New development in the works at site of former crime-ridden hotel

A storage facility and restaurant/retail development received favorable recommendation from the Homewood Planning Commission at the April 6 meeting.

The development is to be at 260 Oxmoor Road, which is the former location of an America’s Best Value Inn & Suites. In 2014, The Homewood Star reported that the City Council decided not to renew the hotel’s business license because criminal activity repeatedly took place there, sometimes requiring the police department to make multiple visits a day there.

Chesley Payne, an attorney with Massey, Stotser & Nichols, represented the owners and presented their request to first resurvey the lot into two parcels and then rezone the northern portion of the lot from GURD (Greensprings Urban Renewal District) to C-5 (General Business District).

The owners plan to demolish the hotel on the property and then develop an “aesthetically pleasing” climate-controlled storage facility, he said.

“Sometimes when people think of storage facilities, they get a negative connotation,” Payne said. “However, this is not going to be a mini-storage or something of that nature. It’ll have controlled access to the facility. There will be limited hours of access to the facility. It’ll be extensively well-lighted so everyone who comes and goes from this location will have a sense of security. And the owners intend to install cameras on the exterior and interior of the building.”

The owners thought of developing another hotel at the property, but because of the COVID-19 pandemic’s impact on the travel industry, they decided against that, Payne said. There’s also too much competition in the area, he said.

There are also plans to develop a retail or restaurant space on the remaining piece of the property. The owners said they are currently in talks with two sports bars.

The owners held a redevelopment plan presentation in March and invited the community to listen and ask questions there. Many West Homewood residents then came to the April 6 Planning Commission meeting and spoke in favor of the development. 

Matt Rich, who lives on Fairlane Drive near the abandoned hotel, said he sees this “eyesore” every day. In the beginning, he was skeptical of the development, but he said his opinion changed after speaking with the Patels, who own the property.

“It is going to be a facility we can be proud of when we see it,” Rich said. “Certainly, it is going to be better than what we see now. Quite frankly, I would go out there myself with a sledgehammer and help them tear it down if it would help. But I can see their vision. After speaking with them, I think they have the best intent for our neighborhood.”

One person spoke against the development: Harold Shader said he thinks there are plenty of storage facilities in the area. He also said he thinks a new hotel there with restaurants, or a development with multiple restaurants, would be a better use of the property.

The Planning Commission unanimously voted in favorable recommendation for both the rezoning and the resurvey requests. The rezoning request must go to the City Council for approval next.

The next Planning Commission meeting will be May 4.