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During the Oct. 22 LaGrange mayor and council meeting, the city called for a public hearing to hear comments on a potential Special Use Permit to allow for a pair of large warehouses near the Wingate by Wyndham Hotel.

This parcel in question is located at 105 Wingate Terrace off of Lafayette Parkway near Callaway Church Road.

The plan for the property is to construct two 45,000-square-foot buildings. A special use permit is required because warehousing is only permitted within Corridor Mixed-Use (CR-MX) zoning districts via the permit, otherwise it would be prohibited.

The applicant told the Planning Commission on Oct. 12 that the majority of the 90,000 total square feet is not anticipated to be warehousing space and would be a mix of commercial and retail activity with warehousing as a supplemental use.

City Planner Mark Kostial said the commercial use of the property is consistent with the comprehensive plan for the area. The Planning Commission unanimously recommended the approval of the special use permit.

The warehousing component of the development is not expected to support the planned nearby inland port. The developer said their tenant base is primarily expected to support local service contractors.

“Our tenant base is turf masters, electrical supply companies, plumbers and the like,” the developer said. “Anything that would support the inland port would be orders of magnitude larger than this. These are designed to support local contracting.”

The warehousing is not expected to be visible from Lafayette Parkway/Greenville Road.

The council unanimously voted to call for a public hearing on Nov. 21 to hear comments on the issue.