Developers' plans for extended-stay hotel behind Blue Ridge Mall delayed but will continue
HENDERSONVILLE - Developers who are seeking to build a four-story, extended stay hotel behind the Blue Ridge Mall will have to wait a few more weeks in the process of it being approved, even though they submitted their plans to the city by the Feb. 2 deadline.
Hendersonville City Planner Tyler Morrow told the Times-News on Feb. 12 that developers will have to submit revised plans by March 1, because the original plans were incomplete.
"The main reason the plans were deemed to be incomplete was that the developer did not provide staff with the required boundary survey of the area proposed for development," Hendersonville City Planner Tyler Morrow told the Times-News on Feb. 12.
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The proposed hotel is 51,463 square feet with 124 rooms, and the parking lot site plan shows 76 parking spaces. The project is on 1.4 acres directly behind the mall, which is located at 1800 Four Seasons Blvd. Cox said he and his staff took interest in the site after they got a call about a year ago from the Blue Ridge Mall Development Group, which is based out of Augusta, Georgia. The mall and the site for the proposed hotel is owned by James Hull Jr.
The applicant, Philip Cox of Mitch Cox Companies in Johnson City, Tennessee, said his company chose that location because it "felt like it was a great fit for the Hendersonville area" and that his company has already built apartments in Hendersonville: Universal at Lakewood.
"We are just a big fan of that market," he said in a previous Times-News article. "We chose the location, because we thought it was a good central location for the community. It's in a commercial zoning area, so we felt like it was a good fit."
If Cox and his team get the revised preliminary site plans in by March 1, these will be the next steps in the process:
Meeting with the Tree Board on March 19 at the City Operations Center.
Meeting with the Planning Board on April 11 at the City Operations Center.
Presentation to the City Council on May 2at the City Operations Center.
"City Council will review the project and the recommendations from the Tree Board and Planning Board and will give consideration to public comments before ultimately making the decision on rezoning," Morrow said in a previous Times-News article.
A neighborhood compatibility meeting was held Jan. 29 at the City Operations Center, and residents near the proposed hotel voiced concerns over noise, possible crime, increased traffic and drainage issues. Cox said the hotel will be built under flagship of Wyndham Hotels, and it will be Wyndham's Echo Suites series of extended-stay hotels. But at the meeting, he told residents that rooms could be rented nightly.
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Some residents near the proposed hotel are not happy. Phillip Klein lives off Dellford Court, which is adjacent to the proposed hotel. On Feb. 9, he told the Times-News that the hotel's name, Echo Suites, is misleading.
"They are not suites and they are not extended stay. These are spartan 300-square feet cubicles with a small refrigerator and a sink. They are not suites," he said. "Anyone can get a room for the night and rates will be the lowest in town."
At the meeting, Cox said there would be a retaining wall and also a natural buffer of trees in between the hotel and residents adjacent to it at Blue Ridge Villas. Klein said despite the retaining wall, Blue Ridge Villas' residents will be "barraging the police department with calls about trespassing."
"Mr. Cox proudly spoke of a retaining wall (at the meeting). Mr. Cox, your retaining wall will not be retaining anything and certainly not the 300 strangers a night and their animals, if this is pet-friendly motel," Klein said.
Dean Hensley is the news editor for the Hendersonville Times-News. Email him with tips, questions and comments at DHensley@gannett.com. Please help support this kind of local journalism with a subscription to the Hendersonville Times-News.
This article originally appeared on Hendersonville Times-News: Plans delayed but still ongoing for hotel behind Blue Ridge Mall
