Chancellor’s House Hotel Receives COA from City

The southern entrance to Oxford’s historic Square will soon be getting a facelift. The Chancellor’s House, a proposed boutique hotel, received its Certificate of Appropriateness from the Courthouse Historical Preservation Commission on Dec. 3.

An architectural rendering of The Chancellor’s House hotel.

The hotel will be located at 400 South Lamar Blvd., at the Four Corners intersection, specifically where Checkers was located before closing its doors in fall 2012.

The group developing the property has presented several revised plans for the hotel since first applying for a COA back in October. The City was most concerned with the lines of sight around the corner, one of the busiest in town, and the general esthetics of a new building in a historical district.

To accommodate the City’s ordinances, developers reduced the number of rooms, decreased the size of the remaining 32 rooms, and significantly increased the distance between the building and the sidewalk. The Courthouse Historical Preservation Commission granted the COA on the understanding that specifics concerning the landscaping, fences, signage, building materials, and other features be discussed and approved at a later date.

Tom Stone, one of the developers, repeatedly asked for flexibility from the Preservation Commission, given that the hotel will serve multiple functions. The Chancellor’s House Hotel will not accommodate a full service restaurant, but it will offer room service to guests and have a commercial kitchen for catered events.

Once the original structure is removed, construction of the new hotel is estimated to take up to 13 months.

This site at the Four Corners intersection (University Ave. and South Lamar Blvd.) will soon be home to The Chancellor’s House hotel.