Neighbors concerned about another proposed Huntersville hotel
HUNTERSVILLE (QUEEN CITY NEWS) — Huntersville neighbors are upset over plans to build a hotel near their neighborhood near Birkdale Village.
People living in Stratford Forest and the Landings at Northcross Apartments spoke out this week against the proposed Fairfield Inn & Suites from the Hotel Ventures of Huntersville, LLC.
It’s one thing to have a hotel in a business park, but neighbors say it’s quite another thing to have a hotel as their next-door neighbor.
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“The people staying there, they can watch my children play, they can watch our routine, take pictures and just walk across the parking lot into my neighborhood and snatch my children,” said Morgan Cooley, a neighbor who spoke at the Huntersville town board meeting Monday night.
As part of the public hearing, the hotel developers presented their plan for a three-story, 121-room hotel on Northpointe Executive Park Drive off Sam Furr Road in a public hearing for a rezoning of the property.
Neighbors are adamant in their opposition to the hotel, which is under the Marriott umbrella. The other buildings in the Birkdale Point business park are for professional offices.
“The construction of a hotel would lead to increased traffic, noise pollution, and undoubtedly change the character of our neighborhood,” said Alexis Lopez.
There are single-family homes right next door to the proposed 10-acre site and apartments across the street.
Huntersville town staff members are asking hotel developers to make changes to their plans. Those include moving the structure away from the Stratford Forest homes, and decreasing the amount of floors from four to three.
Neighbors are concerned that the design of the hotel means people staying on the third floor could look into neighbors’ homes.
“We are very concerned with this because of safety; we don’t think we need another hotel,” said Edward Spanske, a neighbor.
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Town staff members told the audience that Huntersville currently has 13 hotels, with three more approved but not yet built.
Neighbors say putting a hotel next to so many homes could be dangerous. But the police chief said those businesses didn’t have elevated crime levels around town.
“I have seen firsthand how hotels can become hubs for criminal activity including drug trafficking and prostitution,” said Elizabeth Lopez, another neighbor.
Plans to build a hotel at Birkdale Village were shot down last year. Hotel developers have two new deadlines to make revisions: the first is to the planning board by June 25 and the second to the town board by July 16.
Hotel Ventures owner Hitesh Patel also operates SpringHill Suites on Reese Blvd.
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