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An architects rendering of the Orchid hotel and spa proposed for Main Street in Manchester. The enterprise, led by Bill and Stephen Drunsic, has reimagined the design of the hotel to match the contour of the surrounding area, and limit noise for nearby neighbors.
A Manchester online tax parcel map shows the location of land owned by Orchid LLC and proposed for an 80-room hotel and spa. A new design for the project was presented to the Development Review Board last week.
An architects rendering of the Orchid hotel and spa proposed for Main Street in Manchester. The enterprise, led by Bill and Stephen Drunsic, has reimagined the design of the hotel to match the contour of the surrounding area, and limit noise for nearby neighbors.
A Manchester online tax parcel map shows the location of land owned by Orchid LLC and proposed for an 80-room hotel and spa. A new design for the project was presented to the Development Review Board last week.
MANCHESTER — A decade ago, the Development Review Board granted a permit for an 80-room hotel and spa off Main Street, across from Town Hall.
That plan was back before the board last Wednesday, with a striking new design, different in many ways from what was approved in 2012.
The new concept, presented by Kyle Murphy of KaTO Design — the same firm that designed Founders Hall at Burr and Burton Academy — envisions the 80 rooms in a snake-like curved row of between two and three stories, following the contours of the surrounding landscape.
The new design is intended to buffer sound, so that it’s directed toward Main Street — and away from the residential neighborhoods to the east, proponents said during a hearing on the proposal.
Stephen Drunsic said the original owners of the property were constrained by the zoning bylaws at the time the hotel was first planned and permitted. The 2018 rewrite of the bylaw placed the entire parcel in the mixed use 2 zone, allowing more of the property to be developed.
"Following our acquisition in 2019, with a newly zoned parcel, we wanted to see if there was a better way to site a building that could take greater advantage of the expansive southerly views down the valley," he told the Journal. "We also wanted to see if a we could come up with a more efficient footprint that lessened the overall site impact, including any noise and sound impacts the development would have on our neighbors."
"The new design features a single-loaded corridor which provides every room with a south-facing view and substantially screens the noise and light pollution from our surrounding neighbors," he added. "The building has a smaller footprint, there are fewer parking spaces and the parking is redesigned, all resulting in significantly less impact on the land to create a project that better blends in with the natural topography."
According to the draft minutes for the July 6 Development Review Board meeting, Murphy said the overall footprint would direct sound down the valley rather than behind, toward the neighborhood, and that common areas would be buffered by interior walls.
Stephen Drunsic, who is part of the Orchid LLC ownership group along with Bill Drunsic, added that any amplified music would be fully enclosed. The previously approved plans included a rooftop patio and bar, he noted.
Jonathan Newman, expressing concerns about noise and lighting from the hotel on nearby Moonridge Road, asked if there’s a plan to assure noise would not be a problem. And Dee Myrvang, while appreciating the steps taken to mitigate noise, suggested that a project of this scope should include a sound study.
Murphy reiterated that the parking area behind the hotel would be thoroughly landscaped with trees, in addition to the design features directing sound in the other direction, according to the minutes. He also told the board that lighting and landscaping plans for the property are in progress, and that all lighting would be aimed downward.
The hearing was continued until next month, and a site visit for the board is being scheduled.
When the project was first permitted in 2012, area residents appealed the permit issued by the Development Review Board over the project's visual impact and the potential effects of stormwater on the Battenkill River. A state Environmental Court judge upheld the permit.
Orchid LLC acquired the property, a 46-acre parcel, for $1.79 million in May 2019 from Vermont Turquoise Hospitality LLC.
Stephen Drunsic told the Journal that market study by a consultant indicates there's still ample market for what the business is proposing.
"There are no existing trophy properties on this scale anywhere in Southern Vermont that will have the quality of amenities (like the Nordic-inspired spa with multiple thermal bathing facilities) and quality of new construction (lots of natural exposed wood, Shou Sugi Ban cladding techniques) that this project brings to market," he said.
"Trends, tastes and even consumption patterns are changing in favor of experiential hospitality and we are simply reinterpreting successfully employed concepts while leveraging the unique natural environment and charming character of Manchester and the surrounding mountains to satisfy those changing trends and tastes."
Noise was also on the board members' minds as they addressed a site and design plan review submitted by Roundhouse Bar & Grill, in the former Fraternal Order of Eagles clubhouse on Depot Street, for 180 seat restaurant and nightclub. The plan — a conditional use under the zoning bylaws — would include a 60-seat fenced outdoor beer garden and yard game area, and late night music inside the club after 9 p.m.
Co-owner Terry Mullen said outdoor music would end at sundown, and that the outdoor speakers for the beer garden would be set at 75 decibels, according to the draft minutes. The other co-owner, Scott Alers, said that volume was set on purpose because “we want to be a fun place ... we don’t want to be a pain in the neck to anybody.”
Seth Bongartz asked what would happen if bands brought their own amplifiers and turned up the volume — recalling his own experience at Hildene with managing wedding bands. Mullen said he and Alers would require bands to remain under 75 decibels and would be present every night to see that those limits are respected.
The board also took up a waiver request by Shaw’s Supermarkets for a new halo-lit sign on the building exceeding the 40-square-foot maximum, and a request by Sam’s Wood Fired Pizza to expand the restaurant’s exterior seating area.
The Sam's discussion was continued until the August meeting, as owner Sam Johnson is still working with Shaw’s — which is next door to his business — to work out a planned stairway leading from the supermarket parking lot to his pizzeria.
Reach Greg Sukiennik at gsukiennik@manchesterjournal.com or at 802-447-7567, ext. 119.
Greg Sukiennik has worked at all three Vermont News & Media newspapers and was their managing editor from 2017-19. He previously worked for ESPN.com, for the AP in Boston, and at The Berkshire Eagle in Pittsfield, Mass.
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