A major makeover planned by developer Ed St. George for another key intersection in Solvang calls for a 40-room hotel, demolition of an existing building and expansion of another, but preservation of the city’s beloved Little Mermaid statue.

The Design Review Committee on Thursday took another look at the proposal for Denmarket Square, 1687 and 1693 Mission Drive, with the applicant seeking approval of a development plan and lot merger for the site near the intersection with Alisal Road. 

However, members recommended by a 4-0 vote that staff bring the item back to the committee so that they can review some items requested, such as samples of colors and materials plus landscaping plans and the statue plan.

Chair Esther Jacobsen-Bates said she has heard positive overall comments about the project from many residents, who still have raised two key issues.

“The big concern each and every time has been, No. 1, the parking, and No. 2, ‘What about the mermaid?’ The mermaid is a very important part of it as well,” she said.

Plans call for demolition of a non-historical building at 1687 Mission Drive and remodeling and expanding the existing structure at 1693 Mission Drive. In addition to the 40-room boutique hotel, the project would include four commercial units facing Mission Drive. 

The applicant wants to add a bell tower as a design feature that could push the height to 50 feet. Another feature would be a repurposed grain silo. 

A reconfigured parking lot would include spaces for another St. George hotel project at 1704 Mission Drive, but none for the four businesses in the new building.

The developer has proposed paying in-lieu parking fees, or roughly $445,000, instead of providing the spaces required for the commercial businesses. Under city rules, the project would need 36 spaces on site for the commercial units.

“I think they need a plan to solve it rather than buy their way out of it,” committee member Jennifer Dryden Hess said. “It just is a problem for everyone. It’s probably the No. 1 comment everyone makes about town.”

While the Design Review Committee’s purview typically doesn’t include parking availability, committee members said they wanted their concern noted when the Solvang Planning Commission reviews the proposal. 

Concerns about the fate of the Little Mermaid statue have been raised as word of the St. George project circulated in Solvang.

The bronze statue, half the size of the original in Copenhagen, has served as a landmark at Denmarket Square for nearly 50 years. 

 “The (Little) Mermaid statue is a city landmark that many tourists take pictures on,” said Rafael Castillo, Planning and Community Development director. “It is proposed to be refurbished as a part of this application.” 

This week’s review followed another that occurred in April 2023 when committee members rejected the original proposal that called for a Danish agrarian style, but favored some aspects in that first plan.

The Design Review Committee assesses projects with an eye toward preserving and enhancing historical Danish and northern European architectural styles, historic assets and character of the town’s commercial centers to protect the small city’s unique look.

For instance, Dryden Hess suggested that proposed wooden railings should instead be iron.

“It’s just not something that you see in the Danish vernacular in that type of building,” Dryden Hess said, adding that she used a book to help guide her. “It’s all in Danish, so all I can do is use the pictures, but it’s been hugely helpful.”

Jacobsen-Bates complimented the team for responding to the DRC’s comments made during the previous review and noted the public’s intensive scrutiny of the project that is planned for a key gateway to Solvang.

“As I’ve told Mr. St. George before, he’s going to have a big legacy if he does these projects in the community,” Jacobsen-Bates said. “The look of our community in the future really hinges on these projects.”