Parisian hotel proposal for downtown Asheville set for next review

Jason Sandford

Jason Sandford is a reporter, writer, blogger and photographer interested in all things Asheville.

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A hotel design rejected by the Asheville Downtown Commission earlier this month is moving on for review by the Asheville Planning & Zoning Commission.

The Parisian hotel, a 61-room boutique hotel proposed by MRK Property Development for 68 Patton Ave. in downtown, is scheduled to be reviewed by the Planning & Zoning Commission during its Feb. 1 meeting in City Hall. The meeting starts at 5 p.m.

Earlier this month, the Downtown Commission voted 5-4 to reject plans for the 74,000-square-foot hotel that would include a restaurant, pool and the addition of three floors to the top of the existing building on the site, the former Bank of America building. (MRK bought the 41,000-square-foot building for $3.2 million three years ago.) 

One commission member criticized the building design as “cheesy.” Another commission member said the proposal needed more design work. Still another fretted over the intentions of the developers. But their “no” vote may have little impact, because the Downtown Commission operates under a “mandatory review, voluntary compliance” mandate, meaning that it reviews development projects, but there’s no requirement for developers to follow its recommendations. Also, the size of The Parisian means that it would not go before City Council for final approval, as the rules stand now.