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Planning commission approves development plan, zoning for 18th Street hotel

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Courtesy of Scotty Stanford

More parking and less height was a winning combination for developer Mike Mouron at tonight's planning commission meeting. The commission approved an amended version of his plans for a high-end hotel, restaurant and retail along 18th Street South.

The issue was carried over from the July meeting, when the commission rejected Mouron's plans for the former Hatfield Auto, Little Professor bookstore and Wolf Camera locations. The commission's concerns included its seven stories being too tall for the area, 140 parking spaces being too few for the development and the lack of a finalized agreement with Hilton, which intends to open a Curio hotel on the property.

At tonight's meeting, Mouron was not present but the development was represented by Scotty Stanford. The redesigned building he presented is only five stories high but increased from 127 rooms to 129 due to the changed layout, a larger building footprint and the loss of some retail space. Stanford said the Curio would be  “comparable with every other building of that story and height” in downtown.

A packet provided by Stanford listed the building's absolute height as 74 feet, below the Regions Building (112 feet) and Embassy Suites (87.7 feet), and higher than Aloft (62.8 feet) and SoHo (72 feet). The hotel's closest building neighbors, however, are mostly one- and two-story buildings except for SoHo apartments.

The packet estimated just over $760,000 in new city tax revenue in the first year of the development, which is projected to open in spring 2019. 

Parking plans also increased from 140 to 211 spaces, with 170 now at the main property and 40 in a gravel lot, at the corner of 27th Avenue South and 18th Place South, that Stanford said they expect to close on in September.

In July, the planning commission had said that they wanted to see a contract between the developers and Hilton to ensure that a high quality hotel will be in the building for the long-term. However, commission member Billy Higginbotham said tonight that, after discussion with city attorney Mike Kendrick, the commission cannot make this a requirement for approving the development plan. Stanford did not have a final agreement but said the process was "very close" and he was “very confident that it will be a Hilton Curio.”

Several residents and business owners still had concerns about the development, particularly how it would fit in with surrounding buildings and how it would affect sight lines in the area. One resident requested a 3D model of the development to get a better sense of its placement downtown.

“You can’t understand the effect," said Bubba Smith, who owns the SoHo Square development. “Somebody in [apartment] 304 facing Vulcan should know what that means to them.”

However, Higginbotham said the planning commission cannot require a model of the development because that is outside the current specifications that development plans must meet when submitted to the city.

In response to another question from Smith about the materials to be used on the hotel's exterior, Stanford said the plans include stone, brick and glass.

The city is planning a streetscape project on 18th Street, which would narrow the road and provide landscaping, parking and sidewalks. There were questions from the residents about how the development will interact with this project, which has not yet begun, but council liaison Britt Thames said the streetscape project will be entirely within city property and right-of-way, not affecting development on private land. City Engineer Vanessa McGrath said the final design of the streetscape plan was also partly determined by placement of entry and exits for the hotel.

Two residents asked the commission to reject the plan  “until we can get a firm hand and grip on everything going on,” requesting more public input and information on sidewalks and landscaping. The plans submitted to the city do show sidewalks along the front of the property where the city's streetscape project will be, and several trees around the edges of the property.

The planning commission voted unanimously, with Higginbotham abstaining due to prior connections with Mouron, to approve the development plan and send the request to rezone the property to Mixed Use Development to the council to consider.

Courtesy of Walter Schoel Engineering

The Lakeshore Foundation was also approved tonight for a new wing in their main gymnasium, which will mostly contain offices and storage. The foundation's plans for the property include an ADA-accessible treetop trail, which at some points will be as high as 25 feet in the air, and additional sidewalks and water features on the campus.

After a brief council discussion on tiny homes in July, the planning commission was asked to add the minimum dwelling size restrictions back into the city zoning code for Neighborhood Preservation District. The minimum home sizes, which will be sent to the council for final approval, are:

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