NEW ORLEANS | Marriott & Springhill Suites | 21 fl | Cancelled

A proposed 21-story hotel that would take over a corner on Canal and Tchoupitoulas Streets, knocking out historical buildings in the process, didn't get the thumbs-up from the Architectural Review Committee for the Historic Districts Landmark Commission, but that didn't stop the developers from applying for demo permits. Plans for the $120 million development call for wrecking ball action at three 1840s buildings on Tchoup, the corner T-shirt shop, and two Canal Street structures. French Quarter t-shirt shop kingpin, Kishore "Mike" Motwani owns all but one of the buildings (City Biz says he is "still negotiating the purchase" of 105 Tchoupitoulas) and is teaming up with Mathes Brierre Architects and hospitality development company Wischermann Partners, Inc. to bring a 373-room Marriott Residence Inn and Springhill Suites to the site.

In a letter from ARC to the project manager, they suggest tweaking the plans to work around the historic buildings, noting "It is not appropriate to demolish this architectural inventory in order to create new buildings that purport to celebrate what was removed" and mentioned possible future support of a "taller and more slender new building."

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A request to demo four historic Central Business District buildings, part of the plans for the proposed 21-story hotel at the corner of Canal and Tchoupitoulas Streets, did not get the a-okay from the Historic District Landmark Commission. Echoing the Architectural Review Committee's sentiments, the HDLC says the buildings at 105, 109 and 111 Tchoupitoulas, built in the early 1840s, should not get the wrecking ball treatment. The Advocate reports that the HDLC isn't cool with 422 Canal St. getting knocked out, either. Built in the mid-1860s, it was modified in the 1880s by New Orleans architect James Freret. The two other buildings that the developers want cleared out for the proposed $120 million Marriott Residence Inn and Springhill Suites are a corner t-shirt shop at 103 Tchoup and one-story ticket hub/tourist info center at 408 Canal St. The HDLC "endorsed demolition" of these unfortunate looking structures but still didn't approve any of the hotel plans.

The team behind the hotel plans— French Quarter t-shirt shop kingpin and owner of these buildings Kishore "Mike" Motwani, Mathes Brierre Architects, and Wischermann Partners, Inc.— plan to appeal the decision to City Council, where the final decision will be made.

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Those who were gearing up for a real Preservationists vs. Developers showdown concerning the proposal for a 21-story hotel that would give four historical buildings the demo treatment, can calm down (for now, anyway). The developers, who were headed to City Council today to appeal the Historic District Landmark Commission's anti-wrecking ball stance, have withdrawn the plans for a Marriott Residence Inn and Springhill Suites on the corner of Canal and Tchoupitoulas Streets, The Advocate reports.

LaToya Cantrell's district covers the CBD site and she plans to work with the developers to come up with a plan that's perhaps a bit less controversial.

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