Marriott Town Place Suites and Conference Center that will be built off 20th Street. Courtesy/LAC
By KIRSTEN LASKEY
Los Alamos Daily Post
kirsten@ladailypost.com
The Marriott Town Place Suites and Conference Center moves forward after its site plan and height waiver were unanimously approved during the Jan. 13 Planning and Zoning Commission meeting.
TNJA, LLC owner Tushar Patel will own and operate the hotel and conference center. He discussed his plans during the meeting and said that what is being proposed is an 86-room extended stay hotel, which will be located on approximately 3.08 acres of land off 20th Street, behind the Century Link building.
Patel added that the hotel will feature an indoor hot tub, fitness center, outdoor sitting area with a fire pit. The conference room will be a separate facility. It will accommodate approximately 300 people and offer a full banquet-style kitchen.
As far a parking, Patel said Los Alamos County requires a total of 99 parking space for the hotel and conference or 86 spaces for the hotel and 13 spaces for the conference center based on downtown parking standards. However, TNJA proposes to exceed this parking requirement by offering 211 parking spaces.
Patel explained a joint parking agreement was made between TNJA and Los Alamos Public Schools, which has its administrative building nearby. Through this agreement, TNJA will offer 155 parking spaces on its site and the Los Alamos Public Schools will share 56 of its parking spaces. If more parking spaces are required, he said the parking lot by Ashley Pond can be used for overflow and the hotel will most likely offer valet parking.
With the construction of the hotel and conference Center, Acting Planning Manager Margaret Ambrosino reported that a traffic signal will be installed by the County at 20th Street and Trinity Drive. The new signal will be paid with FY21 capital improvement project funds, which the County Council approved. Additionally, Ambrosino said the southern portion of Trinity’s right-of-way will be reconfigured to accommodate a bus bay to the north of what is now known as lot 5C.
The height waiver, which Planning and Zoning approved, allows TNJA to construct the hotel to exceed the maximum height limit of 45 feet within 150 feet of Los Alamos Canyon. Plans call for the hotel’s height to range from 49 feet to 60 feet at its highest point. The conference center will not exceed the County’s maximum height requirements.
Despite exceeding the County’s parking requirements, some Planning and Zoning commissioners were still concerned about parking issues at the hotel and conference center.
“My only concern with the parking is it seems with a lot of projects … we have had parking issues,” Commissioner Michelle Griffin said. “We seem to have this running theme … most often it has to do with there not being enough parking and we are using another place for parking spots.”
Griffin pointed out that Crossroads Baptist Church has offered its parking lot for East Gate Pool when it is open. Furthermore, Griffin asked if the hotel needs the parking lot at Ashley Pond and there is a Friday night concert and parking is taken – what will the hotel do then?
“Our goal for our business to be successful is we need to make sure we have enough parking so the County requires limited parking for the conference center (and) we have gone out of our way to make sure that we can accommodate the number of guests we may have,” Patel said. “We are expecting probably 2.5 people for an event (husband, wife and child) … that’s assuming we are at full capacity, which may happen a few days out of a year. I expect the majority of our meetings to be lab-related…”
He added that many attendees using the conference center will most likely be staying at the hotel so there should be adequate on-site parking.
Commissioner Neal Martin voiced reservations about the height of the hotel. He said he was worried about the aesthetic of having a big illuminating sign towering over Ashley Pond.
“The (additional) 15-feet and being so close to Ashley Pond has really got me concerned,” he said. “I’m also concerned about the character of the pond … if we start letting people put up big, illuminated signs, billboard advertisements, that is going to change the nature of the area. It’s going to have less of a small-town feel.”
Ambrosino explained that sign permitting is not within the approval of the site plan process and along with the building height waiver, are the purpose for the hearing. She stated that sign permitting most often occurs after building construction and is expected to comply with the Development Code.
Several Commissioners eased Martin’s concerns.
Planning and Zoning Vice Chair Beverly Neal-Clinton pointed out that she didn’t see any plans for a “big, gaudy sign” and Commissioner Craig Martin pointed out that due to the placement of the hotel, its sign shouldn’t be visible from Ashley Pond.
Plans for the hotel and conference center kicked off in October 2019 when Los Alamos County Council approved an ordinance adopting an economic development project for public support, which is a grant of six parcels of land totaling approximately 3.08 acres to TNJLA, LLC. The land was granted to TNJA on the condition that it would construct and maintain a conference center.
