The Ridgeland Hotel Wars continue. The Madison County Journal reported last week:
City officials tabled multiple site plans and architectural reviews for three new hotels here until November for developers who have made multiple failed petitions in the past for a height variance.
The matter was originally scheduled to be tabled until the second meeting in October, but Alderman-at-Large D.I. Smith motioned to table the issue until the first meeting in November. The city currently has a moratorium on new hotels set to expire Oct. 31.
Ward 2 Alderman Chuck Gautier recused himself from discussion and the vote due to his work with Kerioth Corporation. City officials voted unanimously, 6-0, to table the issue until the first meeting in November.
Site plans and architectural reviews were included on the agenda for three proposed hotels by Ridgeland Hospitality group that include a Tru by Hilton, Holliday Inn and Holiday Inn Express located for West Ridgeland Avenue between Sunnybrook Road and the new I-55 Frontage Road across from the old Fitness Lady building.
The plans were approved unanimously by the architectural review board in June contingent that certain changes were made, largely dealing with lighting and landscaping in the parking lot.
Included in the packet presented to the board were an electrical plan for the Holiday Inn building and a rendering of the Tru by Hilton.
No representatives of the development presented on Tuesday evening, though representatives of the company Todd Reeves, Chico Patel and Ali Bhatti have been present in the past and expressed displeasure with the hotel moratorium.
Developers say they have already spent $3 million on the hotel project. The city has denied a height variance for the project to allow for a third floor. The total project would be approximately $30 million, according to developers. Developers originally hoped to be wrapping up construction by the beginning of next year.
They often point to a hotel being developed by Kerioth in the Township at Colony Park that has been allowed to continue despite the moratorium. The project needed no petition for relief from the moratorium because it is being developed in a protected overlay district, officials have said.
A 180-day hotel and motel construction moratorium passed unanimously in April with the intention of studying the need and impact hotels were making in Ridgeland, though some aldermen and Mayor Gene McGee have expressed displeasure with the way petitions for relief have been handled.
The moratorium was originally set to expire on Oct. 1, but Ward 5 Alderman Bill Lee added an extension to the agenda at the last meeting in September that extended the moratorium through the end of this month. The measure passed 4-2 with Ward 6 Alderman Wesley Hamlin and Ward 3 Alderman Kevin Holder voting nay and Gautier recusing himself from voting and discussion. Article.
Kingfish note: The reporter didn't include an alteration by the developers. The developers redrew the plans so the petition conformed with the height restrictions but to no avail.
8 comments:
"the intention of studying the need and impact hotels were making in Ridgeland" - otherwise known as how can the City pull more taxes from the developers.
Both Ridgeland and Madison are continuing to make it near impossible to operate any non-corporate businesses in their cities. Architectural whims lead to excessive costs in building a store simply because "someone" didn't like that there is no fancy expensive decorations on the building. This is turn pushes up the costs of the construction and by factor also increases the assessed tax value... a k a higher property tax collections.
I am a small businessman who until two years ago operated a small but successful business in Ridgeland, operating for more than 30 years. I attempted to get a new facility built but could not because the City of Ridgeland had too many demanded changes to my architect's plans - none of which had anything to do with how my business operated, just what it looked like. That was when I decided to retire - paying my architect $2000 and not being able to stay in business.
Eventually one of these days either Ridgeland or Madison, or even Flowood will find themselves with lots of beautiful buildings but no tax base to keep their smooth streets smooth. I will then laugh at them from my home outside Flora.
So Kerioth has a "protected approved development" despite poor soil, lawsuits and buildings experiencing trouble? Homeowners do not even have a vote in the "homeowner's" association. These people are not what they said. Even allowed, I suppose with Ridgeland's blessings" a commercial building on the side that WAS dedicated to homeowners. What a hoot.
Ridgeland has so many commercial districts that are so spread out that all homeowners will be living bordering commercial developments along with the 80+ decibel warnings of backup for deliveries at night. I swear they are as bad here as snow removal in the north.
How many times have we read on this news site that someone got "blasted" outside some hotel/motel built 30 years ago? And we wonder why they have all these restrictions? Because they don't want just any business, just the business that maintains current demographics. Being called racist can suck but not as bad as violent crime being the norm in your community.
I think it is sad how small Madison and Ridgeland think. Instead of worrying about two or three story hotels, they need to think about building capacity and growing exponentially. Given the business, retail and amenities available in Ridgeland around the Renaissance, they need to court a large convention hotel like the Hilton on County Line, but with more meeting space. The new Westin isn't big enough for any really large groups, and the Marriott is old and tired - and small. Even if they get a hotel built by the convention center, Downtown still lacks the quality of life needed for attracting certain business groups.
A new hotel with adequate meeting space would become the premier location to host a meeting in the state if it was located in Ridgeland off I-55. Even now the casino hotels in Tunica and the Coast can't truly accommodate a conference that has over 300 attendees - not when you factor in all the other necessities for a successful conference.
But, let's stick with Costco's and small hotels y'all! And maybe we can even get us one of them swimmin' pool places!
The old "Barrier to entry" trick. It isn't the place of the council to decide what is or is not needed. The applicant should sue. Then when election time rolls around you can remind all the voters how the idiot council members caused the tax payers to foot the bill for the lawsuit.
Ridgeland is apparently attempting to not make the same error that was made with allowing too many apartments. Good for them to learn from the past, as at some point the "motels" on the low end will look like those on Medgar Evers Drive and Highway 80.
@5:15 In doing so they are taking the owner's property rights(LAWSUIT). The group can build whatever brand motel/hotel they want. It is ARB's job to make sure it complies with the city aesthetics. Interesting that Gautier's tune has changed.
I hear rumors around town that Chuck has been mighty quiet lately.
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