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Planning board backs Meisner Plaza hotel and conditional sale of city lot despite neighbor objections
Summary
The board recommended approval of a 12‑story hotel project and the conditional sale of a small city‑owned parcel near Meisner Park, while residents and the Tower 155 condo association raised concerns about notice, parking, traffic and project scale; the board forwarded the IDA and sale ordinance to Council on split 5–1 votes.
The Planning and Zoning Board on Thursday recommended approval of a proposed 12‑story Meisner Plaza hotel and related conditional sale of a roughly 0.29‑acre city parcel at 190 NE 2nd Street, advancing the project to City Council despite vocal opposition from nearby residents and Tower 155 Condo Association representatives.
City senior planner Susan Lesser described the application as a Community Redevelopment Agency IDA request for a 12‑story, 242‑room hotel with 34,840 square feet of retail and roughly 152,322 square feet of below‑grade structured parking. Lesser said the project would rely on the interim design guidelines to permit a 140‑foot maximum height and is seeking a technical deviation to reduce required off‑street parking from 569 to 372 spaces; staff recommended approval with conditions, noting CAB had previously recommended the project.
Aaron Sita, Deputy Director for Development Services, summarized the proposed purchase and sale structure for the city‑owned parcel and explained staff’s recommended approach to public‑improvement credits. Sita said the most recent appraisal valued the city parcel at $2,370,000; staff recommended partial credits for work on a proposed public park and a perpetual maintenance agreement rather than a 100% credit of the purchase price.
Tower 155’s attorney, Richard DeWitt, told the board his client had filed a notice of affected party and argued the staff report and public notice were deficient. “The staff report does not fully and accurately provide the board with essential information to study and evaluate whether the city owned property … should in fact be sold,” DeWitt said, urging a table or denial. Tower 155’s planner Jeff Costello and multiple residents expressed concerns about traffic and alley capacity, potential loading and trash conflicts, visibility and the project’s scale adjacent to existing towers.
Petitioner Ellie Zacharitis said the developer had met repeatedly with Tower 155, had revised plans to improve setbacks and circulation, and noted the hotel includes underground parking and public‑facing retail and park improvements. She disputed the notice concern as a scrivener’s error staff will correct before CRA and said the design reduces massing and preserves views compared with what could be built by right.
Public speakers from Tower 155 and several nearby residents urged denial or tabling to allow further study of parking, office‑equivalent transfers between downtown subareas, potential construction impacts and the process for selling a city asset. Supporters of the project and some board members cited the redevelopment potential for Meisner and the developer’s commitments to streetscape, colonnade and park improvements.
After extended public comment and board discussion, the CRA IDA motion passed 5–1 and the purchase‑and‑sale ordinance recommendation passed 5–1; one board member voiced a preference to protect the city parcel but most supported forwarding the items to City Council with recommended conditions. The board instructed staff to address notice and contract language before Council review.
