A proposed Caption by Hyatt hotel in Chattanooga's Southside won approval for a fifth level for a rooftop amenity from a city zoning panel, but not without worries from some neighbors.
Hiren Desai, chief executive of Chattanooga-based developer 3H Group Inc., said after the approval Thursday that plans are to move ahead with the city's first Hyatt at 105 W. Main St.
"We were trying to please the neighborhood," he said in an interview following a Chattanooga Form-Based Code Committee meeting.
The developer is slated to build the 123-room hotel near the key Main and Market streets corner in a $30 million project. He said earlier that work could start at the site in the first half of 2023, with the new lodging opening a year to 18 months later.
But some neighbors expressed concerns about the building height and the handling of truck deliveries in the rear of the property.
Elliott Davenport, who lives in the area, said in an email that the proposed hotel would change the character of the neighborhood. He cited the building's height.
Stroud Watson, who lives on the Southside, said at the meeting that he was "very discouraged" to see so few visuals that would put the hotel in context with the neighborhood. He questioned if there was enough information presented to make an informed decision about adding a story.
Another nearby resident at the meeting suggested that a decision by the panel be deferred so the development group could talk more with neighbors.
Still, Adam Kinsey, a principal in the nearby Chattanooga Choo Choo complex, in an email called the proposed Hyatt "a welcome addition."
Alex Grace of Grace Construction Consultants, who represented the developer before the committee, said he objected to deferring a decision.
He said the development group already has had a dialogue with neighbors of the project. Also, Grace said, he believed the panel had set precedents in other cases to make a decision.
Grace told the committee that plans are to put up a four-story building with the fifth level being a rooftop bar area.
"When you activate the roof, it become a story," he said.
Grace said the rooftop amenity will be set back so it can't be seen from the street. The building's "roof plate" will be 52 feet high and 1o feet under what city code permits. The development group said some other buildings in the area are about 50 to 60 feet high.
Panel member Jim Williamson said that renderings submitted with the plan appear to show the building is six levels in parts.
"There's two extra stories in the back," he said. "It's causing confusion." Williamson also said it seems as if there's opposition to the project that hadn't been heard.
Grace said the group will have to comply with city regulations as the project moves ahead.
Beverly Bell, who chairs the committee, said she didn't "see how it's different from other cases. They're allowed to have this story. I don't see grounds to oppose."
The panel approved the request for the extra story, but only if the building is capped at 65 feet.
Desai, whose group holds about two dozen hotel properties, said in an earlier interview that the planned downtown Hyatt will be only the second or third Caption worldwide.
"We'll create something cool," the developer said. "We'll create a whole different experience on the roof."
Also, the hotel will hold more than 100 parking spots within the structure, he said.
Contact Mike Pare at mpare@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6318. Follow him on Twitter @MikePareTFP.