A North Shore boutique hotel proposed to go next to the Walnut Street Bridge won approval from a city panel Thursday to add a fourth floor despite opposition from a number of neighbors.
Developer Bob Cox said plans are to begin work on the Frazier Avenue building early next year after his architect tweaks the project so the 21-room hotel works at a height limitation of 45 feet rather than an ideal of 50 feet.
"I think it was a fair decision," Cox said after the city's Form-based Code Committee took about an hour to hear the request to add the fourth floor to the hotel.
The hotel will be built on the site of the former Northside Lunch eatery.
The proposed boutique hotel at 202 Frazier Ave. near the Walnut Street Bridge was approved to build up to four stories.Architect Thomas Palmer of Cogent Studio said he'll review the hotel plan, and he could come back before the panel to seek another variance permitting the first floor to go from the mandated 15 feet to 13 feet.
Otherwise, he said, the estimated $3 million hotel, which would be the only one on the North Shore, won't need any further approvals to go ahead.
But the decision to add a fourth floor at the 202 Frazier location drew fire from opponents.
Bob Drake, who lives in the area, said the taller building will destroy views of the North Shore. He also expects other building owners will want to add height to their structures.
"It will be copied all the way down the street," Drake said. "It's a very short-sighted decision. This is a very historic area."
Garnet Chapin, who heads a neighborhood association in the area, said the proposed height was "a cause of concern" of many people at an earlier meeting of the group.
"It's an attractive design but there are a lot of concerns of the height," he said.
Beth Van Deusen, who also lives in the area, said she opposed the fourth level.
"When you go down this slippery slope you might as well rezone the entire street," she said.
However, Randall Addison, who owns property in the area, said he supports the hotel project "wholeheartedly."
Most people at a neighborhood meeting he attended liked the project, he said.
Committee member Gabe Thomas, who offered the motion to add the fourth story, said that boosting the height to 45 feet was "a reasonable request."
"It's a tough site," he said about the quarter-acre parcel where other projects had been proposed but never developed.
Heidi Hefferlin, another panel member, agreed the tract is "a difficult site to deal with." Now, she said, a developer was coming with "a good plan."
"That's the only reason I'm considering it," Hefferlin said.
John Straussberger, who heads the panel, said other building owners or developers are likely to want to increase their building heights.
"The next guy to come will want 48 (feet) and 51 (feet)," he said.
But Palmer, the project architect, said he has looked at other uses for the Northside Lunch property such as a restaurant, or an eatery and housing above it.
"It's super crazy challenging to make a business work in this site," he said. "This feels like the right use for this site."
The hotel could open within 10 months after construction begins, Cox said. The drop-off area to the hotel will be in the rear off River Street, where there will be five levels.
Palmer said the hotel will offer off-site parking. He said there have been talks with CARTA about potentially using its garage across Frazier Avenue.
Contact Mike Pare at mpare@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6318.