Rendering of proposed Holiday Inn Select on Elliston Place
The Metro Board of Zoning Appeals on Thursday rejected a request for a parking variance related to a hotel proposed for Elliston Place. The decision came after more than 2,500 citizens opposing the planned project submitted signed letters to the city.
The hotel would replace the beloved Louise Douglas Apartments on Elliston Place within the Rock Block. A fall start had been eyed but it is unclear how the vote might impact that start date.
Elliston Hospitality LLC, which is affiliated with Dickson-based hotel development company JV Hospitality, owns the property, having acquired it for $6.5 million in July, according to Metro records. The LLC still intends to redevelop the site.
"While we are disappointed in the decision from the Board of Zoning Appeals, we respect [the board's right to make] the decision," Jay Patel, Elliston Hospitality managing partner, says in an email. "While we sought for a reduction simply to make a more efficient use of the site, we continue to be excited about the project and what we will offer the Elliston Place neighborhood.”
To be designed by Nashville-based Southeast Venture, the hotel building will house a Holiday Inn Express offering 168 rooms on eight floors.
The variance would have allowed all hotel guests and employees to park within the future building’s parking garage, the development team contends. In contrast, foes of the project contend a variance approval would allow the development to more effectively move forward (and result in demolition of the trio of old-school buildings).
Located across West End Avenue from Vanderbilt University, the property is already zoned to allow for hotel use. The Louise Douglas Apartments — with addresses of 2221 Elliston Place, 114 Louise Ave. and 118 Louise Ave. — would be razed to accommodate the hotel building.
Of note, the looming loss of the three old-school masonry apartment houses has generated major pushback from citizens who oppose the project, including the Metro Historical Commission and grassroots organization Save the Rock Block.
The opposition is concerned about the changing nature of the Rock Block. The Gold Rush, a beloved watering hole that had accommodated rockers and alternative types since the 1970s, closed in early 2019. Live music venues Exit/In (featured this week in the Scene's cover story) and The End remain.
Tim Walker, the Historical Commission's executive director, wrote the BZA that his commission would be supportive of any parking variance “that ensures the retention of the three historic buildings.”
Metro Councilman Brandon Taylor, in whose District 21 the property sits, also opposed the approval of the variance.
On an adjacent site, Giarratana LLC is seeking to build Rock Block Flats. Southeast Venture has designed that building, too.
This post originally appeared at our sister publication Nashville Post.
