HISTORIC DISTRICT REVIEW BOARD
Back to the Drawing Board for Hotel Cape Charles

Hotel Cape Charles developer David Gammino
(Wave photo)

By DORIE SOUTHERN
Cape Charles Wave

September 19, 2012

Hotel Cape Charles developer David Gammino came to Town Hall yesterday with his hat in his hand. After spending $2.4 million on a “destination hotel,” he has been unable to receive a permanent certificate of occupancy.

That’s because the completed hotel doesn’t look exactly like the plan the Town approved in April 2011.

In a September 11 letter to Town Planner Tom Bonadeo, Gammino apologized for not sticking to the original plan. “In retrospect, I should have consulted with Town officials . . . my assumptions regarding historic guidelines are informed by many historic tax credit projects, but they are clearly inaccurate with respect to the Town standards. For this, I accept responsibility and apologize.”

Gammino blamed “a rapidly changing business plan” for not keeping the Town informed about architectural changes. At first, he intended only to do “a light remodel” of the old, defunct hotel. But, “we came to the conclusion that reopening the hotel in its existing configuration would be a disservice to the Town of Cape Charles and limit the hotel’s demographic appeal,” he wrote.

That’s when the budget soared from $500,000 for updates to over $2 million for a major overhaul.

The hotel needs to bring in $30,000 a month to remain viable, Gammino said.

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At a meeting of the Historic District Review Board yesterday, Gammino proposed modifying the railing treatment on the front of the building. But the Review Board voted unanimously to defer a decision — meaning the proposed modifications were not approved.

Gammino, whose City & Guilds contracting firm is headquartered in Richmond, told the Board that he simply could not go back and tell his partner that they had to change the front of the building. He declined to reveal his partner’s name.

The Board agreed that the building was an asset to the business district, but Board chairman Russ Dunton said it was their job to ensure that improvements are consistent with the historic aspects of the streetscape. Dunton said he could not approve the hotel front as it now exists.

Board member Jan Neville said he appreciated what the hotel has done and their intent, but “it is not like what we thought it was going to be. Is there something we could do to make it more sympathetic to the other buildings on the street?”

Board member Bob Sellers agreed with Neville. “It looks too open. It doesn’t look safe,” he said.

Gammino argued that wrought iron would ruin the look of the building as well as add tremendous expense. The glass panels had cost $60,000. “We don’t have the money to make that kind of change. We are $800,000 over budget already,” he said.

Chairman Dunton replied, “You are asking us to set a precedent.”

Gammino cited accolades from the Washington Post and USA Today for the hotel’s design, but the Board was not convinced.

Ultimately, Gammino agreed to ask his architect to propose a modification to the second-floor balcony.

The developers’ goal was to build a hotel that would fit in New York, Washington, or Amsterdam – “a modern, chic hotel that would attract people looking for a destination location. So far it has been very successful,” Gammino said.

 

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14 Responses to “HISTORIC DISTRICT REVIEW BOARD
Back to the Drawing Board for Hotel Cape Charles”

  1. Deborah Bender on September 18th, 2012 9:18 pm

    The builder turned in a set of plans and the Historic Review board approved the plans. Then the builder changed the front A LOT. The building is not in keeping with the other buildings on the street. The builder should have done what he said he was going to do. Now the builder says there is no money to change the front. Doesn’t want to is more like it.

  2. Dana Lascu on September 18th, 2012 11:36 pm

    You’re assuming the guy is loaded and can afford to throw more money away, which he is not (I read the Richmond papers and I know he has a lot going on).

    Here is what I would do to make the hotel “more sympathetic to the other buildings on the street”: board it up from top to bottom and staple some children’s drawings on it. That will have it match the old Delisheries building. Better yet, put up some Old School Cape Charles slogans to match another building and make it totally sympathetic to other buildings on the street.

    Seriously, please give the guy a break. He did us a great service and put us on the map with his exquisite hotel. Your reward will be more rave reviews in travel magazines and more tourists coming to Cape Charles. Last time I walked by, it was raining diplomats and they were all staying at the hotel and shopping… You can’t seriously be so hung up on setting precedent – not with this masterpiece.

    Finally, he is one of us: he has a home and hangs out in Cape Charles. He is not your drop-out-of-the-sky Gaskin, or some other extraterritorial investor from the Levant. Please give him a break and let this project pass.

  3. Bruce Lindeman on September 19th, 2012 8:19 am

    A Little League coach tells his player with 2 outs in the bottom of the 9th inning, and with a runner on 3rd base”…just go up there, Billy, and bunt in a run for us, okay?” Billy glances at his shoes, and then nods at his coach, but as he walks to the plate, he thinks, “man, I’m really swinging the bat well today…” So, on the first pitch, Billy rears back and puts all his might in to the swing and sends the ball back, back, back… A HOME RUN!!! Billy circles the bases, and as he gets around to 3rd he sees his entire team and coach waiting there for him. As soon as he touches home, his team collapses upon him and congratualtes him for winning the game. On the way back to the dugout, the coach wraps his big, sweaty arm around little Billy and says, “well, you didn’t exactly bunt the ball like I asked you to, son.” To which, Billy replies, “I’m sorry coach. I know it’s what you told me to do, but I knew I could hit that ball over the fence today, so I took a cut at it. I’m really sorry, coach.” The coach picked up little Billy and swung him around his head and on to his broad shoulders. The coach, Billy, and his teammates hollered and congratulated Billy all the way to the ice cream palor to celebrate.

    In my head, that’s how this situation should have played out with the hotel. Yeah, the developer is wrong. He’s said as much. But, I’ve talked to a lot of folks about the hotel, and I’ve read the national and regional news coverage. Everyone flat out LOVES the place and cannot understand the stubborness of the Historic Review Board over this. I’ve been on the front balcony. It IS safe. It may not “look” safe because it’s (tempered) glass and not what we’re used to seeing. But, it’s beautiful. Great archtecture makes use of both new and old and the hotel design accomplishes that in spades. Go to London, New York, San Fransisco — they all have managed this melding of old and new beautifully. Why can’t Cape Charles..?

    Make an exception. For the value this developer has brought to this town, it’s the least we can do. They spent $2+ million on that building in an economy where hardly anyone spent anything. My wife, kids, and I stayed at the hotel this past Friday night before we moved in to our new house on Tazewell. The place is awesome. Ned is doing a great job getting the word out. It’s an anchor in town that is badly needed. Let’s not nit pick these guys when they’re doing so much for us. If we chase them out of town, what will we have? Another empty building on Mason, a loss of revenue, a drop in tourism, and a feather in our cap because the Historic Review Board has “won” their little battle. As the saying goes, they may win the battle, but lose the war.

    Billy made a mistake by not listening to his coach. But, he hit it out of the park to win the game. He apologized to his coach for his actions. But, in the end, his coach realized that in the grander scheme of things, Billy won the game. And, that will be remembered longer than Billy not bunting the ball.

    Bruce

  4. Marita Patterson on September 19th, 2012 8:40 am

    I COMPLETELY agree with Dana Lascu’s post.

  5. Joe McSpedden on September 19th, 2012 11:15 am

    Dana Lascu and Bruce Lindeman are spot on with their comments.

    Where was the building inspector as the project progressed? This should not have become an issue. Looks like the Historic Board and the Town building inspector need to communicate and get on the same page.

    The hotel is an asset to the town. It brings tourists to town who spend money and generate tax revenue, and it is drawing positive reviews for the town nationally.

    Too bad that can’t be said about the Old School and the purchase of the bank building.

  6. Karen Gay on September 19th, 2012 12:42 pm

    I agree with Dana Lascu and Bruce Lindeman. It seems that at times our town goes out of its way to put up roadblocks to new projects with good design (witness a person in town who decided to drop a shed on his property rather than build the garage he had planned because of the unfriendly planning climate). Other times, the town actually gives developers money to take town assets.

    I understand that the Historic District Review Board is composed of volunteers who are trying to maintain the visual integrity of our town. Thank you for doing this job … I am sure it seems thankless to you at times. However, I would prefer that the Board give this developer a break. He has spent a lot of money in our town and the Hotel is bringing in visitors who shop at our stores and eat in our restaurants.

  7. Geneva Smith on September 19th, 2012 2:17 pm

    Did anyone from the Historic Review Board inspect the hotel during renovation? And if it was inspected, why wasn’t a stop work order slapped on the job?

  8. Mike Kuzma, Jr on September 20th, 2012 2:43 pm

    I’m with Dana……..let’s just empty it out, and fill it with spider webs……then it will conform with the rest of the street.

    Quick question: If y’all put the businesses out of business, who’s gonna pay all the taxes that are necessary to support all those who won’t work?

    Amazing how short sighted these acts are…….

  9. Robert Rittenhouse on September 22nd, 2012 6:37 pm

    Finally a change that is truly superior in every way — and some complain. Give these guys all of your support instead of holding them back. The Rittenhouse Motor Lodge as been in business here for 60 years and the new Cape Charles Hotel has already helped my business. Send them flowers instead of problems!

  10. Emmy Smith on September 24th, 2012 5:48 pm

    Suggestion: Do a Google search of this man’s name and see what comes up.

  11. Jonny Stevenson on September 25th, 2012 8:51 am

    You know, it is a lovely hotel.

    I’m glad I don’t have to clean the glass, and I think given a few years, he will have to replace it from the sand blasting it…
    You probably don’t want to set a precedent on someone not following plans, but someone should have picked up on it before this. I know a lot of historic towns that would have loved to have this asset. I live in one.

  12. Dana Lascu on September 25th, 2012 1:57 pm

    I am surprised that readers and some members of the Review Board are not aware that glass is the building material of the new millennium. It is used in skyscrapers and in imposing structures in the desert with no “sandblasting” effects: unlike brick or cement, glass does not corrode –- iron, on the other hand, rusts. Much of the glass used in new construction is also structural. Look at the glass buildings, twisted or not, of architectural greats Frank Gehry, IM Pei, and Steven Holl, and check out the glass balconies at the top of the Willis (Sears) Tower. New buildings and renovations alike sport grand glass wraps and are phenomenal inside and out. Two firms in Central Virginia are capable of remarkable design with echoes in the world architectural community; Gammino’s is one of them.

  13. Craig Zuidema on September 27th, 2012 4:46 pm

    As a part time resident of Cape Charles, and one who lives just three buildings from the hotel, I think the hotel looks incredible! Given that many of the properties on Mason Avenue aren’t even occupied much less as beautiful as the hotel, the review board should cut them some slack. This is just the kind of attitude that drives businesses away. The Betis Group is already leaving Cape Charles, we don’t need more vacant or empty buildings.

  14. Amy Townsend on September 28th, 2012 5:13 pm

    Like Craig, I am a part-time resident and reside in the Wilson Building. If ever there were the perfect reason for granting a variance it is the gorgeous Hotel Cape Charles! I remember how excited I was when the building was purchased for renovation. Then curious and a little impatient as I watched the work progress. But I had no idea how far my hopeful expectations would be exceeded until the day it opened and I took a tour. So beautiful! I can’t tell you how many friends and visitors I’ve pulled into the lobby to admire the HCC. I have to admit – it’s been fun to brag about the new addition to the neighborhood.
    Clearly, it’s been successful in attracting the kind of tourists that can help to make our shops and restaurants more successful. I hope our Review Board will do everything in its power to “flex” in support of this gem.