Metro Roundup: Former Homewood hotel to be replaced with storage units

After years of Homewood residents calling the property at 260 Oxmoor Road an eyesore, the abandoned hotel soon will be demolished for the development of a storage facility and restaurant or retail space.

Although many residents say they didn’t originally want a storage facility on the property, those attending the June 28 Homewood City Council meeting showed support and expressed excitement for the redevelopment.

The Oxmoor Road property formerly was an America’s Best Value Inn & Suites. In 2014, the Homewood City Council decided not to renew the hotel’s business license because criminal activity repeatedly took place there, sometimes requiring the Police Department to make multiple visits a day there.

The Patels, who own the property, presented their plans to the Planning Commission at its April 7 meeting and requested to resurvey the lot into two parcels and then rezone the northern portion of the lot from GURD (Greensprings Urban Renewal District) to C-5 (General Business District).

The Planning Commission unanimously voted to recommend the City Council approve both the rezoning and the resurvey requests, and on June 28, the City Council unanimously approved the rezoning request, meaning the project can move forward. The Patels estimated the renovation process would take six or seven months.

Read more in an upcoming issue of The Homewood Star.