Howard Perry and Walston Realty, who were planning to develop 1609 E. Franklin Street, told the Town of Chapel Hill they are no longer going to build the six-story hotel they had originally planned.
Don Walston, founder and executive chairman, announced his decision in a public hearing held by the town council Wednesday night.
“I think in terms of trying to get the T’s crossed and the I’s dotted, on the other side we’ve got too many people that object to it and I understand their position,” he said.
Instead of building the hotel on the property, Walston will move forward with plans to build a two story office complex.
He was originally granted a special use permit in 2009 to build the complex, but later proposed to build a 96-room hotel instead.
Walston talked about why he wanted to build the hotel.
“The reason for our change was we felt financially we had to go in a different direction,” he said. “We also felt that Chapel Hill has a need for additional beds.”
In order to move forward with building the hotel, Walston needed the town to rezone the property from community commercial to mixed use-village.
After saying he thought he was unlikely to get the rezoning, Walston reverted back to the original special use permit, which allows him to build the office complex without rezoning.
“It seems like the SUP that was approved in 2009, I don’t recall any major community dissension on that,” said councilwoman Nancy Oates
The council will again take public comment on the SUP on February 22.
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