Germantown aldermen approve Thornwood’s second hotel
Thornwood Development will soon begin building its second hotel.
The Germantown Board of Mayor and Aldermen approved final site plans Monday for the sixth phase of Thornwood Planned Development, a 17-acre mixed-use project. Alderman Mary Anne Gibson was absent but the other four aldermen voted in favor of the project.
Developer Spence Ray answered questions for aldermen Scott Sanders and Brian Ueleke regarding height and current status of the Hampton Inn & Suites, Thornwood’s first and currently operational hotel.
Ray said Hampton Inn is doing “phenomenal” and usually has more than 80% of the hotel occupied on most nights. He said there were about 11 sold out nights in August.
Ray expects the second hotel to do as well as Hampton Inn.
The 114-room Marriott-towneplace Suites will rise at the northeast corner of Neshoba and Germantown Road and include 5,000-squarefeet of commercial space on the first floor.
The 5-story hotel along with a 63-space parking garage and a 49space surface lot will cover 1.2 acres and Ray plans to break ground in the fall.
The approval comes about a week after the Germantown Planning Commission recommended the seventh phase of Thornwood — additional residential units and retail space.
The next to last of the eight phases will include an additional 54 apartments in a five-story building in addition to the current 274 units at the Residences at Thornwood.
The new apartments will on average be 1,757 square feet, larger than the units at the Residences, which is currently at 100% capacity.
The seventh phase site plans still needs aldermen approval before moving forward with construction. Ray expects to bring the eighth phase before the planning commission in the fall.
The Germantown Beer Board also approved Monday an on-premise sale and consumption permit for Hampton Inn.
One resident addressed the board against the second hotel and said it would bring more crime to the area.
The board also heard from 12 residents passionately disagreeing with the Shelby County Heath Department’s mask mandate in schools and Germantown’s short-lived COVID-19 vaccine requirement for city employees.