It’s tough finding a hotel in some parts of Charlotte. That may change near Plaza Midwood
When it comes to hotels in the Charlotte area, you’ll find clusters in uptown, SouthPark and by the airport. It’s much tougher to find one in the fast-growing neighborhoods that ring the city.
A trio of second-generation hoteliers is aiming to change that. Brothers Anup and Jay Patel, along with Jay’s wife Nimisha, want to bring a full-scale hotel along Central Avenue — right on the edge of the Belmont and Plaza Midwood neighborhoods.
They have a vision for an independently-run, 130- to 165-room hotel. The idea is an extension of Hotel Refuge, a five-room hotel they started two years ago in the low-slung, one-story building in the 1100 block of Central Avenue.
The new project would be a ground-up development, meaning the existing building that’s also home to Mexican restaurant La Autentica would be torn down, Jay Patel said. It would offer yet-to-be-named food and beverage options for the public as well as common meeting and venue space, including for weddings.
Construction is at least a year away.
The project still needs Charlotte City Council approval: the trio filed a rezoning petition last week, triggering what can often be a months-long process with two public hearings ahead of a vote.
If approved, the project would be the first hotel in the immediate neighborhood.
The family business
The project would be a continuation of a family business.
Jay and Anup’s father and two uncles immigrated to Charlotte from England in the late 1970s and early 1980s. They joined a fourth brother who had immigrated from India a few years earlier for college. One of the four brothers started managing a hotel in the Carolinas until the other three left their jobs to be full-time in the business.
While Jay and his brother grew up around hotels, they’ve been professionally working on hotel projects since 2007, including for national brands like Hilton. Nimisha’s parents came to the United States from England in the early 1980s, purchasing their first hotel in Winslow, Arizona.
Anup and Jay are the team behind The Franklin — now called The Graduate — in Chapel Hill, an independent, luxury boutique hotel opened in 2009.
The Patels see the latest Charlotte hotel as filling a void in the Plaza Midwood area. Travelers are increasingly demanding stays in cool, hip neighborhoods, they said. Locals, meanwhile, are interested in having a place to hang out with a drink and some food or a casual place to read a book.
In that way, the hotel can serve both working professionals visiting Charlotte for a conference, as a venue space for weddings, a quiet night for a new mom or for grandparents visiting from out of town.
“We want this to be a landing spot that can be useful to any one of those people,” Nimisha Patel said.
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Hotel designed around experiences
The Patels purchased the lot along Central Avenue in 2019 for $4.5 million, Mecklenburg County property records show. They opened Hotel Refuge in the fall of 2021 as a pilot program.
The hotel has a public lounge area, a rotating cocktail bar and other amenities.
The Patels have not decided when they will wind down Refuge but they are taking bookings through the end of the year.
While the new concept doesn’t yet have a name, renderings or construction start date, the trio have some ideas for what it will look like.
The architecture and design will fit into the surrounding neighborhood; think more brick buildings than high-rise skyscrapers.
The hotel will be a response to consumer demands in the hotel industry. People don’t necessarily want the same experience they had while visiting Cleveland as they do when they come to Charlotte, Jay Patel said.
“You can go to Starbucks anywhere,” he said.
At the Central Avenue hotel, guests will be a short walk from a number of local businesses that can provide a more authentic feel to the community like Central Coffee, Giddy Goat, Common Market and others.
“Those are the types of experiences people are looking for,” Jay said.
In this way, the hotel would serve a void missing between traditional hotel stays and folks staying in an Airbnb for the weekend. Guests will get to spend their time in a trendy Charlotte neighborhood while still getting their sheets washed and rooms cleaned, the group said.
Next steps for the Charlotte hotel plan
A hearing for the rezoning petition is not yet set. The hoteliers are aiming to start construction sometime next year.
The Patels have been talking with the restaurant on the property, La Autentica, about the lease as that date approaches. The restaurant is aware of the development plans.
It’s up to the restaurant to weigh in on its future plans, whether that would be moving or another plan, Patel said. A message left with the owner last week was not returned.
In the end, Nimisha Patel sees the new hotel not operating as a standalone business. Rather, she sees it fitting into the wider fabric of Plaza Midwood and Belmont.
Correction: A previous version of this story incorrectly stated where Jay Patel’s father and two uncles immigrated from and where Nimisha Patel’s parents immigrated from.
This story was originally published July 17, 2023 at 6:10 AM.
