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Council approves Medley hotel change of conditions, permits 75‑ft hotel with special use permit
Summary
Council approved a change to the approved Medley plan at 11350 Johns Creek Parkway to replace a 60,000 sq ft entertainment use with a 175‑room, six‑story (75 ft) hotel and related meeting/restaurant space; staff and the Planning Commission recommended approval with conditions. Developer Mark Toro said the hotel will reduce daily vehicle trips versus the previously approved entertainment use and help activate retail and restaurants on the plaza.
Johns Creek City Council voted to approve a change of conditions and a special‑use permit allowing a 175‑room, six‑story (75‑foot) hotel at the Medley site, 11350 Johns Creek Parkway.
Director Song told the council the 41.71‑acre site is already zoned TCX Town Center Mixed‑Use and staff and the Planning Commission recommended approval with conditions. Song said the proposed hotel would ‘‘replace the approved 60,000 square‑foot entertainment space and would have a positive impact to traffic, noise and aesthetics’’ and noted the project will provide more than the required parking and retain previously approved open‑space elements.
Mark Toro, founder of the development team, described Medley as modeled on Avalon and said the hotel use reduces traffic compared with the previously approved entertainment use: “This is an aerial photograph…we're reducing traffic even from the site as was originally approved,” he said, arguing the hotel will bring “heads and beds every night” to support the planned retail and restaurants on the plaza. Toro said the hotel will include roughly 5,000 sq ft of restaurant space and about 8,000 sq ft of meeting and event space and that the design keeps a 60‑ft façade toward the central plaza while accommodating additional stories where topography allows.
Council members asked about operator selection, hours and rooftop uses. Toro said operators are being interviewed and that rooftop amenities and live‑music programming have been included in operator conversations; he described programming at Avalon as a precedent. Director Song and staff emphasized that any future requests tied to alcohol or hours would require separate ordinance changes. After discussion, Councilmember Coughlin moved approval with staff recommendations; the motion passed and council members voiced support for advancing the town center project.
Next steps: the developer indicated construction financing and closing are imminent and that construction would begin in the coming weeks; the council recorded the approval but did not include a roll‑call vote tally in the public transcript.
