The 47-room boutique hotel approved for downtown Doylestown's former Borough Hall site is not going to be built.

Developer Larry Thompson has told the borough he's walking away from the project, and a local bank has already signaled interest in the property.

Borough Manager John Davis confirmed in an email Wednesday that Thompson notified the borough of his decision. Thompson said he was "disappointed, but in the end just could not make the numbers work due, in no small part, to rising construction costs."

The First National Bank of Newtown, which already has a downtown Doylestown branch at 275 South Main St., has since expressed interest in acquiring the 57 West Court St. parcel, Davis said. But as of Wednesday, Davis said he had not heard whether the bank had actually purchased the property, and nothing formal had been submitted to the borough.

A long road to approval

Thompson, who owns several downtown Doylestown properties including the Lenape Building at Main and State streets, bought the 57 West Court St. site from the borough in 2021 for $2.3 million. He proposed the hotel in 2023, saying Doylestown had the walkability, shops, restaurants and train access to attract visitors but lacked hotel rooms. The project drew fierce opposition from neighbors who argued it was too large for the site, leading to court action and a settlement agreement that reduced the planned event venue from 200 seats to 100.

Thompson won final land development approval in October 2025 for the hotel, which also included a 70-seat restaurant.

What it means for the neighborhood

Davis acknowledged that some of the closest neighbors to 57 West Court St., despite having settled with the developer, "will no doubt be pleased" the hotel is not moving forward. But he added that the broader borough community will be disappointed, calling additional hotel space "a definite economic development need."

The site served as Doylestown Borough Hall from 1979 to 2022, when the borough relocated to Doyle Street. The building was demolished after the sale to Thompson.

Residents can contact the borough manager's office for updates on the parcel's future. No next public meeting on the site has been announced.