Hearing officer approves Republic Airways hotel expansion, contingent on final department sign-offs

Carmel hearing officer Mike Hallobaugh approved an expansion of the Republic Airways hotel and garage façade on May 29, 2025, granting approval contingent on final sign-offs from several city departments and the Carmel Review Committee (CRC).

The project adds five floors with 85 rooms above a partially wrapped parking garage, includes ground-floor retail space and extends the design vocabulary of the existing hotel and headquarters building at the Republic campus, city staff and the developer said.

The approval matters because the expansion increases on-site lodging and activity at Republic’s campus and advances a larger master plan for a walkable, mixed-use employment center in Carmel. The hearing officer’s conditional approval allows construction details to be finalized while requiring the applicant to resolve outstanding technical reviews and CRC action before final permits are issued.

Developer Chris Boardman, principal and president with Horatio, said the design “matches the materials of the existing hotel” and described an arrangement of retail at street level and five floors of hotel rooms above. “We imagine 2 or 3 retail tenants in the future occupying that portion of the building,” Boardman said during the hearing.

Rachel Kiesling, Department of Community Services, recommended approval subject to final departmental sign-offs. “I would recommend that you approve this project contingent upon finalizing all approvals from the various departments,” Kiesling said. She noted the garage already provides 850 parking spaces and that staff is continuing review on engineering, planning and fire matters.

Hearing officer Mike Hallobaugh described the action as an administrative approval under the planning commission’s delegated authority. He said the project “will approve it today contingent on getting the sign off from the CRC, at their public meeting, and getting the updated plans that comply with the other outstanding issues.” Hallobaugh recorded the approval with those conditions.

Key project details recorded in the hearing: the hotel addition occupies five stacked floors totaling 85 rooms; ground-floor retail is planned for two storefronts to the south and potentially one to the north; the existing garage provides about 850 parking spaces; sidewalks adjacent to the retail will be 10 feet wide to support outdoor dining; long-term bike parking for the hotel (estimated at six spaces) must be shown on updated plans and signed off by the City’s bike-parking reviewer; and a small transformer will be located at the ground level.

City staff identified outstanding items to be completed before final permits: engineering plan approvals, remaining departmental reviews (planning and fire), compliance with the thoroughfare plan that requires an asphalt path on Pennsylvania, and formal CRC approval. The CRC is scheduled to consider the project on June 18, 2025, staff said.

During design review, staff and commissioners asked the applicant to carry architectural details consistently around all visible facades of the garage to achieve “four-sided” architecture. Boardman acknowledged minor construction constraints—such as tying new cladding into a post-tension concrete garage—but agreed to investigate extending the detail on the east and west elevations for consistency.

No members of the public spoke for or against the project during the public-comment portion of the hearing.

Next steps: the applicant must submit updated plans showing the long-term bike parking, the asphalt path per the thoroughfare plan, and resolve the outstanding engineering, planning and fire comments; the CRC must formally approve the project at its June 18 meeting before final permits are issued.