P&Z, city council approve amendment request for The Graily

During its April 17 meeting, the Waxahachie City council approved a zoning change to amend Ordinance No. 3297 for The Graily Private Club, an event center located at 716 Dunaway St. The amendment allows for a :second-floor lounge and balcony," according to a city report.

The amendment had previously received approval from the Waxahachie Planning and Zoning Commission during its April 11 meeting.

Ordinance No. 3297, a planned development for The Graily, was approved Oct. 4, 2021, and allowed the historic South Ward School House to be converted into a one-story event center. A detailed site plan was presented to the city council Aug. 1, 2022, and approved. The site plan included the addition of a second story and “was verbally noted by the applicant/owner to be used ‘exclusively’ for storage,” according to the city staff report. The staff report notes that as the construction finished, staff from the building and community services department “noticed the second floor was not finished out exclusively as a storage space” but as a lounge and balcony space for the event center.

Since this use of the second story was not approved by the city council, owner Brad Yates submitted an amendment request.

Yates explained how the second floor was originally added to hold a mechanical room, a janitor’s closet and to act as storage for chairs and tables.

“As you can look back on the original plans, there was absolutely zero space to even store a broom,” Yates said. “As construction goes, as many of you know, opportunities present themselves, and we were able to pivot.”

They installed rooftop units for the ballroom, and air handlers were placed in the kitchen, eliminating the need for the mechanical room. Initially, the stairs had several risers, and during construction, they discovered they did not need that amount and were able to add a janitor’s closet underneath the stairs. “I went up (the stairs) several times, and I realized that it was probably not a smart idea to take tables and chairs up and down stairs,” Yates said.

He purchased a property across the street and plans to utilize it as a garage and off-site storage for tables and chairs.

“The storage needs went away, and I got to the top and saw the great space up there,” Yates said. “I never thought twice about it and just carried on. Once [the need to return to the city for approval] came to my attention, that’s why we’re here today.”

With the lounge and balcony adding to the building’s floor area, the event center is required to have 62 parking spaces. The Graily has 57 on-site parking spaces but has an agreement with Full Life Assembly of God Church, located at 800 S. Rogers St., to use 35 parking spaces during events, which meets the parking requirement, according to the city staff report.

Asked by commission members how people will know to park at the off-site spaces, Yates said they have signs telling customers where to park when the on-site lot is full.

“With the addition of this second floor, I am not asking for more occupancy to the building,” Yates said. “We realize the building will only handle so many people. We’re just wanting to be able to utilize that space.”

The matter was to be presented to the city council for approval during its April 17 meeting.

(Editor's note: Updated to reflect Waxahachie City Council approval of the amendment). Originally published April 16, 2023 - https://www.waxahachiesun.com/business/updated-p-z-city-council-approve-amendment-request-for-the-graily/article_b0e7521e-dd8e-11ed-906a-17c852ff8bd8.html