A 42-room hotel will replace an old North Monterey motel, stirring hopes of revitalization.

Caruso’s Corner, the restaurant that shares a corner lot on North Fremont Boulevard in Monterey with the 18-room Casa Verde Inn, has sat as a vacant memory of an old Italian haunt for more than four years. Now, the restaurant and motel may meet the wrecking ball after the Monterey Planning Commission pushed through a proposal for a new 42-room hotel.

The structure will be a four-story Avid Hotel, a midscale hotel brand under the British multinational InterContinental Hotel Group, which owns the Clement Monterey on Cannery Row. There are 51 Avid Hotel locations in the U.S., but none in California.

The Planning Commission voted 6-1 to approve the use permit on Oct. 12. Kim Cole, Monterey’s community development director, says the city worked with the Monterey Peninsula Water Management District to confirm that a 42-room hotel could take over the existing 18-room, one-story motel and 134-seat restaurant within the constraints of the water credits assigned to the property.

Cole says there have been a lot of conversations over the future of the North Fremont Business District, where there has been a lot of development interest but few development applications.

“We’re really excited to see this hotel get approved. North Fremont needs revitalization,” Cole says.

The developer agreed to build a 15-foot sound wall to muffle construction noise and agreed to restricted construction hours, including no work on Sundays or holidays, at the request of neighbors; however, Cole says nearby property owners still requested an appeal form after the Planning Commission approval. They have until Oct. 21 to appeal.