A company planning an eight-story downtown Drury Plaza Hotel sought a deferral for the proposal after the project drew design questions from a Chattanooga zoning panel.
Charles Drury of Drury Hotels requested and was granted the deferral Thursday to enable the Missouri-based lodging business to rework aspects of the design of the proposed 196-room hotel planned for Market and Third streets.
“We’ll follow up,” he said at the meeting.
(READ MORE: Drury Plaza Hotel planned)
Drury declined comment after the meeting of the city’s downtown zoning committee.
Downtown Chattanooga continues to see an array of new and proposed hotels. Three are under construction, an Embassy Suites, a Caption by Hyatt, and a Hilton product, with several more in the pipeline.
Drury Hotels officials and the committee spent about 30 minutes in discussion about a hotel sign and the appearance of some of the proposed building’s exterior walls.
During the meeting, Drury tried to show the panel what it has done at a hotel in downtown Nashville and how a sign there would be similar to one proposed at the Chattanooga lodging site.
Jim Williamson, the panel’s chair, said Chattanooga has its own codes.
“We’ve got a little bit of consensus and a little bit of heartburn,” he said about the project.
Panel member David Hudson said at the meeting the committee isn’t trying to stop the hotel that’s slated for the former Sportsbarn fitness club site bounded by Market, Third and Broad streets.
“We want the development,” he said. “You have one of the most prominent sites in Chattanooga. We want it done right.”
Helen Burns Sharp, representing the Downtown Owners Collective, said at the meeting the community met earlier with Drury officials and was “basically in support.”
“It will be a nice addition,” she said, adding she appreciated the questions brought by the panel.
Thomas Palmer, a committee member, said trying to keep more people downtown is “awesome.”
But he said at the meeting the intent of the city code is not to have a suburban hotel built “on an ‘A’ street downtown,” such as Broad.
Late last year, Drury opened its first Chattanooga hotel on Shallowford Road near Hamilton Place mall. That eight-story, 210-room hotel was built because the company was attracted by Chattanooga’s growth, an official said.
(READ MORE: Drury enters Chattanooga market)
In 2023, Drury Hotels purchased the 301 Market St. site where the Sportsbarn had operated in addition to a parking garage across Market.
Drury said the proposed downtown hotel’s main entrance would be at Market and Third with self-parking nearby. He said Drury is evaluating valet parking.
Drury Hotels is a private, family-owned and operated company, and 2023 marked its 50th year. It runs more than 150 hotels in 26 states.
The Sportsbarn had operated at the corner of Market and Third streets since 1979. The club was founded by a group led by the late Alex Guerry, who was chief executive of over-the-counter medicine manufacturer Chattem in Chattanooga.
Contact Mike Pare at mpare@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6318.