City officials got their first detailed look this week at a proposal to build a four-story, 50-room hotel in downtown Port Townsend.

Jag Sandhu and Kuljit Shoker, owners of the Anacortes-based company, Nivair, submitted site and floor plans for the Water Street Hotel to the city in late June.

The property where the hotel is proposed is already developed, but the Sanderling office building that sits on the site is vacant and the lot is overgrown with weeds. 

“No trespassing” signs can be seen in seven of the windows of the empty building at 1136 Water St., and yellow caution tape is wrapped around the south side of the building where plywood has been placed over a former entrance.

The project includes the demolition of the existing Sanderling Building.

Developers of the hotel gave an overview of the project to the city’s Historic Preservation Committee at a special meeting Tuesday.

Sean Hegstad of Haven Design Workshop noted changes that had already been made to the hotel, such as reducing the height and pulling it back from the adjacent bluff.

“On the previous scheme we had a lot more building,” he said.

Hegstad said the building would be set back from the cliff.

“The building is far enough away, in our opinion,” to not be impacted, Hegstad said, but there have been discussion of installing a 4-foot-high retaining wall to add protection to the building.

Hegstad noted other changes that have been suggested, including reducing some of the components of the lobby area.

Rooms on the water side of the hotel will be more spacious, he said.

Initial opinions from committee members varied.

One committee member noted the lack of other tall buildings near the hotel site, as well as potential impacts to Uptown views.

“It’s great to have another hotel, I’m excited,” said Committee Member Michael D’Alessandro.

“It’s good to see one in the works,” he added.

Nivair purchased the property for $869,750 in October 2018, according to records on file with the county assessor’s office.

According to a site survey for the project, the hotel would have a maximum height of 46 feet. Floor plans include a cafe on the first floor, and parking for the hotel would include 11 on-site parking stalls. Haven Design Workshop of Ferndale is the architect for the project, and the builder is Faber Construction of Lynden.