Another plan for a boutique hotel in downtown Whitefish has surfaced, once again at the Block 46 site along Spokane Avenue.

Whitefish Hotel Group, which includes the Averill family and another business partner, proposes to build a $10 million three-story hotel on the city block directly south of Whitefish Middle School.

The hotel group is asking the city of Whitefish for a conditional-use permit to allow the 89-room hotel to exceed the 7,500-square-foot building footprint limit within that commercial zone. The permit request is the focus of a public hearing Dec. 18 before the Whitefish Planning Board.

A downtown hotel has been on the Averill family’s radar for the past five to six years, Sean Averill said. Sean, his brother Brian and father Dan Averill own and operate The Lodge at Whitefish Lake.

“We’ve looked at four or five sites, and parking has been a concern,” Sean Averill said. “This project has onsite parking, which is a plus.”

The Averills own the Block 46 site and have financing lined up for the project, he added. If approved by the City Council, construction would begin next spring.

Block 46 has been a prime building site since 2007 when the property was cleared and a high-density residential and retail complex was planned. That project was scrapped when the recession hit.

A year ago local developer Orlan Sorenson, owner of Landmark Builders, proposed an $11.9 million, 80-room hotel on the same site. Shortly after the project was pitched to the city, investors terminated the plan when they couldn’t secure financing.

Adding a boutique hotel to the downtown area was an element of the Whitefish downtown master plan adopted in 2006, but various proposals have come and gone.

In 2007 International Capital Partners announced plans for a boutique hotel with 40 to 60 rooms on four lots north of Craggy Range restaurant on Central Avenue, but those plans never materialized.

In February 2013 the Averills considered a boutique hotel across the street from First Presbyterian Church, at the corner of Third Street and Central Avenue where a city parking lot now is located.

Brian Averill wrote to the City Council expressing his family’s interest in developing a small downtown hotel. Averill asked the council to adopt a resolution forming a subcommittee that could work with his family to draft a preliminary development agreement for council approval.

The plans for a hotel at Third and Central also never materialized.

In its application for a conditional-use permit, Whitefish Hotel Group notes that the Block 46 site is challenging due to its size, “but through thoughtful design features is in compliance with downtown setback and height restrictions.”

The hotel building would be set back 13 feet from the western property line along Spokane Avenue to allow room for a bike path.

Architectural renderings that accompanied the permit application show a pool and hot tub located in the basement. Sixty-seven parking spaces would be provided onsite.

The developers said the building would be designed with an upscale “mountain modern” style appropriate for downtown Whitefish.

Features editor Lynnette Hintze may be reached at 758-4421 or by email at lhintze@dailyinterlake.com.