Mountain Town Station soon to be expanded; student housing projects also approved by city planners

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Mountain Town Station and other downtown Mount Pleasant locales will look a little different in the near future.

A site plan and a special use permit to expand the restaurant, 506 W. Broadway St., were approved at Thursday’s Planning Commission meeting. The 2,135-square foot addition is proposed to have a quieter, more intimate atmosphere than the rest of Mountain Town Station.

Owner and Mayor Jim Holton said he is hoping the new room will have a cathedral ceiling, a large fireplace, carpeting and better lighting than the rest of the existing restaurant.

“I remember when the building was old and beat up in 1994 or 1995,” Commissioner Rick Rautanen said. “Mountain Town has been and will continue to be a wonderful thing for the downtown area.”

Holton is hoping to begin construction in the spring and open the new room by the summer. Although approved by the planning commission, Holton is waiting on certain permits and a liquor license.

Two new student housing building initiatives will also move forward. An eight-person dwelling at 1029 S. Main St. and a 12-person registered student organization dwelling at 1029 S. Main St. were approved at the meeting.

The commission approved both site plans and their request for a special use permit.

The eight-person dwelling proposed by Tim Driessnack will be a split house with four occupants in each unit.

“I think it breaks it up a bit nicer,” Driessnack said. “As opposed to crowding eight, nine, maybe 10 people into one house.”

Also on the agenda was a request to conditionally rezone 309 N. Main St. for a restaurant.

Jean Prout is hoping to turn the property into a bed and bistro, but first needed the planning commission’s recommendation to rezone. The planning commission recommended the rezoning, so it will now go on to be discussed by the city commission.

Prout is planning to revamp the Victorian house by adding new windows, paint and trim. She would also renovate the interior to preserve the historic aspect by decorating with furniture to match the character and era of the house.

“The house is charming and I hope to re-establish some of the better qualities,” Prout said.

Commissioners Pete Orlik and Michael Kostrzewa praised Prout’s idea for bettering downtown, calling the plan “imaginative” and “creative.”

The planning commission meeting agenda had scheduled a public hearing for the request of a special use permit for a restaurant and bar/nightclub, but the hearing was postponed to a future meeting.