News

Developer proposes boutique hotel on Church Street

By Lightning Reports, Published: July 10, 2020

A Charlotte developer is seeking approval from the city of Hendersonville for a five-story boutique hotel on North Church Street between First and Second avenues behind the Historic Courthouse.

Stephen Barker of Charlotte-based Catellus Group filed an application to rezone the three-quarter acre vacant lot from central business district to a conditional zone that allows the City Council to place conditions on the development.

Called the Court House Inn, the 48,000-square-foot facility would contain 70 guest rooms, 12 suites, a restaurant, bar and meeting space. Barker's application shows 43 on-site parking spaces and 15 street spaces. The property, currently owned by Pulliam Justus Partners LLC and under contract with Catellus, is valued for tax purposes at $713,500. The city Department of Development Assistance has set a neighborhood compatibility meeting for 2 p.m. Thursday, July 16, at the City Operations Center.

"We have been looking at Hendersonville for probably seven or eight years and have tried to find a location," Barker said in an interview. "We had responded to an RFP the city put out for their (Dogwood lot) property about a year ago. We were not selected, which is fine."

Barker and his partners were sold on Hendersonville. They had looked at the Cedars property among other sites. The city is negotiating with a Fletcher hotel developer for a facility just two blocks north and the Shipman family are pursuing plans for a hotel-resort development on the Cedars property at Seventh Avenue West and North Church Street. Barker said his firm's studies identify demand for more rooms.

"We're going to be a little more oriented to the downtown configuration," Barker said. "I think the more the better. There's a lot of work between now and when we would put a shovel in the ground."

The Catellus approach, he said, is to build properties that fit the context of historic towns.

"We're getting ready to build one in Blowing Rock," he said. "It's like buildng a unique hotel from the ground up. You're creating a unique project that fits in the culture and environmental fabric of Hendersonville. There'll be no other hotel like it. It adapts itself to the historic context of the town, tries to blend in and provides a unique experience for guests. That's what we try to do."

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EDITOR'S NOTE: An earlier version of this story confused the Catellus Group with another company, also called Catellus, that specializes in large urban redevelopment projects.