Gwendolyn Hotel (HL 6-22, HL 7-22, HL 8-22, and DDR 2-22) - 609, 611 and 619 NE Third Street

The Gwendolyn Hotel Project includes three Historic Landmarks Applications and one Downtown Design Review application: HL 6-22, HL 7-22, HL 8-22, and DDR 2-22.

The project proposes a new hotel on Third Street that will include the demolition of three historic structures: 609, 611, and 619 NE Third Street.

City Council Decision:

The McMinnville City Council conducted a public hearing on April 18 and April 19. On April 19, they closed the public hearing and deliberated amongst themselves. After deliberation they provided a tentative decision of 4-3 directing city staff to write findings of denial for the demolition applications, which then would deny the new construction application as it is dependent upon the success of the demolition applications.

On May 5, the City Council will meet to consider Ordinance No. 5131 adopting findings of denial for the Gwendolyn Hotel project. This meeting will be conducted at 4 PM at the Kent Taylor Civic Hall. And will be continued to May 8 if needed. There will be no more testimony taken at this time. More information is below.

City Council Meeting Packet, May 5 and May 8

City Council Public Hearing:

The McMinnville City Council hosted a public hearing on April 18 6:00 PM that was continued to April 19, 6:00 PM.

Appeal of the Planning Commission Decision:

On April 3, 2023, the City received an appeal of all four Planning Commission approvals of the Gwendolyn Hotel Project, appealing the approval of the three Certificates of Approval for the demolition of 609, 611 and 619 NE Third Street, and the approval of the design of the new hotel construction for the Gwendolyn Hotel.

(Dockets AP 5-23 (Appeal of Planning Commission decision HL 6-22), AP 6-23 (Appeal of Planning Commission decision HL 7-22), AP 7-23 (Appeal of Planning Commission decision HL 8-22) and AP 8-23 (Appeal of Planning Commission decision DDR 2-22)).

Planning Commission Decision:

On March 16, 2023, the Planning Commission rendered a decision on the applicant's appeal of the Historic Landmarks Committee's denial of all four land-use applications associated with this project. The planning commission voted 5 - 3 in favor of the applicant, approving the three Certificates of Approval for Demolition of historic resources at 609, 611 and 619 NE Third Street, and the design of the new hotel, the Gwendolyn Hotel, to be built on that site. Below is the letter of approval and decision documents that were issued on March 18, 2023.

The Planning Commission is the review body for any appeal of a Historic Landmarks Committee decision. They hosted a public hearing on March 2, 2023, continued it to March 16, 2023 and rendered a decision on March 16, 2023, after considering everything in the public record. Their decision is final unless appealed to the McMinnville City Council.

Planning Commission Appeal Submittal

Background

The Historic Landmarks Committee hosted the first public hearing on this topic on Thursday, September 29, 3:00 PM. At that meeting, the Historic Landmarks Committee elected to continue the public hearing to Thursday, December 8th at 4:00 PM. The applicant provided supplemental materials on November 4 and November 7 which can be found below. City staff and the applicant had asked that the public hearing for December be continued to January 5, 2023, 4:00 PM, Kent Taylor Civic Hall, 200 NE Second Street, for more time to review the materials and address any issues. At the hearing on Thursday, January 5, 2023, 4:00 PM, the committee listened to testimony, reviewed documentation provided by the applicant, experts, and the Planning Department, and discussed possible next steps before closing the public hearing.

The committee reconvened on Thursday, January 26, 2023, 4:00 PM to present their findings and final decision. The Historic Landmarks Committee voted in the majority to deny all four land-use applications. See the final documents below.

Historic Landmarks Committee Decision:

Applicant:

Mark Vuong, HD McMinnville LLC

Property Owner:

609 NE Third Street: Oregon Lithoprint Inc., represented by Jon Bladine - Google Maps
611 NE Third Street: Bladine Family Limited Partnership, represented by Jon Bladine - Google Maps
619 NE Third Street: Wild Haven, LLC, represented by Philip Frischmuth - Google Maps

Applications:

The applicant submitted four applications; Three Historic Landmarks (HL) and one Downtown Design Review (DDR).

HL 6-22: Demolition of Historic Resource at 609 NE Third Street
HL 7-22: Demolition of Historic Resource at 611 NE Third Street
HL 8-22: Demolition of Historic Resource at 619 NE Third Street
DDR 2-22: New Construction / Downtown Design Review

Application Materials:

Original Submittal (August 9, 2022)

Supplemental Submittal (November 4, 2022)

Revised Architectural Plans

HL 6-22

HL 7-22

HL 8-22

DDR 2-22

Supplemental Submittal (December 15, 2022)

Supplemental Submittal (December 19, 2022)

Supplemental Findings DDR 2-22

Supplemental Information:

Planning Department:

Historic Landmarks Committee Meetings

Find meeting material & recordings on meeting pages -

Thursday, September 29, 3:00 PM
Thursday, January 5, 2023, 4:00 PM
Thursday, January 26, 2023, 4:00 PM

For any further questions regarding the Gwendolyn Hotel process, feel free to reach out to the Planning Department directly at planning@mcminnvilleoregon.gov or (503) 434-7311.