Council approves TownePlace Suites site plan with conditions including larger pool and trail connection

The Grand Prairie City Council on May 6 approved a site plan for a 113-room TownePlace Suites hotel at 3659 Prairie Waters Drive, voting to grant approval with several staff- and council-requested amendments.

Council and planning staff said the four-story extended-stay hotel meets most zoning and development standards but requested changes before final site-plan signoff. The council’s motion requires the developer to provide the full number of required trees (location on-site flexible), increase the pool size to a minimum of 1,000 square feet, match the fence along the property line to adjoining apartment columns (masonry columns with wrought-iron where present), and provide a pedestrian connection from the hotel site to the adjacent north/west trail extension. Council member John Lopez moved approval; the motion carried.

Planning staff presented the project as a 2.3-acre site currently zoned P D 352, noting the hotel would be an extended-stay, mid-scale/upper mid-scale use with 113 rooms and that no hotels currently exist within one mile. Staff also outlined several variances requested by the applicant: a two-foot height increase (proposed 52 ft vs. 50-ft maximum), a requested reduction in the number of trees (staff and council required the full tree count be provided on-site), and a pool-area variance (applicant proposed 385 sq ft while the UDC requires 3,000 sq ft). The planning commission recommended approval 9–0 with conditions including replacing EIFS finishes with stucco and locating required trees outside utility easements.

Council members and the applicant negotiated program elements in public comment: the applicant agreed to increase the pool substantially (the developer and council settled on a 1,000-square-foot minimum), to work with staff on tree placement (including replacing any parking spaces needed to satisfy tree-count requirements), and to coordinate fencing details so the hotel’s fence aligns with the existing apartment fence on the property line. Council also asked the developer to work with staff and the adjacent property owner to provide lighting and a physical connection to the proposed jogging/walking trail that is planned to the west/north of the site.

The applicant indicated some flexibility on amenities (removal of miniature golf or pickleball courts if necessary to expand pool size) and said building elevations and final materials would be reviewed again at the site-plan submittal stage. Planning staff said the hotel’s stay limitation (per code section 28-10) would remain in force, preventing stays beyond 30 days in a single unit.

Council formally moved to approve SCP24080035 with the staff and Planning & Zoning recommendations and the council amendments described above; the motion carried in open session.