Planning commission backs turning a 1982 extended-stay hotel into 72 apartments and a larger Methodist hospital campus

Richardson's City Plan Commission voted 7-0 on Oct. 20 to recommend two zoning changes on the city's east side: one that would convert the Hawthorn Suites extended-stay property on Municipal Drive into apartments, and one that would enlarge the planned development district around Methodist Richardson Medical Center.

The votes are recommendations. Neither case is on the City Council's Oct. 26 agenda, and a council hearing date has not been posted.

From hotel suites to 'Hudson Heights'

The Hawthorn property at 250 Municipal Drive, at the northeast corner of Gateway Drive, opened in 1982 and has 72 suites in three two-story buildings, according to the city staff presentation: 36 studios and 36 two-story one-bedroom units, plus a pool, a tennis court and a guest building with a gym, conference room and dining area.

The applicant, Culbertson Holdings LLC, presented the project as Hudson Heights and would keep the same 72 units as permanent rentals. The guest building would become a leasing office, fitness center and co-working space, the pool and court would stay, and landscaped areas would be turned into open space for residents. The company's slides list an interior refresh of flooring, paint, bathrooms and fixtures.

The new zoning would be a planned development based on the city's A-950-M apartment district, with several exceptions, staff said:

• Studios as small as 550 square feet and one-bedrooms of at least 820, where the base district requires 700.
• A density of 30 units per acre on the roughly 2.4-acre site, compared with the base limit of 18.
• 90 parking spaces, or 1.25 per unit, instead of 144, and no covered parking where 72 covered spaces would normally be required.
• 65 amenity points, without a playground, instead of 70.

The applicant's presentation pointed to a January 2026 city housing briefing that listed well-maintained rentals within reach of lower-wage workers as a priority need. It also stated that affordability is a goal, not a commitment: no final rent schedule or binding affordability restriction is part of the request. Staff reported no public comment on the case.

Methodist's growth plan

Methodist's request folds 8.95 more acres into its campus district at Renner Road, Shiloh Road and the President George Bush Turnpike, for 29.4 acres in all, while keeping the six-story height limit and the existing 600-bed cap.

Under the concept plan shown to commissioners, a first phase adds a bed tower with imaging labs on the ground floor and 50 ICU and trauma beds on the next two floors, taking the hospital from 344 beds to 369. A later phase would build out floors four through six with another 75 beds, for 469.

Parking would grow from 1,535 spaces to 2,105, and to as many as 2,474 if one or both of two new garages are built. The district rules would require a traffic study, and any mitigation it calls for, before a garage goes up. The full build-out also extends a right-turn lane on Shiloh Road.

Commissioners recommended approval with amended conditions; the commission's action summary does not describe the changes. Staff reported no public comment on that case either.

Sources

cor.net

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cor.net

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