Update on Southern Village Hotel Proposal from D.R. Bryan

At the January 21 Chapel Hill Town Council meeting, I presented a concept plan for a hotel in the Village Center, to be located on the central parking lot. Several citizens spoke on the project, some opposing and some favoring. The Parking Lot Committee, a group appointed by the Southern Village Homeowners Association, made a detailed presentation of the results of the survey they administered to Southern Village residents. Council Members made comments on height and scale, aesthetics, parking and economic benefits.

The entire Council meeting can be viewed on the town's website. Go to www.townofchapelhill.org. On the home page, go to Government, then Council Meeting Videos, then click on January 21. The Southern Village item came up about midway through the meeting. To skip the previous items, move the advance button at the top of the video screen.

Next Steps:
We are taking into account the Council Members' and citizens comments as we continue to do research on this proposal and explore different design ideas. We sent a letter to the Parking Lot Committee, asking them to be more specific about suggestions and concerns raised in their presentation, and asking them for a copy of the survey results. We think our proposal will benefit from a close analysis of that data. A copy of the letter is posted below.



January 29, 2009
To: Members of the Southern Village HOA Parking Lot Committee:
Subject: Southern Village Hotel Proposal
Thank you all for the time and effort you have devoted to gathering information and opinion on the concept of a hotel for our Village Center. We look forward to working with you in the coming weeks, as Council Member Strom suggested, to address neighbors’ concerns and craft a viable proposal for the Council and the general public to consider.
To this end, we need to ask you for more specific information in a number of areas – the survey, height and scale, safety and specific concerns about a hotel as a use in this location. We also think we need more discussion about the economics of the Village Center.
The survey. It would be helpful if you would send us a copy of the raw data from the neighborhood survey. Seeing the results will help us evaluate properly the opinions of the people who took the time to complete the survey. We also think that the survey may give us some insights that will help us market the Village Center to the neighborhood more effectively. That would be a positive outcome for all.
Height and scale. Building height has been mentioned several times. It would be help us to know what height you think is acceptable for a building on the central parking lot. The height of the Weaver Street Building? One story higher than existing buildings? Four stories? Some particular relation to Christ Church? Any specific concerns about scale and form would also be helpful to us. For example, would a lower building covering the entire lot be more acceptable than the design we have shown, which leaves a significant amount of parking open? As we’ve said many times, we welcome design suggestions.
Safety. Deidre Haj and others have mentioned concerns about safety, but we do not know what facts or studies give rise to those concerns. Any issues about traffic and pedestrian safety are thoroughly addressed through the town’s application and review process. One of the four key findings in the special use permit process includes safety. As for personal safety, we think that a hotel would enhance safety in the Village Center for several simple reasons. Hotels have electronic security systems, security staff and eyes on the street during the evening hours. Safety is critical to a hotel’s reputation and desirability.
Hotel as a use. Specifically, what do committee members like and not like about a hotel as a use in the Village Center? Cindy Selkirk proposed the idea of a hotel at the corner of 15-501 and Market Street, instead of on the parking lot. Would the committee support a hotel in that location? If so, we would be willing to talk with the town and the church to see whether a hotel and related parking would fit there and whether it could be financially viable.
Economics of the Village Center. Some committee members seem to question our assertion that our local restaurants and businesses need more dollars coming into our commercial area. We would very much appreciate learning why those members think there is not an economic challenge in our midst. Some of our non-profit tenants, such as Christ Church, Market Street Books and IPAS, decided to remain neutral on the hotel issue. But virtually all of our businesses who attempt to make a profit or at least pay themselves a salary in their locally owned businesses have signed a petition in support of this proposal. We are very open to more dialogue with the committee on this, perhaps including some of our business owners. This is the critically important issue.
We look forward to receiving your responses to these questions and encourage you to be as specific as you can be. We would also like to have a copy of Deidre’s power point, so that we can begin thinking of ways address problems and seek compromise.
Thanks you again for your time and dedication to Southern Village.

DR Bryan

Updated Information for the Community Meeting Tonight

On January 21, we will receive the Town Council’s comments on our proposal for a new hotel, or a hotel with a floor of residential condominiums. We will show sketches (in previous post below as well as aerial) of a four-story building of up to 120,000 square feet, with structured parking and a small amount of street-front retail space.

Why Consider a Hotel for the Village Center?
Benefit to Neighbors
All successful efforts to strengthen our micro-economy here in the Village Center carry benefits to Southern Village homeowners. A vibrant Village Center helps keep housing values strong. Local Realtors report that homebuyers considering Southern Village place a high value on being able to walk to restaurants, shops and services. A hotel would broaden the array of local conveniences, by providing a place for guests to stay and for local families to have reunions, weddings and other celebrations.

Benefits to Merchants and Tenants
This proposal is an economic development initiative. Its goal is to make the existing businesses and restaurants on Market Street even more economically sustainable. Locally owned retail stores today compete with the convenience of big box stores and the ease of internet shopping.

A hotel would be an excellent third anchor to complement Weaver Street Market and The Lumina. The Chapel Hill/Orange County Visitors Bureau reports that in 2008, a person who stayed overnight in a Chapel Hill hotel spent almost $300 per day for housing, food, gifts and incidentals. A hotel would bring business to our retailers and restaurants, and strengthen the long-term economic vitality of the Village Center.

Market Street business owners and restaurateurs support a new hotel in the Village Center.

Benefits to the Chapel Hill Community
A hotel would have a beneficial fiscal impact, adding to the non-residential tax base in an area where municipal services are already provided. It would also contribute occupancy tax revenues to our local governments. The location is an excellent fit for our public transit system, enabling visitors to attend sports events, concerts and UNC conferences by using Chapel Hill Transit.

Concerns We Have Heard | Our Response

Open Space
The Village Green and stage area will remain open space, available for neighborhood activities and public events.

Financial Viability | Our Sense of Responsibility
This hotel would be developed by the same team that has been working on Southern Village since 1993 and created the Southern Village neighborhood, the Village Green, and the Village Center. We formed creative partnerships to bring in Scroggs Elementary, Weaver Street Market, Christ Church and Chapel Hill Day Care.

Our track record is one of fiscal responsibility. We structured partnerships in a conservative manner with low debt. To create several components of the Southern Village we enjoy today – the apartments, the condominiums, Weaver Street Market, The Lumina – we found partners with demonstrated expertise. In building a hotel, we would partner with persons with expertise in hotel construction and operation. Chapel Hill’s hotel sector has had notable success over the past few years, with occupancy staying in the high 60 to low 70 percentages.

Aesthetics | Our Demonstrated Design Expertise
We have created an aesthetically pleasing, nationally recognized functioning Village Center, following these key design principles:
• Bring buildings to the sidewalk.
• Make the buildings permeable, with windows and doors.
• Hide the parking.
The Village Center will be more aesthetically pleasing if the parking lot is replaced with a building that fits into the fabric of the Center.

Parking
Convenient, well-lighted, on-grade parking will be provided for Market Street businesses.The parking provided on this block will include the current 70 spaces, plus the required number of spaces for a hotel. We have a parking management strategy. With the 300, 400 and 410 Market Street buildings, we have demonstrated that we know how to integrate parking into a mixed-use village so that it is both functional and attractively concealed.

Construction Process
We are committed to minimizing the impacts of construction by using parking management, valet parking, communications strategies through our marketing, signage and website, and the shortest feasible construction period. We welcome all ideas on how this process can be best managed.

Your Thoughts Are Important to Us

The January 12, 2009 community meeting will be our 8th public meeting with Southern Village residents to discuss this proposal and answer questions. We wish to involve neighbors and our local businesses in the planning process. We look forward to seeing you on January 12, and hearing from you any time. Please send emails to drbryan ( at ) mindspring.com, waldorf ( at ) nc.rr.com, and jfugo (at ) montgomerydevelopment.com.

Nov. 17th Chapel Hill Town Council Meeting

Updated drawings that will be presented at the Chapel Hill Town Council meeting Nov. 17, 2008 are now posted here. We will receive concept plan review from the town council.

"The concept plan is a preliminary step toward the preparation of a formal development plan" (from the Chapel Hill Development Ordinance p. 90). This is the beginning of the review process and not the end.

These new drawings depict a four-story hotel with both structured parking and open parking. They are preliminary. We will receive comments from the town council on Monday. We expect to modify this design in response to the council's comments. We also expect to modify the design as we receive suggestions from the Southern Village parking lot committee.

Welcome and Introduction

Welcome to the space where you can find out about the proposal for the Southern Village Center. As updates become available, they will be posted here.

Key elements of our proposal
• Architecturally distinctive hotel with approximately 100 rooms.
• Structured parking underneath the building to serve Market Street stores and the hotel.
• 5,000 square feet of street front retail.
• A “green” building that qualifies for LEED certification for new construction, adhering to high standards of energy conservation.
• Exploration of closing one block of Aberdeen Street, creating a public plaza and perhaps a water feature. This would connect the new building with the existing stage and green area.

Why consider a new Village Center building? There are two reasons: design and economics.

Design
The design goal is to complete the Village Center with an attractive building. The key design principles that we have followed in the Village Center are:
• Bring buildings to the sidewalk.
• Make the street front permeable, with windows, doors and variety.
• Hide the parking.
Surface parking lots, while functional, are not attractive. A new building could achieve all of these design goals and at the same time provide adequate parking.

Parking was a topic of interest at all of the meetings we have held with Southern Village neighbors.
Those comments helped us arrive at these goals for the parking component of this project:
• Retain all the public parking.
• Through a level of structured parking, add the spaces needed to serve a hotel.
• The public parking on the Weaver Street side must be open, inviting, well-lighted and convenient to the Market Street stores.

Economics
We propose this project to support the existing businesses and restaurants on Market Street. We are the primary developer and commercial property owners in the Village Center. We own the buildings at 300, 400, 410, and 700 Market Street, as well as the Lumina Theater. These commercial buildings were completed over a six-year period, 1999-2005.

As developer-owners, we have made extensive efforts to make the Village Center successful. These include establishing the Lumina Theater to create a retail anchor, forming creative partnerships to bring in important establishments such as Weaver Street Market, Christ Church and Chapel Hill Daycare. Over the last five years, we have invested more than $100,000 to bring special events and concerts to the Village Center. We made this investment to support our local merchants and bolster the economic health of the Village Center.

This hotel proposal is another effort to strengthen the economic vitality of the Village Center. We believe a hotel would be an excellent third anchor in the Village Center, to complement our existing anchors (Weaver Street Market and The Lumina Theatre). The Chapel Hill-Carrboro Visitors Bureau reports that in 2008, a person who stays overnight in a Chapel Hill hotel spends an average of $286 per day for housing, food, gifts, and incidentals. We believe a hotel would bring significant business to our retail stores and restaurants, and strengthen the long-term economic vitality of the Village Center.

A thriving Village Center enhances the desirability and value of the homes in Southern Village.