The Jefferson City Planning and Zoning Commission approved a special exception permit for the Puri Group Enterprises (PGE) to build a new Holiday Inn hotel on the site of the old Truman Hotel on Jefferson Street.
The request now goes to the Jefferson City Council which is scheduled to have a public meeting May 1.
At Thursday's Planning and Zoning meeting, the permit was approved because the hotel would be more than 100,000 square feet, which falls under the special exception use of the C-2 general commercial zoning of the property. This now goes to the City Council for final approval.
City staff had recommended approval, saying they found no problems with the request. They noted similar permits were issued when big-box stores such as Sam's Club and Menards were built, as they too were more than 100,000 square feet in size.
PGE has been demolishing the old hotel and once the permit is approved by the council, it will start work on a five-story, 131-room Holiday Inn hotel. The building will have a steel super structure with stone and dryvit facade. The building will sit in the middle of the 5-acre property.
According to documents filed with the permit application from architecture firm Simon Associates, a portion of the first floor will be leased to a standalone restaurant, Cheerleader Pub and Grill, which PGE owns. There will also be an indoor swimming pool, conference rooms and a fitness facility.
The Truman Hotel Urban Renewal Plan won the unanimous support of the Jefferson City Council in February.
Presented in the form of a resolution, the vote represented the final action necessary by the city before the $56 million construction project could commence.
In February, Puri said the plans for the Truman site included the Holiday Inn hotel. Another 125-room hotel, which has yet to be named, will sandwich a 20,000-square-foot conference center between the two hotels.
The council action followed the recommendations of the Jefferson City Housing Authority, which adopted a resolution Jan. 17 approving PGE's request to declare the Truman location as blighted. That resolution stipulates PGE will eliminate the blight by constructing new hotels on the site under terms of a contract which dictates PGE will complete the work within 18 months.
The contract provides for 10 years of property tax abatement for PGE.