Hilton in fight with proposed retail development

from yesterday's Columbia (MO) Daily Tribune (1/21)

Hotel fights retail store
Hilton owner irked over new Menards.

By KAT HUGHES of the Tribune’s staff
Published Monday, January 21, 2008

"When Raman Puri and his three partners bought the land in the Centerstate Crossing development in 2005 to construct a Hilton Garden Inn, the only things backing their investment were a plot of graded dirt, two retail plazas on a cement pad and a developer’s promises for future restaurants and shops." ...

"Now, almost two years after Puri and his partners opened the Hilton Garden Inn in May 2006, the developer, Curtis McDonald, is gone after turning the property over to his bank, and what Puri characterizes as a restricted use of the property - a Menards home improvement retail store - is moving next door to his hotel.

At the Jan. 10 Columbia Planning and Zoning Commission meeting, the commission recommended approval of a development plan for the Menards store despite Puri’s protests that it would be detrimental to his hotel because 88 rooms would soon face the store’s outdoor storage area." ...

"Puri said he thinks Menards should be considered a warehouse." ...

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