High-rise Hotels OK'd in Split Vote

Galveston County Daily News, July 18, 2007,
by Leigh Jones

GALVESTON — Galveston Planning Commission voted 4-3 Tuesday to recommend approval for a 16-story twin-tower hotel on the West End.

Commissioners John Listowski, Craig Brown, Kelley Sullivan and Willy Gonzalez voted in favor of the specific-use permit Marquette Land Investments needs to build a 197-foot-tall structure next to Beach Pocket Park 3.

Commissioners Chula Ross Sanchez, Janice Stanton and Elizabeth Beeton voted against the permit request.

Gonzalez said he knew high-rise development was a touchy subject but thought it was not too much to ask for as part of a larger development.

“We need to look at what happens after the hurricane when we’re faced with nothing but slabs,” he said. “From a tax-base point of view, we will need (this kind of development) after a hurricane.”

But most of the 75 island residents who attended the meeting disagreed.

Suzette Schultz, who said she lived in Spanish Grant Bayside, said she did not want to end up living in a high-density, Cancun-style development.

Other West End residents listed future traffic congestion, potential harm to migrating birds and density as reasons they wanted to see Marquette’s hotel project denied.

Marquette managing partner Darren Sloniger told commissioners during an afternoon workshop the towers would contain a maximum of 1,200 units between them.

The two structures will feature a mixture of condominiums and hotel rooms based on market demand at the time they are built. Because condominiums are three times the size of hotel rooms, the total number of units will go down if Marquette decides people would rather buy condominiums.

Sloniger said he anticipated building the hotels within three to five years of getting all the approvals the company needs to move forward with the project.

The planning commission previously has approved a zone change, a golf-course specific-use permit and a preliminary plat for the project.

Galveston City Council must approve both specific-use permits and the zone change before Marquette can begin construction.

If the council approves the plan, Beeton said it would be breaking new ground by approving a high-rise structure on an eroding beach.

The sand in front of the site of the proposed hotel is disappearing at an average rate of 9 feet a year, according to the Texas General Land Office.

Marquette has signed an agreement with Bermuda Beach to contribute up to $50,000 for beach reconstruction projects. Bermuda Beach is the only neighborhood to voice support for Marquette.