What’s going on at vacant Manchester Expressway property? Here’s the development plan
A rezoning application has been submitted to the Columbus Planning Department for vacant property on Manchester Expressway, adjacent to Chick-Fil-A, with mention of a new retailer, hotel and restaurant.
The site plan for 2730 Manchester Expressway includes a 101-room hotel, 110-space grocery store and a “future restaurant,” according to the submitted plan.
Local developer Chris Woodruff owns the property with his sister, Stacey Beardsley of Atlanta, under the name, F&B Company, the Ledger-Enquirer reported in 2018.
Woodruff would not share further details regarding the rezoning when contacted Tuesday.
The 9.7-acre property named “Manchester and Armour” on the application classifies as a major rezoning. That’s because it includes, among other things, more than 100 hotel rooms, more than 100 dwelling units and more than 100,000 square feet of gross floor area in office use.
The property is the site of the now-demolished Holiday Inn, which also had a brief stint as a Clarion Inn. At one time, it was the largest hotel in Columbus.
The Georgia Bulldogs football team also stayed there several times when traveling to the area to battle the Auburn Tigers in nearby Auburn, Ala. There also was tragedy there in June 1978, with newly hired Auburn head basketball coach Paul Lambert dying in a fire, leading to the hiring of Sonny Smith as coach.
According to documentation from the Columbus Planning Department, the zoning checklist is 19% completed as of Tuesday afternoon.
This story was originally published December 9, 2020 at 6:00 AM.
