Jan. 04–Mainland Planning Commissioners approved a four-story Hilton hotel near U.S. Interstate 95 exit 38 at their Tuesday meeting, which was also the last meeting for at least one MPC member.
Hilton will split the hotel building between two brands, a new concept the chain is trying, according to commissioner Tim Murphy. It will be both a Home2 Suites and a Hilton Garden Inn. Home2 suites are styled as extended-stay units while rooms in the Garden Inn portion will be standard, mid-priced hotel rooms.
The building will also feature a conference room that will seat up to 100 people. Commission chairman Gary Neville said this was a notable feature, as many see Glynn County's relative shortage of conference venues as a negative when deciding whether or not to do business in the Golden Isles.
It will be located at 625 Millennium Blvd., next to the Strike Zone bowling alley. The developer, HOS Management/Development, also owns outparcels that will be used to store building material and machinery.
As with many developments in that area lately, the overburdened sewer system was an issue the MPC wanted to make sure to address. Both a member of the MPC and recently-hired deputy director of the Brunswick- Glynn Joint Water and Sewer Commission, Thomas Boland asked to have the motion to approve amended to include a statement saying the representative of the developer understood that there were issues with the sewer system which would need to be addressed before construction could begin.
In other business, the MPC approved a zoning amendment to allow the owner of the Enclave subdivision to expand it, a site plan for a satellite facility of J&J Tire and a conditional use permit to allow a horse ranch to legally conduct paid riding classes as a commercial activity, which the owners had been doing already.
The meeting was Boland's last, as he is stepping down to focus on his new job as JWSC deputy director. This meeting is also the last of Neville's current term. Glynn County Commissioner Bob Coleman declined to say whether he would be nominating him for reappointment at the county commission's meeting on Thursday.
The next meeting of the MPC will be held at 6 p.m. Feb. 7 in the Old Glynn County Courthouse, 701 G St. in Brunswick.
