UPDATE 11/25/2015: Tallahassee Commissioners approved the zoning change allowing developers to move forward with a hotel. But the city plans to lease the space for continued parking while the property owners work through the permitting process. Commissioners also pledged to work on finding new areas for parking in the neighborhood as well as better signage for existing lots.
Tallahassee’s city commissioners are discussing a controversial zoning issue in the Gaines St. district. Developers want to build a hotel over the objections of a number local businesses.
The disagreement centers on an unpaved lot just south of the Gaines Street—Railroad Avenue intersection. The space currently serves as overflow parking for local businesses like Gaines St. Pies, Grasslands Brewery and Catalina Café.
But a developer called Summit wants to put up a five story hotel as well as a small format Publix grocery store. The city is leaning toward approval, noting there are more than 2,300 public parking spaces within a quarter mile radius of the site. But more than 1,600 of those are in the FSU Turnbull Center and the Tallahassee Civic Center. Another 134 are metered.
