Public meeting tonight on downtown hotel
Ward 2 Coun. Frank Galgay encourages residents to attend
People living on New Gower and Springdale streets in downtown St. John’s are invited to another public meeting to discuss the proposal to allow a 12-storey hotel to be built in the area.
Coun. Frank Galgay told council Monday that after the public meeting tonight at city hall the proposed development by Manga Hotels will go back to city planning for review and then on to council to make a decision to accept it as it is or reject it.
Galgay said the purpose of the meeting is to provide an opportunity for public review and comment on the revised application submitted by Manga to rezone the property from residential downtown to commercial.
The development of the site, if rezoned, would be in two phases — the construction of the 12-storey hotel with 150 guest suites and parking on the eastern side and potentially a residential, high-rise building on the western portion in the future.
However there are no concrete developments outlined for this por- tion of the proposal.
In February council agreed not to proceed with the rezoning and asked staff to meet with the developer to see if the building could be less than 12 storeys. The property is also located in a heritage area with a height restriction of 10 storeys.
The revisions by the developer include moving the building away from the residences by about 12 metres, however the proposed height remains at 12 storeys.
A letter to council outlines that the exterior design of the building has been completely redone, the landscape buffer between the hotel and residential proprieties increased and the parking lot reduced to 112 spaces.
Tonight’s meeting will be held 7 p.m. at St. John’s City Hall in the Foran/Greene Room.