Parking–Not Little Pete’s–Is Biggest Issue at Hudson Hotel Meeting
The public meeting regarding the proposed Hudson Hotel at 17th and Chancellor Street was well attended last night. Concerned citizens packed a room at the nearby 10th Presbyterian Church to hear more from the development team as well as air out some of their issues with the project.
Topics like parking, traffic patterns and congestion, sky plane and corrective legislative zoning were all hot topics for those in attendance. You know what two words were not mentioned once during the meeting?
Little Pete’s.
Parking is always a a main sticking point. Nearby residents, particularly at the Lanesborough, use the garage above Little Pete’s as their everyday space and they view it as a “significant loss” even if it is “dirty,” as one resident put it. The building is currently zoned CMX-4, which doesn’t require any parking to be included in the plans. Dave Schultz of DAS Architects, mentioned there will be 173 spaces in an underground parking garage, but there was no mention as to whether they will be available to the public. The development team said that the majority of the spaces in the garage are used by non-residents (office workers) and will have to adapt to the change, possibly by taking public transit, biking or even parking further away at another lot.
The issue of pedestrian access during the construction cycle was also addressed. Stephen Pouppirt, President of Clemens Construction, mentioned pedestrian safety and traffic was one of their biggest concerns. Scaffolding could be erected to allow sidewalk access on 17th Street, but only if it’s deemed safe. If not, the sidewalk will be closed and pedestrians will have to cross the street. “I get as frustrated as anybody else having to cross the street,” said Pouppirt.
As for a timeline for the project, Carol Horne Penn, Deputy Director – Community Legal Services with Clemens Construction, said that it would take four months to demo the property and the total construction cycle could take 18 to 24 months. Construction will largely occur during the business day and Clemens Construction will monitor the vibrations throughout the process.
The project now has to go before the Civic Design Review, which will allow for even more public comments on the design side of things.
