From Staff Reports

HENDERSONVILLE — A developer wanting to build a four-story ECHO Suites Extended Stay by Wyndham hotel behind the Blue Ridge Mall here fielded questions from concerned residents living near the site on Jan. 29 at a neighborhood compatibility meeting at the City Operations Center, the Hendersonville Times-News reported on Feb. 1.

Phillip Cox of Mitch Cox Companies, based in Johnson City, Tenn., and his team heard residents voice their concerns over noise, possible crime, increased traffic and drainage issues.

Cox said he and his staff took an interest in the site after they got a call about a year ago from the Blue Ridge Development Group, which is based in Augusta, Ga., he said. The mall property, where the 1.4-acre site for the hotel is located, is owned by James Hull Jr.

“They were looking to develop some parcels they had at several of their malls. Hendersonville was a market that we were already actively involved in (Universal Lakewood Apartments), so they presented their location for us. We felt like it was a great fit for the market,” Cox said, according to the HT-N.. 

But many of the roughly 25 residents in attendance did not agree, the newspaper noted, pointing out that Jim Thompson said that his home is 401 feet from the site and, if it (the hotel) is built, it will “bring in trouble...

“Putting a real tall building in that area will block our view. And I don’t see how you’re going to get 124 parking places in that area. It is now a drainage problem. Right below you, there’s a lake and, every time it rains, it’s a real problem.”

Thompson did thank the developer for considering his hometown for the project, but asked that it be built elsewhere in the city, the HT-N stated..  

“We are thankful for your interest in Hendersonville, but we hope you’ll look around. There are other places that won’t distrub this many people,” Thompson said, according to the HT-N. “I’m retired. Everyone in here is over 55. We don’t need the anxiousness that will shorten our lives.”

Conversely, Kathy Kanupp, one of the residents who lives on George Street, said she runs five hotels in the Hendersonville area — and she is actually in favor of the project.

“The only concern I have is about safety,” she said, the HT-N reported. “You address there is not a problem with the homeless. Dude, I hear them all night-long in the mall parking lot now. You are backing up basically to my property. Will there be a security fence from the back of the mall up to the Freeman Street area? Will you put a 12-foot privacy fence up or something?”

Cox replied that there would be a retaining wall and also a natural buffer of trees. As far as safety, Cox said all of his hotel properties “run a tight ship” and have staff on duty 24 hours a day, the HT-N noted.

Longtime resident Leah Ryel, who lives near the edge of where the hotel and its parking lot will be built, was quoted by the HT-N as saying, “There must be a restrictive code limiting how close to an existing homeowners’ development a proposed hotel can be located. Surely, it wouldn’t be allowed to abut our backyard.”

Cox said the preliminary site plan does meet those requirements. As other residents kept urging Cox to find another place in the city, he and his team reiterated that they feel that this parcel of property is the best fit for the market. 

“This is the commercial corridor,” Cox asserted. “That piece of property is going to get developed. If it’s not a hotel. it’s going to be something else — I assure you of that. This is your opportunity to work with the developers.”

Then, “City Planner Tyler Morrow noted that City Council is the last step in the conditional rezoning process,” the HT-N reported.