Noticeable strides in construction have begun at the old Daylight Donuts, 110 W. Glenn Ave., future home to a new Waffle House restaurant.
"To me a Waffle House is kind of a niche," said Forrest Cotton, director of planning for the city of Auburn.
Cotton said he hopes the development will generate more activity downtown, appeasing those who crave the waffle.
Development for the property has been a long time coming.
The development had to appear before the Board of Zoning Adjustments twice before getting a variance for its parking situation, the first appearance in December 2008.
The original Waffle House plans were in violation of an Urban Core standard because they did not screen the view of parking from the street with the building.
According to Urban Core Development and Design Standards, adopted in 2007, "No parking will be allowed to be visible from the street at any level. At grade level adjacent to the right of way, parking must be screened with a building."
This standard provides a continuous wall along the street, which gives the feel of being downtown, said Chris Kearns, graduate student in community planning and owner of Badger Properties, LLC.
Kearns opposed the variance at the public hearing in November 2009.
"If you have a whole neighborhood of really nice parking lots, it doesn't feel like a downtown," Kearns said.
Kearns said he suggested that the Waffle House turn the building to be along the street, and in accordance with the UC standards.
Representatives of Waffle House, Inc., according to the public hearing's minutes, said the Waffle House could not be changed in that way for safety reasons, as it would block view of part of the parking lot from inside the restaurant.
Instead, Waffle House proposed to place landscaping and a wall to block the view of the parking lot from the street.
The board voted 5-0 in favor.
"It was a special case," Cotton said.
Cotton does not think this case will set a precedent for other developments in the Urban Core area, but thinks development on this site will be good for the property, which has a fair amount of folklore surrounding it.
"That place is jinxed," said Bill Lett, professor of marketing.
Lett said every business that has been there has failed before long.
Waffle House has made a fair amount of upgrades to allow for the codes of Auburn's downtown area.
"It will not look like any Waffle House you've ever seen," said Trey Rankin, employee of Northcutt Realty.
Northcutt manages the property at 110 W. Glenn Ave.
Elizabeth Hilley, junior in economics, said she thinks the majority of late-night downtowners won't make the trek down the block to Glenn Avenue, citing the close proximity of Five Guys and Little Italy.
"Little Italy has a pretty big monopoly downtown," Hilley said. "My friends and I go out and Little Italy is the only thing in our head."
Mark McCllurg, owner and manager of Little Italy, said he doesn't think his business will suffer too much because of the new restaurant.
"I think sales may drop a little bit, but (Waffle House will be) on the outskirts," McCllurg said.
The test will come sometime in May when the restaurant is scheduled to open, according to Kelly Thrasher of Waffle House, Inc.
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