Some residents in Davidson have taken to social media to express opposition to a four-story hotel being built on Griffith Street, near I-77. They say the project is too close to two schools and predict it will attract crime and pose a threat to school children and nearby residents.
The developer, Beacon Investment Management, plans to build a 115-room Hyatt Place Hotel at the site. The company built a Homewood Suites hotel in Davidson almost 10 years ago. Lake Norman Chamber of Commerce President Bill Russell says that property has not had problems and he does not anticipate any at the future Hyatt Place location.
“We need meeting room space,” Russell said. “That is a real lack that we have in this particular market. We need those upper tier hotels. Certainly the location that this is in is within walking distance of restaurants that can be supportive.”
Russell says the chamber’s position is that Davidson lacks hotels that can accommodate high-end clients who demand high-tech meeting room spaces.
“When you start talking about it's going to bring crime, we’re talking about Hyatt. We’re talking a very upper end hotel, so I don’t think that’s going to be the locale for some of the things they point out. In terms of is it gonna generate traffic? Any business you bring in is gonna generate traffic. We just need to make sure we’re able to handle that,” Russell said.
A major opponent of the hotel is the Save Davidson group, which formed earlier this year to halt development projects that they feel are out of line with the city’s character and aesthetics. They are also opposing a mixed-use development on 19 acres of publicly-owned land on Beaty Street in Davidson.
