The Charlottesville Planning Commission has recommended approval of a permit that would allow for the construction of a new boutique hotel near the University of Virginia.
Members reviewed the proposal, a 31-bedroom hotel at 207 14th St. NW, during their Tuesday meeting. The .25-acre property is currently home to The Alcove, an apartment complex with efficiency-style units primarily targeted toward UVa students.
According to plans, the 21-unit, two-story apartment building would be converted into the hotel and two additional stories would be constructed.
“The building is over 40 years old and is in need of repair, pretty much from top to bottom,” said Valerie Long, a local lawyer who spoke on behalf of University Limited Partnership, which owns the property.
If the commission’s recommendation is approved by the City Council, conditions include the requirement for 24-hour on-site management. There would also only be three on-site parking spaces, with the remaining patrons parking in a garage off Wertland Street.
“They have a lot of space,” Long said of the Wertland garage.
Apart from the hotel’s rooms, city planner Ebony Walden said the top floor would consist of a gathering space and penthouse.
Hotel room rates have not yet been finalized, but Long said they would be on the “higher end” if the current vision for the project sticks. But some commissioners expressed concern about the loss of housing, especially the push of student housing farther away from the university.
With the construction of the hotel, all residents of the current apartment complex’s 21 units would be displaced.
“Years ago that was a problem,” Commissioner Dan Rosensweig said of housing availability.
Walden said housing immediately adjacent to the area was about 95 percent full, but, “There are other housing areas south of the city and fairly close to the borders that have presumably higher vacancy rates.”
Commissioner Kurt Keesecker, who was the only one to not recommend approval of the special-use permit, also was concerned that getting rid of the apartments would lower the number of affordable units in the city. According to the Blue Ridge Apartment Council, rents for the Alcove’s apartments range from $650 to $795 per month.
But Commissioner Mike Osteen said there were much more affordable places in town, especially when students live in apartments with roommates.
“I’m not sure that I see the loss,” he said.
Other hotels in that part of the city include the Red Roof Inn, the Courtyard by Marriott and the Hampton Inn & Suites. Local architect Bill Atwood and resident John Bartelt are also working to build a nine-story extended-stay hotel on West Main Street that would mostly cater to those visiting patients at the UVa Medical Center.
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