Hotel addition that could be downtown’s new largest building passes Asheville planning board – Citizen Times

Almost half a million square feet in new hotel and mixed-use spacedowntown was among a handful of hotel and residential projects that passed the Asheville Planning and Zoning Commission July 7.

Aside from that expansive addition to the Four Points Sheraton hotel on Woodfin Street, a new multiuse projecton Riverside Drive, a new apartment complex on Long Shoals Road and a new hotel on Biltmore Avenue near the Orange Peel downtown, all got the stamp of approval from the commission.

All but one, the development onBiltmore Avenue, will still have to go through Asheville City Council to be conditionally rezoned so work can move forward.

More than an hour of the five-hour meeting went to discussion and deliberation ofthe seven- to 11-story construction planned to wrap around the existing 150-room Four Points Sheraton hotel at 22 Woodfin Street.

Plans for the development submitted by 22 Woodfin St LLC, showresidential and hotel suites for new constructiontopping out at 470,000 square feet and just under 120 feet tall.

Public comments made at the commission's first in-person meeting in more than a year mainly opposed the building's scale. Commenter Kevan Frazier said everything on Woodfin Street save the Renaissance Hotel across the street is 75 feet or shorter.

Frazier said the building would become the largest in the central downtown, comparing it to the 269,000-sqaure-foot Grove Arcade and 201,000-sqaure-foot Kimpton Arras Hotel.

"The building is just out of scale on the Woodfin side," he told the board. "I'm not against the project happening, it's just out of scale with what we have."

He said he thinks developers have done a good job with the project, including making a number of changes in response to public input.

Another neighbor, Stephen DeMay, shared concerns over traffic as well, but said "the building is just too large."

"Just because you can build it, doesn't mean you should," he said.

Attorney Derek Allen, representing the developers, said a better comparison would be to look at the size of the lot in comparison to development downtown,rather than lookat any single building.

The Grove Arcade is on 1.55 acres, about half the size of the lot at 22 Woodfin, and doubling the size of that building would "far exceed" what's proposed there he said.

"So I think a more accurate comparison is to compare it to 3.55 acres of downtown development and look at that square footage," he said.

Allen noted that it's designed to look like multiple buildings, and described it as a verydowntown-friendly, Asheville-friendly development.

Commissioner Joe Archibald noted that the building would roughly match the height of the Renaissance Hotel if the two were built on the same elevation, though the Renaissance sits on land about 20-30 feet higher.

The first time he came to Asheville he stayed at that hotel, Archibald said, adding that '"hopefully this will spur some other infill projects around town," larger, denser development with buildings that vary in height and with different forms.

But, the site is in the city's highest height limit area,said Principal Planner Shannon Tuch, allowing for up to 265-foot-tall buildings.

"This is a large building; it is a very large building," she said, noting several other large buildings on the north end of downtown, where she said the city might expect to see that type of development.

Addressing that and other concerns about viewsheds for neighbors, commission Chair Tony Hauser noted the almost nonexistent height restriction and said folks living in that area for better or worse shouldn't have the expectation of not having their views impacted.

Other comments that were emailed in which Hauser read through shared mainly "subjective aesthetic comments."

Inside the new seven to 11 stories would be six to eight additional standard hotel rooms, 49 extended-stay hotel suites and 106 residential units split between apartments and condos, according to the staff report.

Around 8,000 square feet of commercial space on the ground floor is set to include a 3,000-square-foot grocery store, apparently Earth Fare, according to Archibald.

The project is too large to be eligible for the recently updated hotel approval process that would let it bypass conditional rezoning if it provided enough benefits listed on a city table.

More: New hotel map, rules head to council as moratorium draws to a close

But, Archibald said, by donating $4,000 per room to the city's Housing Trust Fund, committing to a sustainable design and making other transportation and neighborhood benefits, it would've scored high enough to pass the 220-point threshold a development of this size would needto bypass City Council approval.

Here were taking an existing hotel and saying OK, what can we do to make this better? Allen said, mentioning the large parking lot and the site's position between downtown and Interstate 240.How do we enliven that? How do we put more density there? How do we bring it up to current standards in the city of Asheville?

The commission approved the rezoning unanimously, which will head to City Council for final approval August 24.

"Hopefully this will be seen by any other would-be hotel developers as what's going to need to come forward," Archibald said."I certainly appreciate the comments from the public, the concerns. I look at this building, and it's actually really exciting."

A five- to six-storymixed-use building with 134 residential units and 14,000 square feet of commercial space and 182 off-street parking spaces at 159 Riverside Drive is also moving forward with a unanimous vote.

The project website says commercial areas will be for artist studios, retail and restaurant space for a vibrant, public facing, neighborhood destination thats committed to walkability, open space, multi-modal transportation, and environmental stewardship.

Split between two parcels, all construction is planned for159 Riverside Drive, which includes the remains of the former Asheville Cotton Mill and its smokestack on 2.95 acres, now set for a new 70-foot tall, five-story building.

On the ground level will be a non-occupiable podium, according to project conditions included with the meeting materials, with the multistory mixed use above.

Across the street, 1.65 acres at 144 Riverside Drive has been removed from the rezoning application, Tuch said, but will still be included as part of the project, no longer housing parking, only new tree canopy to meet city requirements.

Former plans showed a 41-space parking lot at the site, and agreenway on the site was set to remain in place. Parking will also be provided underneath the building on the ground level podium.

More: 5-story, 160-unit development proposed for former mill site on Riverside Drive

The only sticking point was a city requirement to have pedestrian pass-throughs in the various points along the building's width, which was waived in the unanimous approval by the commission.

Staff recommended approval of the rezoning with the condition that those pass-throughs be redesigned to comply with city form code.

Wyatt Stevens, attorney representing developer Brennan Smith, showed historical photos of the former cotton mill, which he said made uniforms during both world wars and sold products to Levi Strauss before it fell into disrepair and eventually burned in the 1990s.

The plan conforms with plans for the Wilma Dykeman Riverway and city plans for the area, he said, including preserving character buildings like the existing cotton mill smokestack, which will have a green roof and rainwater harvesting.

The smokestack will be shored up, Stevens said, and developers are still working on what to use the space for, with ideas like gatherings and local art.

Developers also plan to include 5%, or seven, affordable units, he said, restricted to 80% area median income, though it's not required.

"We think this hits every button that it should hit," Stevens said.

Tuch said the rezoning will go to City Council August 24.

A new mixed-use development set for 1/2 acre onBiltmore Avenue downtown, diagonally across the intersection from the Orange Peel, can now move forward with construction after clearing its ministerial review at the July 7 Planning and Zoning Commission meeting.

Set for 120 Biltmore Ave., plans on file with the city show three levels of parking on the bottom of the building, with 40 extended stay hotel suites, three residential condos, and about 5,000 square feet of ground level restaurant and retail space with a covered outdoor dining area.

With the majority of hotel suites, Tuch called it "primarily a hospitality project."

The site plan review passed 5-1 with Commissioner Brenton Faircloth voting against, and will not need to go before City Council.

At 66 Long Shoals Road, near T.C. Roberson High School, a planfor 87 residential units on almost 3 acres got another unanimous vote, and will go before City Council for final approval July 27.

Indianapolis-based Millstone Management is seeking a conditional zoning permit for two four- to five-story buildings, one on Long Shoals Road and the other set back adjacent to the school with parking and garages between.

The project triggered the conditional zoning process, as its over 50 units, said Adrien Dannemiller with Millstone Management when plans were submitted in April, explaining the site will house 85-87 units in studio, one-, two- and three-bedroom units.

More: New mixed-use site downtown, apartments on Long Shoals submitted to Asheville

He said at the time that developers hope to start construction late this year or early in 2022, with a completion date expected 18 months later.

The citys Technical Review Committee approved the application with conditions May 3, and city planning staff recommended approval of the zoning with conditions ahead of July 7s meeting, according to the staff report.

One of those is including 20%, or 17, affordable units at 80% of the area median income, set by the US Department of Housing and Urban Development at $48,100 for a two-person household.

Ultimately, City Council will have to approve rezoning the property from Institutional to Resident Expansion Conditional Zone, which includes a maximumdensity of 20 units per acre. Adding the affordable units, deed-restricted for 20 years, provides a density bonus of 50 units an acre.

At 87 units on 2.85 acres, the current unit-per-acre is just over 30.5.

Derek Lacey covers health care, growth and development for the Asheville Citizen Times. Reach him at DLacey@gannett.com or 828-417-4842 and find him on Twitter @DerekAVL.

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Hotel addition that could be downtown's new largest building passes Asheville planning board - Citizen Times