The owners of The 1886 Crescent Hotel & Spa in Eureka Springs are putting together a condominium project that would add up to 51 new suites to the historic hotel’s property. Marty and Elise Roenigk presented the initial plans for Crescent Gardens at the city Planning Commission’s meeting Aug. 10. The proposal suggests 20 buildings housing 39 condominiums of between 950 square feet and 1,250 square feet.
Each unit will have multiple bedrooms and bathrooms, and a few will include lockable sections that can be rented as guest suites when the owners are not present, Marty Roenigk said Thursday. If fully utilized, the sectioned units and full units will offer up to 51 suites to supplement the hotel’s current 68 rooms. The 11-acres of woods where Roenigk proposes to build are across from the entrance of the hotel and are bordered by Ellis Grade, Harmon Park and Grotto Spring.
“Ultimately, the entire thing could retail for between $12 million and $13 million,” he said. “It will be an intrinsic part of the hotel forever.” Each condo will be offered for sale to individual buyers or investors. Roenigk hopes to keep the selling price in the $300,000 range.
The condos will be designed by architect David McKee in the style of the late E. Fay Jones. The two-story buildings will be designed to fit into the slope of the site while disturbing as few trees as possible. The buildings will feature stone, wood and glass exteriors with many balconies. The target market for the condos is baby boomers who love Eureka Springs and the Crescent Hotel, Roenigk said.
“It will be a very mixed thing, a hotel suite and a second home. The owner can utilize the condo on weekends or on vacations. Then he has the opportunity to put it back into the hotel rental pool when not using it. The hotel and the owner will split the rent 50-50, so the owner has an income from the property to help meet the mortgage or pay the taxes or whatever,” Roenigk said.
The preliminary plans consist of an overhead site plan rendering and initial layout and building elevations. Roenigk still must hire engineers to complete the plans for construction. Roenigk must get the approval of two Eureka Springs city agencies before the project can proceed. The Board of Zoning Adjustment and the Planning Commission must approve changes to the site’s zoning and the final plans.
The Historic District Commission also must approve the project. Historic District Commission Chairman Frank Green said the group will review how the proposed project fits into the neighborhood and several other factors when it is submitted. “It hasn’t come before us yet. It isn’t even on the agenda,” he said Thursday. Most projects take about two weeks from submittal to presentation to the commission, Green said. He expects that the approval process for Crescent Gardens could take a couple of months. No organized opposition has commented on the project, Green said. “I haven’t heard anything about it. But it is just becoming public,” he said.