Buda City Council approved a request 6-1 for a Special Use Permit to allow a new hotel to be built at 15800 N. I-35 frontage road.
The overview
The SUP proposed constructing a limited-service hotel near the intersection of West Goforth Road and Rylander Street. The hotel would be dual-branded, featuring SpringHill Suites on one side of the lobby and TownePlace Suites on the other, according to city agenda documents.
Limited-service hotels, as the name suggests, typically offer fewer amenities. However, according to city agenda documents, the hotel has expanded its offerings and provided the city with a list, including but not limited to:
- Business center
- Enhanced fitness room
- Guest laundry
- Outdoor pool
- Lounge and meeting space
- Hot breakfast and breakfast kitchen
- Various room amenities, including an in-room kitchen in TownePlace Suites
- 24-hour market shop
Property owners within 400 feet of the proposed development were notified by mail to attend a neighborhood meeting about the proposed SUP, but none attended, according to the City Council presentation.
The hotel would generate additional Hotel Occupancy Tax revenue for the city, along with ad valorem taxes for the improved property. However, the agenda points out that increasing the number of hotel rooms in Buda could drive down the citywide cost per room, negatively impacting existing hotels.
The discussion
Council member LaVonia Horne-Williams noted that though the tax that the hotel may bring in is beneficial, the hotel may be detrimental to the residents who live in the area.
“There’s a lot of change going on in the city and there is nothing wrong with you wanting to bring a business to the city of Buda,” Horne-Williams said. “We have, for a small city, an excessive number of hotels and one of the things that concerns me most about hotels is the crime that it brings with it...”
Horne-Williams was the only council member who dissented on the item.
