As the old Holiday Inn near Sixth and Fillmore streets prepares to close, a new Holiday Inn Express near the State Capitol at Tenth Avenue and Van Buren Street is now one step closer to receiving rezoning approval.
The project was approved Thursday by the Legislative Governmental Mall Commission, an interim committee established to develop and maintain the development of the Capitol Mall area.
Nick Wood, attorney at Snell & Wilmer, attended the senate meeting on behalf of Grand Capitol LLC, the developer heading the proposed project.
He said the firm filed a zoning application for the Holiday Inn Express in mid-September of this year.
The project cannot receive rezoning approval until February of next year, when it is presented before city council. Before this final step, the project must undergo a public meeting set for the end of the year, as well as a planning commission meeting in January, according to Wood.
“We have formal meetings for everyone whose property is within 600 feet of the building,” Wood said.
He said that from speaking with members of the community near the site of the project, many feel in desperate need of a hotel in that area.
“You don’t have a lot of options close to the capitol,” Wood said. “It’s an investment in the community.”
The Holiday Inn Express project was earlier presented at an informational meeting for the Central City Village Planning Committee in November, where some community members voiced concerns over the project such as its proposed 4-story height and disconnected parking.
Despite these concerns, Central City Village Planning Committee member Sean Sweat said he sees more value in working with the developers to alter the proposed design to address community concerns, rather than attempting to block the project altogether.
“If it gets rezoned, we need to make sure the rezoning is appropriate for being so close to a neighborhood park and a future light rail station,” Sweat said.
He said a project such as the Holiday Inn Express typically has a better chance of passing through City Council if it has been approved by both the Capitol Mall Commission and the Central City Village Planning Committee.
With the Capitol Mall Commission giving the project the go ahead, the focus will now be on appeasing community concerns in order to gain approval from the Central City Village Planning Committee.
Contact the reporter at brianna.bradley@asu.edu.
