60-room, four-story hotel would be the best use

of the space behind Fayetteville's new

Schlotzky's Deli, developers say.

But

city Planning Commission members say they're

going to be hard to convince.

"I'll

be honest. I don't like the concept of a hotel

there," commission member Kevin Bittinger

told developers during a work session last week.

"I don't think it's in concert with the rest

of the area."

"I'll

have to put a lot of thought into this,"

added commission member Allan Feldman.

Crown

Capital Corp. is developing the site, next to

Picadilly restaurant on Ga. Highway 85 just north

of Banks Road. The "L" shaped property

wraps around Picadilly, with frontage on both

Hwy. 85 and Banks Road. Schlotzky's faces 85,

leaving the space behind and the Banks Road

frontage still vacant.

development plan for Schlotzky's was approved

early this year showing three small retail shops

behind the restaurant, but Crown Capital

representatives said they're worried that the

site is too isolated for retail shops.

Preliminary

plans for the hotel are for a building that takes

up less space on the ground than the shops would

have. Plans showed about 24,000 square feet of

retail space, whereas the hotel would cover only

about 13,000 square feet, leaving more green

space, the representatives said.

But

the height of the building would make it too

imposing for area, said Bittinger. "I think

it's going to be difficult for you to build a

hotel of this scope that's going to fit into this

area," he said.

four-story building would be about 50 feet high.

Commission

chairman Bill Talley, who currently is not

serving on the commission because he is running

for City Council, offered his comments as a

member of the public. "This belongs in the

city center," he said. "It's a vertical

project."

Representatives

of Ruby Tuesday restaurant chain fared better in

their bid for preliminary comment from the

commission.

Ruby Tuesday is already approved for the Barnes

and Noble shopping center, Uptown Square, across

Hwy. 85 from Fayette Pavilion, but company

representatives have taken their time in bringing

site plans to the commission.

Last

week's work session was the second time

restaurant representative Chuck Arnaud had

presented drawings for commission comment,

without actually placing approval of the site

plans on the agenda for action.

Commissioners

liked the latest plans much more than the first

set that were presented. Ruby Tuesday's trademark

striped awnings are gone from the latest plan

after commissioners earlier remarked that they

might be considered part of the corporate logo

and thus part of the tightly restricted signage

for the restaurant.

Arnaud

showed a brick building with residential roof and

stone entrance that commissioners seemed to like,

making suggestions for minor changes. comments.

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