Less than a month after two debt-ridden hotels on Washington Street East were auctioned to a Texas bank, the city of Charleston is in talks with a pair of hospitality firms set on building a new hotel just three blocks away.
Randy Miller, of Centurion Hospitality out of Morgantown; and Martin Perry, of Pittsburgh-based Newmark Grubb Knight Frank, pitched their proposal to City Council's Finance Committee two weeks ago.
They hope to enter into a long-term lease agreement with the city, which currently owns a parking lot at the corner of Morris and Smith Streets, across from Appalachian Power Park.
The firms plan to develop a $20 million hotel on the parking lot, citing an "underserved market" for people who travel to Charleston for baseball games or to visit the Charleston Area Medical Center General Hospital.
"It's going to be a small hospitality concept with limited service. It won't have a restaurant or bar," Miller said.
Because of existing parking restrictions in that area, the hotel would be limited to 80 rooms or less.
Miller said it would be a "flagged hotel," or one that's owned by a national franchise, such as Marriott, Hilton or InterContinental.
The lot on Morris Street is currently used by employees who work out of 601 Morris St., Appalachian Power team members and fans.
To compensate for the loss of parking, Miller and Martin said the agreement would include landscaping and improvements to a nearby lot on Smith Street that's used for overflow parking during Power games and can hold about 140 vehicles.
"[The city would] basically get a brand new parking lot out of it," Miller said.
If the city agrees to a lease agreement, the firms would need to complete a feasibility study for the site to ensure the hotel would be a good investment.
"Those tend to take three to six weeks. If it comes back with what we don't feel are acceptable numbers, we'll come back to you and say, 'Sorry for taking up your time,'" Miller said.
"If it does come back as positive, we've knocked out a big chunk of the concern."
Despite the financial woes surrounding the nearby hotels in the 1000 block of Washington Street East - Charleston Capitol Hotel and Best Western - city officials are open to the new development if market studies prove promising.
"I would let the private sector make that decision as to whether a hotel is needed or would be viable in that area," City Manager David Molgaard said.
"From my experience in dealing with developers and hotels, there's a significant amount of due diligence that goes into pulling the trigger on a project of that nature."
Charleston Mayor Danny Jones said he thinks previous developments, such as ParkView Lofts on Smith Street, could benefit a potential hotel and the warehouse district surrounding the ballpark.
Those plans could also be bolstered by a local business owner interested in purchasing the long-vacant CharmCo Building that sits next door to the Morris Street parking lot.
Charleston Urban Renewal Authority Executive Director Jim Edwards confirmed Wednesday that Kathy Rubio, who owns Spa Bliss in Kanawha City, discussed her tentative plans to buy the 96-year-old CharmCo Building during closed session at the authority's meeting last week.
The 65,000-square-foot, five-story structure once housed a feed and flour mill before being used as a warehouse space throughout the latter half of the 20th century. It's currently owned by T.J. Summers.
"[Rubio] didn't make a proposal or ask for anything specific. She just let the board know she's doing this, and may need some help to make it work," Edwards said.
Rubio refused to talk about the matter with reporters last week.
"I'm not interested in discussing anything. There's definitely a rumor going around, but there's nothing true about that," she said.
Molgaard said the possibility of two major developments in the warehouse district could have a promising impact.
"The more activity they have happening in this area, the more you're going to draw everything," he said.
"It's hard to say no to somebody that wants to make a $20 million investment at the same time someone [else wants] to make a significant investment next door as well. That's what we'd been hoping for."
Reach Elaina Sauber at elaina.sauber@wvgazettemail.com, 304-348-3051 or follow @ElainaSauber on Twitter.