A Greenville County committee voted to send back to the Planning Commission a local hotelier’s plans to build a 100,000-square-foot indoor storage facility near Pelham Road on the county’s eastside.
At their Feb. 6 meeting, Planning and Development Committee members said they were sending back a rezoning request on behalf of JHM Hotels with new changes.
The facility, 1408 Boiling Springs Road, concerns some residents, who fear an adverse traffic impact.
The applicant is listed on county records as Chris Watson of Seamon Whiteside, a civil engineering firm, for JHM Hotels. Watson couldn’t be reached for comment, but county records show a zoning request from FRD, or flexible review district, to FRD-MC, or major change.
Jay Burnett, vice president of real estate for Greenville-based JHM Hotels, told committee members that JHM Hotels is making changes in response to staff recommendations, including limiting the elevations to 40 feet and 23 feet. In addition, JHM Hotels will soften the color scheme to match the area’s residential character and it could be adjusted further, Burnett said. Traffic use should be low, Burnett said.
Any changes will be reflected in the final development plan drawings and reviewed by staff members and the Planning Commission, county officials said.
“We’re fine with that,” Burnett told committee members.
Staff members will revise their recommendation based on changed drawings and that recommendation will be submitted to the Planning Commission, county officials said.
The commission will send a new recommendation to the committee. Commission members had recommended the project be denied.
The 2.7-acre site, just north of the Pelham and Boiling Springs roads intersection, contains a single-family residence and vacant wooded land. Surrounding property has townhomes, a retirement home, church, and gas station.
The rezoning request is part of a previously approved flexible review district, according to county officials.
Planning staff said the self-storage building is an appropriate use for the site and wouldn’t be expected to generate heavy traffic. But while the use is appropriate, staff members said the size, scale, and architectural elements “are out of character” with surrounding buildings.
They recommended the project’s approval, with the conditions that the building height be reduced to 40 feet at the highest point and 23 feet on the lowest elevation.
Staff members also said the overall building scale should be reduced through the use of architectural design elements. In addition, softer color tones and materials should be used to match the area’s residential character, the staff members said.
As initially proposed, the climate-controlled self-storage building was to be no more than 45 feet high, with a five-foot sidewalk along Boiling Springs Road. The structure would consist of brick, stone, architectural metal panels and aluminum, county officials said.
It also would have a flat roof with commercial-grade aluminum doors and windows, the officials said. The applicant also proposes a five-foot buffer around the perimeter of the parcel and screening consisting of fences, decorative evergreens or hardwoods, the officials said. Proposed lighting would be no more than 16-feet high, the officials said.
Greenville County Council member Rick Roberts, a member of the Planning and Development Committee, said at the committee meeting the proposed project was in a “highly contested area” and he had heard from both sides on the issue. Traffic was the top concern, Roberts said.
Burnett told the Upstate Business Journal the storage project represents a business diversification for JHM Hotels.
JHM, a family-run business, owns and operates 42 national hotels, representing various franchises, with more than 7,000 rooms in six states. Several other properties are under development. Additionally, JHM owns and operates a five-star hotel in Surat, India.
