Rezoning unanimously approved
Chandler City Council members Tuesday evening took the final action they needed to help land a new hotel in the city limits.
Council members voted unanimously to rezone property at 621 N. McKinley from R-1, single family residential, to C-2, General Commercial with the proposed use a hotel.
Councilwoman Robin Crouch made the motion seconded by Councilman Virgil Wilson to rezone the property. Joining them in approval were Mayor Gene Imel and Councilwoman Marilyn Young. Vice Mayor Rick Evans was not present.
City Manager Jason Orr advised the Council members that the Chandler Planning Commission on Monday of this week voted unanimously to recommend the property be rezoned.
Orr said there was only one concern addressed during the Planning Commission meeting and that was drainage. He had said prior to the meeting that a citizen asked that an eye be kept on the water drainage.
He said that issue “will all be reviewed by the city’s engineers.”
Orr also mentioned the city has been pursuing the hotel for around a year or so. Even before he became city manager last May.
He said Tuesday evening during the meeting, “The hotel chain hasn’t been made public yet, but should be in a week or two.”
Orr said the city purchased the two-acre site for $300,000.
He mentioned that the hotel is expected to have 75 to 80 rooms, will have an indoor pool and is estimated to employ six full time people.
The developer who has been working on the project wasn’t in attendance at Tuesday evening’s meeting. Orr said he had already attended a couple of Council meetings and he didn’t think it would be necessary for him to be there.
Asked prior to the meeting about what was the next step, Orr replied, “The last thing the developer has to do is get the final site approval from the hotel chain.”
The city manager indicated he expects that happen in the next week or two.
“After that,” Orr noted, “they can start turning dirt. They have said that they estimate construction to take 18 months two years if everything goes as planned.”