Town Approves Water Request For New Hotel A tract on N.C. 105 will soon house a full-service hotel. Boone’s only full-service hotel, the Quality Inn, (seen in the background at upper left) was sold to Appalachian State University for use as a dormitory. Photo by Marie Freeman By Frank Ruggiero When the Quality Inn Appalachian Conference Center was sold to Appalachian State University, Boone lost its one full-service hotel. Another is on its way after the Boone Town Council granted water service for a new hotel on N.C. 105, next to Peabody’s Wine and Beer Merchants. Ashok Patel, representing Jamus FLP No. 3, appeared before the council at last Thursday’s regular meeting to request 8,418 gallons of water per day. Jamus, he said, leased the 3.2 acre parcel from Catacorner Investments to develop a 101-unit, full-service hotel, featuring a restaurant. In the last six years, Patel has helped develop four motels in Boone. His latest venture will not be complete until fall 2010, and he said the hotel will not need water until that time. Patel said he and his business partners have been discussing the site with several franchisers, and that they were leaning towards a Marriott Courtyard or a new prototype from Holiday Inn. “We project another 100 rooms will not create an overbuild situation in Boone,” he said, adding rooms have only increased by 28 percent over the past 21 years, as some hotels have closed and others have replaced them. This new venture will create 25 to 35 new jobs in Boone, and Patel said each dollar spent in Boone is spent 17 times over before it leaves the county. The site is zoned B-3 (general business), though the rear portion is R-1 (single family residential) and borders Wintergreen Lane. Patel and company wish to avoid retaining walls, he said, but if they are required to install walls by building code, they’ll do so without requesting waivers. There will be only two accesses to the property from N.C. 105, he continued. Once the water allotment is granted, Jamus will begin the process of applying for B3C (conditional) zoning, and Patel said he’d meet with neighbors on Wintergreen Lane and Flowers Drive and ask for their input. Once the B3C status is granted, Jamus will pursue designs and building permits. Patel said the road cut through the back of the property connecting to Wintergreen Lane will be closed and landscaped to restore the buffer. Patel noted that he owns two houses on Wintergreen Lane as well. Council member Lynne Mason complimented Patel on his initiative to talk with neighbors on the matter, and Patel said he made certain the residents saw the water and sewer request before he came before the council. Council member Bunk Spann asked if Patel and company would have flexibility when it comes to hotel design, and Patel said the franchises allow for scalable models from 100 guest rooms and up by changing guest floors. “When you have a hotel with a full-service restaurant, the restaurant tends not to make as much money as the hotel does, so you need enough rooms to finance both,” he said. “I can’t go much lower than 100 rooms.” Spann asked Patel what concerns he’d heard from the residents of Wintergreen Lane and Flowers Drive. One of the resident’s concern was the road that cut through the back of the property to Wintergreen Lane, Patel said, as she can now see through the lot to the Hampton Inn on N.C. 105. He said he told her they’d remedy the situation with a 20-foot section of trees, but it would have to wait until Jamus acquired the B3C classification. Spann recalled when residents of Wintergreen Lane visited the council after Catacorner Investments first requested a zoning change. One of their concerns was the height of a building on the property, such as a hotel. “All their primary concerns will be addressed,” Patel said. “But I just can’t hide a five-story building.” He said the building would be brought down to road level and hidden as much as possible. Patel estimated he would apply for the B3C within 90 days for the hotel to open in fall 2010. “I think when we looked at this opportunity before, we thought that if done properly, if done in a way compatible with a neighborhood, that a hotel was one of the more desirable projects on that piece of property,” Spann said. “It sounds like Mr. Patel is willing to work with the neighbors in a way everyone might be okay with.” Council member Rennie Brantz moved to approve the request, and Spann seconded. Brantz clarified the allocation should be spread over two years, and the motion carried unanimously.