Danville City Council voted Thursday night to approve a request by a Roanoke real estate developer to convert two medical office buildings into a hotel at 990 Main St. and 108 Holbrook St.
As proposed, the property will be converted into a boutique hotel that will contain up to 40 suites.
The developer, Ed Walker, has defined a boutique hotel as a hotel that is locally focused, not a chain establishment, containing high-end furniture and fixtures and lots of landscaping.
The structure and annex on the property total about 30,000 square feet. Built in 1957, it once housed doctor offices. It has been vacant since January, said Walker, who bought the building on Nov. 30.
City Council’s approval included a change in the zoning ordinance and a special use permit to allow the project to move forward.
Several other matters were on the agenda tonight. City Council voted to:
- Grant a special use permit at 401 Bridge St. to allow residential uses in a structure with non-residential use on the first floor. Also, the City Council granted a waiver of density requirements. The applicant, Bridge Street Lofts LLC, is proposing to develop 52 residential units with first-floor commercial space.
- Make appointments and reappointments to several boards and commissions, including the River District Design Commission and the Community Improvement Council.
- Adopt an ordinance to appropriate parking fines collected by the City from July 1 to July 31 to the Danville Public Schools Education Foundation for the purpose of purchasing school supplies for Danville Public Schools students.
Also, a first reading was held on two grants, one of which will be a three-year grant for an opioid prevention program. The Parks and Recreation Department was selected as one of five departments in the nation to develop and implement a youth Mentor program focused on ages 9-12.
A first reading is an introductory step required by City code. This step serves to provide public notice of pending action. The earliest vote that can take place will be the Aug. 20 City Council meeting.
During the work session, the City Council discussed a turn-back agreement with Transco, as well as a proposal to require new City of Danville employees to contribute a portion of their salary to the Employees’ Retirement System each pay period.
Both matters will be placed on the agenda for the next business session of City Council, which will be held on Tuesday, Aug. 20.
In addition, City Council held a closed meeting as allowed by state law to discuss a prospective business or industry related to economic development and to discuss the acquisition of real property or disposition of publicly held real property.