Development group Lodge of Chattanooga, including local attorney John Anderson, is attempting to rezone property where a Budgetel extended stay hotel is located in East Ridge, with plans to convert the property into apartments.
Some city officials feel the developer’s plans are insufficient, while others say any change to the property is preferable to the continued operation of the low-rent hotel where crime and panhandling have been persistent problems.
The property, at 1410 Mack Smith Road, is now zoned commercial and bordered by multifamily residential property on the west, commercial property on the south and I-75 on the north and east.
Amish Patel, operations director of the Budgetel Inn and Suites and part of the Lodge of Chattanooga ownership group, told the East Ridge Planning Commission that the group spent two years and “a good amount of funds” to renovate the former Superior Creek Lodge and get it in compliance with East Ridge building codes after purchasing the property in January 2016.
Co-owner Harry Patel told the planning commission that the name of the proposed apartment complex would be Vivo Living, which is also the name of the company the property owners are partnering with to convert the hotel rooms into studio apartments. The company has converted more than 20 hotels to “studio luxury apartments,” he said.