Courtesy of Mike Mouron
18th Street Hotel Development
A proposed design for a hotel, restaurant and retail development on 18th Street South.
The plans for a hotel and mixed use development on 18th Street South are on hold after the planning commission rejected the submitted development plan tonight.
Mike Mouron, who bought the former Hatfield Auto, Little Professor bookstore and Wolf Camera properties on 18th Street South, intends to build a hotel, restaurant and retail spaces on the property. At tonight's planning commission meeting, Mouron said he intends to have a seven-story, 127-room Hilton Curio hotel, managed by Wilson Hotel Management.
The development, according to the plans Mouron presented, would include a two-story building on the corner of 18th Street South and 28th Avenue South housing meeting rooms and a 6,000-square-foot restaurant. A separate retail building would be built in the former Wolf Camera location, and Mouron mentioned retail within the hotel as well.
Mouron requested approval of his development plan as well as rezoning of 2713 through 2739 18th Street South and 2728 Mamie L Foster from Central Business District and High Rise Office/Commercial District to Mixed Use District. His plans also required closure of the western half of an alley on the property and relocation of a sewer line, with easements to complete the work.
Parking was the number one hurdle for the plan, as Mouron proposed 140 total parking spaces, including parking spots to be created by the city as part of its 18th Street beautification project. Planning commission members and community members were concerned this would not be sufficient to accommodate hotel guests, retail shoppers and diners, as well as staff for those businesses.
Mixed use zoning only specifies one parking spot per hotel room, which Mouron said was part of the reason he sought that zoning. But building, engineering and zoning department employee Vanessa McGrath said the similar Aloft development in Soho had its restaurant's parking needs counted separately. Using the same process in this instance, McGrath estimated a need of about 213 parking spaces.
"We're 80 [spots] short. Period. That needs to be addressed," commission member Mark Woods said.
Mouron offered to use a valet service to offset this shortfall, but his suggestion was either to lease land nearby or use the public parking available in Soho. Though Mouron said prime hotel parking hours would be at night when other downtown businesses are closed, planning commission members were opposed due to ongoing parking issues in the area.
"Is not the public parking that's half a block away ... is not that reasonable to use?" Mouron asked, prompting several people in the audience to respond "No."
The height of the building also met resistance from the commission. Mouron said the top of the building is 802 feet above sea level, comparable to Aloft's roughly 740 feet and the Regions building's roughly 840 feet above sea level. However, resident Ken Shaia pointed out that Hallman Hill, which is at a higher elevation than Mouron's property, initially requested a 10-story building but was reduced down to four stories, with a fifth story on the lower part of the hill.
The height would stand out next to the smaller buildings along 18th Street, and a resident of the Soho apartments expressed concern of how it would affect the view from her window. Commission member John Krontiras also had reservations about the height, adding that one of Aloft Hotel's selling points is the view of Vulcan statue, which would be impacted by the hotel.
The agreement between Mouron and Hilton has not been finalized, nor has the length of time Hilton would agree to occupy the building. Woods said this concerned him because it raises the possibility of a change in the quality of the hotel or, in a worst case scenario, a vacant building if Hilton Curio left. Mouron said he can't get the agreement with the hotel chain until his development plan is approved, but Woods called the plan "half-baked" in its current form.
"We just have to think about the future," Woods said.
The potential sales and lodging tax revenue would be "a boon" to the city, Mouron said, but the commission's concerns turned out to be too many. They rejected the development plan, with Billy Higginbotham abstaining due to previous employment under Mouron. The rezoning request was carried over to next month's meeting, so Mouron can submit a new development plan.
