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An aerial view of AT&T field and Downtown Chattanooga looking East.Staff photo by Dan Henry/Chattanooga Times Free Press
A Chattanooga developer has temporarily withdrawn a request to rezone a tract for a new hotel near the south end of the Walnut Street Bridge downtown.
“It’s been withdrawn for the moment,” said Andrew Hibbard of Vision Hospitality. “We’re weighing our options.”
Hibbard wouldn’t say why, but the action comes in the wake of concerns expressed by a downtown homeowners group. Documents filed with the city had indicated a Fairfield Inn by Marriott was eyed for the site.
Helen Burns Sharp, a representative for the Downtown Owners Collective, said DOC went on record as opposing the zoning change. She cited concerns including opening up the site to general commercial zoning and no neighborhood meeting.
She said she later talked with Mitch Patel, CEO of Vision Hospitality, who told her that his company withdrew the zoning change application and that it will take several months to explore the concept of a high end boutique hotel that would tie in with the Bluff View Art District.
See full story in Wednesday’s Times Free Press.
Mike Pare, the deputy Business editor at the Chattanooga Times Free Press, has worked at the paper for 27 years. In addition to editing, Mike also writes Business stories and covers Volkswagen, economic development and manufacturing in Chattanooga and the surrounding area. In the past he also has covered higher education. Mike, a native of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., received a bachelor’s degree in communications from Florida Atlantic University. he worked at the Rome News-Tribune before ...
