Hawker House to anchor ‘boutique hotel’ in Sonoma

Planning Commission OKs proposed 7-room mini-hotel on West Napa|

“This project is a bit of a hybrid,” said Mike Marino.” We’re not a vacation rental and we’re not a hotel – they’re both bad words here in Sonoma.”

Marino is talking about the two adjoining properties he owns on the north side of West Napa that are currently under construction to become Hawker Sonoma, A Boutique Hotel.

He purchased the properties about three years ago and, from the outset, had the idea of a “village” that would be a welcome respite for visitors to Sonoma, preserving the small-town feel while allowing for a quality short-term residential experience. Last week he got a unanimous, if tentative, OK from the city’s Planning Commission, which seemed generally enthusiastic about his proposed seven-room “mini-hotel.”

Though Marino – who founded one of the area’s early tour companies, California Wine Tours, over 30 years ago – has his heart set on the “boutique hotel” concept, he already has permits for three vacation rentals on the properties, in the pre-existing buildings that formed an unofficial “media gulch” when the Sonoma Sun and KSVY had studios there. He has chosen to trade those in for a hotel use permit, in part because he himself is unhappy with the direction Sonoma is taking under the onslaught of wine tourism.

“I don’t like the fact that we’re getting groups up here that want to use wineries as a way to celebrate,” he said, remembering when he started that wineries “were all about educating people on their product.” He’d like to keep the small-scale feel of a small hotel in the heart of town, catering to visiting couples here for three or four days at a time instead of a quick party-oriented swing through Wine Country.

“The project truly is built around why I came to Sonoma – that Sonoma charm, that feel, small town historical streets and buildings,” said Marino.

The hotel is focused around the former Hawker House, a historic property at 158 W. Napa St. that was once the home of an early newspaperman, and two other remodeled homes on the adjoining lot, at 164 and 172 W. Napa St. (Not to be confused with the Hotel Sonoma project proposed for the south side of West Napa, which has an EIR coming before Sonoma Valley Citizens Advisory Commission on Oct. 26.)

Additional plans that he and designer Kevin Dixon have drawn up, call for two cottage-type houses and a reception building at the rear of the property, all single-story and drawing on the Hawker House for design elements.

The seven units would each include small kitchens to allow guests to prepare meals on site instead of forcing them to go out for every bite, though there will not be a restaurant on the .7-acre site. Instead there will be a “reception cottage” – which Marino says he’d use as an office during the days for his other properties and tourism business – as well as a place for guests to hang out, read the paper, socialize or exchange ideas on things to do in Sonoma.

At this point, the Hawker House is closing in on guest-ready – it’s been almost totally renovated from its previous state, though the exterior walls, windows, porch and rock walls are intact as per historic home code. The windows even include the original decorative lead and single-pane glass, though the kitchen and bathrooms are large and luxe, and the rustic floors are thick sealed planks of recycled barn wood.

“That’s kind of the feel we’re after – it’s not about quantity, that’s for sure,” said Marino. “Everyone thinks I’m crazy for taking such an expensive piece of property and only having five structures on it.” Marino estimates his own project could open as early as Spring 2018.

Marino’s pitch to the Planning Commission wasn’t entirely embraced, however. After some discussion of how many parking spaces would be necessary, and if the Commission might require a 24-hour resident manager to live on site (“Having a requirement for live-in onsite, I won’t make any money. It really does change financially the outcome of the project,” said Marino in the hearing), additional concern focused on plans for a gate, across the driveway between 164 and 172 W. Napa St.

Though Marino and Dixon both insisted their idea of a gate was a very low-profile feature set back about 35 feet from the sidewalk, commissioners balked at the idea of a gate sending the wrong message, as not being a “pedestrian-friendly experience.” In fact the final measure approved by the commission at their Oct. 13 meeting was to approve the project, with the stipulation that the gate would be decorative only.

Following the meeting, Marino was clearly uneasy about giving up the gate. “I wanted to do this wrought-iron, see-through gate that might give you the impression of early 1900s property,” he said, “but this gate could be closed from about midnight to 6 in the morning.” The houses are on the route from the Plaza to the 7-Eleven store on the corner of Second Street West, a popular refreshment station for homeless. Security for the guests was and is his primary concern, he said.

Before Marino and his crews began actively remodeling the three houses on the street, they were frequently broken into, he said. And at one point someone even lit a wood fire on the floor of the Hawker House itself – which could have easily burned down the 115-year-old structure and taken his boutique hotel dreams with it.

“I know Sonoma’s still a great town but there’s not a day goes by where I’m not picking up trash and all these things,” he said. “Unfortunately there’s a little bit of homeless contingent here in town.”

Instead he would like to preserve a small-town, “boutiquey” feel, insists Marino. He wants to pre-screen guests via an online or even telephone booking service, rather than having people just show up at the door with suitcases.

“There’s a lot of things that are different that I think our codes aren’t reflecting or updating,” said Marino. “At some point they’ll catch up – it’s clearly going to be the first of its kind.”

Contact Christian at christian.kallen@sonomanews.com.

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