plus $35 million in room and property taxes by 2030, Dunn said.

"We're growing jobs at every level of the wage scale," he said, adding that jobs and tax revenues "should be the dominant point of discussions." The project will also make the waterfront accessible to the boating community and people with disabilities, he said.

'Strong proposal'

Alds. Bridget Maniaci and Mike Verveer, who represent the area, said Dunn has responded to concerns in good faith and produced a strong proposal.

The plan, Mohs said, still violates city zoning and would set a bad precedent for the historic district.

"We are not a small group of neighbors fearing change," he said. "We know a lot about this subject. We have lived it. This (historic district) is our character. We're not going to have it ruined."

Maniaci and Verveer intend to soon schedule a public meeting. "I'm very anxious to gauge the temperature of the greater Mansion Hill neighborhood," Verveer said.

The new proposal already faces multiple hurdles in the city's review process plus a council vote on public assistance.

Hammes is seeking $16 million in city tax incremental financing (TIF) assistance for parking and to help offset cost of the public terrace and grand staircase. Cieslewicz has proposed $16 million in TIF for the project in his 2010 capital budget.

The project and TIF distinct can repay the money in five years, Dunn said.

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