The Chapel Hill Town Council faced a difficult decision during a public hearing Wednesday on whether to allow applicants for a special use permit and zoning atlas amendment an additional month to revise and resubmit their application for a new hotel, as well as apartments.
The applicant, HPW Properties, LLC, applied for the permit to construct a 67,612 square foot building on a 1.7-acre site at 1609 E. Franklin St., located between Velma Road and East Franklin Street. The building is expected to have 96 hotel rooms, as well as a residential area with 28 apartments. 123 parking spaces will also be constructed.
Don Walston, CEO of Coldwell Banker Howard Perry and Walston, was at the meeting to speak about the desire to recess the public hearing until the Town Council business meeting scheduled for Feb. 22 to make some revisions on the application.
“The reason for our change was that we felt, financially, that we had to go in a different direction,” Walston said. “We are trying to get feedback. We want to do what Chapel Hill wants.”
Mary Jane Nirdlinger, executive director for planning and sustainability, explained that the council would have to make the decision of when to open the public hearing of the rezoning application and the special use permit.
“At this point, our recommendation is that the council open the public hearings in order to receive input,” Nirdlinger said.
Mayor Pam Hemminger and the Town Council members did decide to open the rezoning application and the special use permit to public hearing.
Meanwhile, several residents of neighborhoods near the site had strong feelings about the project.
Rudolph Juliano, professor emeritus at the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy and a resident of a nearby neighborhood called Coker Fields, said he thought the hotel would have a negative impact on the quality of life for the residents and businesses in the area.
“There’s really no reason to build it,” Juliano said. “There are six hotels within just a mile. It’s very unclear to me why the town needs another.”
In addition to the hotel, the Town Council also reviewed special use permits for Stancell Drive Car Wash and Planned Development-Housing for the Merin Road Community.
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