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DRC approves Hyatt hotels, apartments and parking at 780 Gervais Street with conditions
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Summary
The DDRC granted a certificate of design approval for a mixed‑use development including two Hyatt hotels, a five‑story apartment building and a below‑grade parking structure at 780 Gervais Street, subject to conditions on pedestrian connections, streetscape treatments, lighting, fencing, and coordination with city engineering and encroachment permits.
The Design Development Review Commission voted to approve a certificate of design approval for a mixed‑use project at 780 Gervais Street that includes a Hyatt Centric (11 stories), a Hyatt House extended‑stay hotel (5 stories), a five‑story apartment building with 183 units, and an underground parking structure. The commission’s approval carries detailed conditions designed to protect the pedestrian realm and meet City of Columbia design standards.
Staff told the commission the project was previously approved on Jan. 19, 2023, but the approval expired because permit applications were not filed within two years. The current staff evaluation found the revised proposal “substantially meets” parts 2, 3 and 4 of the Downtown Columbia design guidelines but recommended a Certificate of Design Approval only after several conditions, including a paved pedestrian connection from Wayne Street to the site interior, additional outdoor seating and either a piece of public art or a water feature within interior plazas, compatibility of interior pedestrian and roadway lighting with Wayne/Pendleton fixtures, a pedestrian safety measure at the Pendleton Street garage entrance, and limits on courtyard fence heights.
Ben Arnold, the landowner and applicant, told the commission the team had addressed many outstanding details and noted constraints on improving the west side of Wayne Street because of a railroad cut, saying, “we're spending money on city property to improve it.” Gerald Lee, the project civil engineer with Chow and Associates, and Brian Husting, the executive architect, described technical adjustments including increased landscaping at the base of the parking structure and revised internal pedestrian connections. Husting urged larger canopy trees to screen the garage and questioned whether small raised planters alone would provide the intended canopy and permanence.
Staff explained utility conflicts beneath the furniture zone on Wayne and Pendleton Streets limit the ability to plant street trees directly in that zone; staff suggested raised planters or placing trees along the back edge of sidewalks, and encouraged the team to explore suspended pavement systems where sewer lines conflict with tree root systems. Staff also noted that changes within the tiny portion of the property in the historic overlay would receive separate review by preservation staff.
A commissioner proposed and read a motion that included the staff conditions and an added requirement “to make every reasonable effort to retain or repair the historic brick pavement along the eastern side of Parcel 1.” The motion passed on roll call with commissioners voting yes as read by staff.
The approval requires the applicant to coordinate final dimensions, streetscape elements and encroachment permits with city staff and to return signage for separate review. The commission did not set an immediate enforcement deadline for the design requirements; staff will review subsequent design details and any items the commission deferred to staff for final sign‑off.
The project will proceed with the listed conditions; the applicant and staff indicated ongoing coordination on technical issues such as site grading and sewer conflicts.
