Hotel, restaurant, retail development approved

A plan to construct a four-story hotel and mixed-use building with more than 25,000 square feet of retail, office and restaurant space at the northwest corner of Rochester Road and South Boulevard was approved on Tuesday, March 20, by the Rochester Hills Planning Commission.

Situated at the Rochester Hills-Troy border, the project, called Gateway of Rochester Hills, will include a four-story, 109-room Marriott Fairfield Inn & Suites and a two-story mixed-use building. First floor plans include a 6,047-square-foot restaurant with outdoor seating and 11,037 square-feet of retail space. Second floor plans consist of 11,856 square-feet of office space. The hotel and mixed-use building will share a 9.42-acre site with the existing Gateway Office Building.

Gateway Properties of Sterling Heights presented a conceptual project plan to the city's planning commission in late 2017. Concerns about constructing a hotel near residential homes resulted in the city requiring a large buffer area and addressing concerns of residents to the west of the project area. Access to the site will be from Rochester Road and South Boulevard, with pedestrian walkways incorporated throughout the project area.

In October, Gateway notified surrounding property owners of plans to develop the vacant land and they held an informal meeting at Bolyard Lumber on October 14 to talk with residents.

Commissioners in February postponed approval of the project to address traffic concerns. Planning commissioners on Tuesday, March 20, gave approval of the project's site plan by a vote of 7-1, with commissioner David Reece opposing and commission member Ed Anzek absent.

The March 20 approval included a list of conditions requiring Gateway to provide a landscape bond for landscaping and trees in the amount of $137,082, plus inspection fees; to work with city staff to address concerns raised in the project's traffic impact study; and to address staff concerns regarding appropriate lighting, parking and building design.