Hotel construction
About a dozen hotels, including about half that number downtown, are proposed or recently completed in the Chattanooga area.
A 21-room hotel is proposed for the site of a longtime North Shore restaurant building next to the Walnut Street Bridge, though some people have concerns about its potential impact on the area.
A developer is proposing to put the hotel at 202 Frazier Ave., where the former Northside Lunch eatery operated for many years.
It would rise four stories from Frazier and five from the rear due to the slope of the lot, according to an application for a form-based code height variance filed by Chattanooga architect Thomas Palmer of Cogent Studio.
The 92-year-old restaurant building has been vacant several years. The asking price for the property by the current owner is about $700,000, said Kevin Boehm, managing partner of the real estate group that owns the building and the quarter-acre parcel.
Boehm said the property is under contract to the developer, who he wouldn't name.
The vacant Northside Lunch building near the Walnut Street Bridge could make way for a 21-room hotel if plans are approved by the city. / Staff photo by Mike Pare
Rendering by Cogent Studio / A proposal hotel at 202 Frazier Ave. would rise four stories above North Shore road.Boehm said he's not in the hotel business and wouldn't speak to the proposal. But, he said, the site "could be great" for a lot of uses.
"I'm excited to get any development in there that would be good for the area," Boehm said, adding he's hopeful the city's form based code committee gives the project a green light. The panel was to hear the proposal this week, but it was shifted to November's meeting, according to the city.
The variance application asks for approval to build four floors above Frazier instead of the three which are currently allowed.
Beth Van Deusen, of the nearby Baker Hilltop Neighborhood Association, said she'd like to know more about the project, but the addition of another story in the proposed building is a concern.
"I don't know that the hotel part bothers me," she said, rather it's adding the extra height. "I'm reserving judgment."
David Sherrill, manager of the Brewhaus pub at 224 Frazier, said a hotel could boost business. However, he said, the Walnut Street Bridge needs to be considered.
"If it's not built right, it could put a damper on the walking bridge," he said. "It sounds great if they take into consideration the walking bridge."
Parking for patrons would be off the site, according to the hotel application. It's not known when construction would begin if the variance is approved.
Boehm said another proposed development at the site had earlier fallen through so the real estate group decided to sell the property.
"There has been tons of interest," he said, citing its location in the middle of busy Frazier Avenue.
According to the Hamilton County Assessor of Property, the building was bought in September 2015 for $485,000. The old building's condition has been criticized in the past.
The location sits just north of another building adjacent to the bridge where a developer had planned to put an 80-room hotel next to Coolidge Park more than a decade ago.
However, after that hotel plan drew protests, developer Bill Young swapped that site with the city for another tract at Manufacturers Road and Cherokee Boulevard. Young later sold that lot to Vision Hospitality Group, which is building new apartments.
Contact Mike Pare at mpare@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6318.