Politics & Government

UPDATE: Planning Commission OKs Hotel Complex

By a 7-2 vote, the Royal Oak Planning Commission approved a special land use and final special redevelopment site plan for an 8-story hotel complex at the site of the former Fresard auto dealership at 400 N. Main St. at its meeting Tuesday. 

The plan will now move to the Royal Oak City Commission for its approval of a development agreement.

The site and landscaping plan for an 8-story hotel, an 8-story apartment building, a pair of office buildings and a 4-level off-street parking deck has essentially not changed very much since it last appeared before the planning commission in December, said Royal Oak City Planner Doug Hedges. 

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“This is a well planned development that we are pleased to present tonight—one, it’s a true mixed-use development, and two, the uses compliment each other and the surrounding neighborhood,” said Jeff Klatt, of Krieger-Klatt Architects of Royal Oak, in his introductory remarks.

Overall, the plan developed by Krieger-Klatt Architects for petitioner 400 Main, LLC was well received by residents who spoke during public comment, however, there are remaining concerns about the parking deck for the development, including its materials (stained concrete), appearance and the potential for noise and light pollution.

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“We met with the (architects) back in December and we were very clear that we did not want to have a monolithic concrete parking structure,” said Rick Karlowski, who will have a back porch view of the proposed parking deck. “So now we have a monolithic stained concrete parking structure.”

Residents asked for assurances that the deck is built of materials that blend well with the other proposed buildings on the site and not “stick out.” They asked that the deck be properly screened so that its lights will not shine into the neighborhood and that additional trees, preferably not gingko trees as proposed by the architect, be planted to screen the structure. 

In his comments, Hedges strongly went over the Planning Department’s recommendation that a hotel be part of any first phase of the project.

“I can not emphasize enough how adamant the director of planning (Tim Thwing) is that this contingency be included,” Hedges said, adding, “It is our strong opinion, and it’s been stated in the public hearing, that the whole project as been more or less predicated on the hotel. And, it is our opinion that that needs to be done first before anything else. It may be harsh but our opinion is no hotel, no project.”

Hedges remarks drew approval from the audience. The closest resident to the proposed development, Nikki Martinez on Pingree, acknowledged she was excited about the hotel and would not be a fan of the development without it.

To date, the petitioner has not named a hotelier and no contingency was added about naming one. 

Details of the development

  • 8-story hotel: A new hotel building with 12,796-square feet of ground floor area would have 114 rooms, a restaurant, lounge, meeting rooms and a fitness center for guests. The hotel would be placed near the center of the site with Main Street frontage.
  • 5-story mixed-use building: A new building with 8,803 square-feet of ground floor area is proposed for the southwest corner of the site adjacent to the motel. The building would have a first floor restaurant and office space on the upper four levels.
  • 3-story mixed-use building: A new building with 5,000 square-feet of ground floor area is proposed for the northwest corner of the site. The building would have retail sales on first floor and office space on the upper two levels.
  • 8-story apartment building: A new apartment building with 12,460 square-feet of ground floor area is proposed for the southeast corner of the site. The building would have 82 units with a mix of one-bedroom, two-bedroom and studio units and a swimming pool.
  • 4-level parking deck: A parking deck is proposed for the northeast corner of the site.


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