Business

City sets public input meeting for proposed Cedars project

A rendering shows the proposed Cedars Lodge & Spa from U.S. 64. New construction surrounds the historic Cedars, at left. [TAMARA PEACOCK CO.]

By Lightning Reports, Published: May 19, 2020

Moving forward with the permitting process for a potentially transfomative new development, the city has set a neighborhood compatibility meeting via Zoom at 2 p.m. Tuesday, May 26.

The applicant and city zoning officials will meet at the City Operations Center while the public is invited to participate via livestream here. A neighborhood compatibility allows the applicant to describe the project and the public to ask questions and make comments. The less formal public input meeting is followed by formal public hearing and review by the Hendersonville Planning Board and a public hearing and decision by the City Council.

Landowners Tom and Fran Shipman, the longtime caterers and operator of the Chariot and The Cedars, are seeking a rezoning from Central Mixed Use to Central Mixed-Use Conditional Zoning District for a hotel and condos, spa and restaurant totaling 199,000 square feet at 227 Seventh Avenue West. The Shipmans and architect Tamara Peacock submitted plans last month for new construction and renovation of the historic Cedars hotel, which will be the site of the restaurant serving the hotel and condos development.
"The restoration of the Cedars will be celebrated in the new design, serving as a focal point of the guests experiences," the applicants said. "Without a project like this, the Cedar's restoration would be financially improbable and would thus face challenges as it continues to age without a viable financial solution."