Lane Co. Apartment Project at Avondale and Confederate Avenues

The Lane Company has announced and is very far along in the design/approval process for a major apartment project in the Boulevard Heights neighborhood of SAND.  This project is within the beltline overlay district and is one of the first to go through the process. The Proposed development includes the conversion of an existing dumpsite into public park space at Confederate Avenue, between Avondale and Lester Avenues. A multi-story one and two bedroom unit apartment building built around an internal parking deck with 338 units facing Avondale Ave.  The Avondale elevation of the apartments will be 4 stories tall. Finally a 57 unit town home development at the south end of the property adjacent to existing single family Homes. The total impact of project will be 395 units.

Background:

SouthStar CDC was invited by the Boulevard Heights Neighborhood to facilitate a meeting with the Lane Company regarding this project. To this end a meeting was held in October with several concerned Boulevard Heights neighbors. The meeting was facilitated by Ortrude White, AIA from the Community Design Center. From that meeting, several consensus concerns were raised. The below concerns were formulated and passed on to the Lane Company and City Officials. These concerns have also been passed on to SAND and NPU-W which voted to support the neighbors in having their concerns actively heard.

The synopsis of the neighbors’ concerns raised at that meeting is outlined below and can be broken out as follows: Vehicular impact, Green Space/Streetscape issues, Building compliance with Overlay district requirements, Long term Management. We recognized the limits of what could and could not be addressed and confined our discussion to the Beltline Overlay Legislation and the existing Office and Institutional Zoning on the property. It is hoped that the Lane Company would recognize the value of Community input as a way to enhance their project.  The scale of this development is such that it doubles the number of residential units in this neighborhood. As such it should be held to a higher standard.

Concerns about the proposed Lane Co. development:

1. Vehicular Impact- The project only has 2 access points onto Avondale. This may be a requirement of the OI zoning, but their location at and below Hobart Street creates potential problems. There is no other direct way out of the neighborhood south of Hobart which does raise valid concerns for emergency vehicle access, particularly during construction. Would it be possible to split the development into 2 components, townhouse and apartments, allowing 3 access points to the project? Would it be possible to open Pershing to Avondale? It is currently a paper road. Long reach, but would it be possible to bridge over to Lester as an additional access point. Would the developer be willing to conduct a traffic study based on the reality of the existing road system to fully assess impact?

2. Green Space/ Streetscape issues- The proposed park space raised several concerns. Who will own, operate, and maintain it? What is the access for the community, what is the security plan for it? What is it envisioned to be? A fenced off green space would not be a welcoming addition to the neighborhood. The spacing and tree type is indicated on the plans, along Avondale, will that continue along Confederate? Are the lampposts decorative or utilitarian, Will the utilities be underground? Is it possible to continue the sidewalks at a reduced width to Teton?

3. Building Compliance- The Beltline Overlay Ordinance calls for the building to have an identifiable “architecturally articulated” entrance. That is not evident from the elevations provided the neighborhood to date. It also prohibits the use of fire egress doors as such an entrance. We would like to see the building broken into 2 visually distinct “buildings”, each with their own public entrance. The scale of the current design calls for a fairly unarticulated 580’ long wall across from 11- 50’ single family lots. The Beltline Overlay Ordinance also envisions demarcation of individual units at street level. We felt the design as currently shown fell short of that intent as well. Is it possible for the developer to revisit the articulation of the Avondale elevation to provide a scale more in keeping with the residential character of the neighborhood it is abutting? What type of furnishing will be in the street furniture zone, as well as the park?

4. Long term management- Are the apartment buildings being constructed to facilitate a future conversion to condominiums, or are they being built strictly for the rental market. Are the townhouses owner or rental? There is a difference in mindset and construction between rental and Owner occupied properties. Is there a similar project the community can look at to assess the anticipated quality of design and construction. What kind of external security measures are envisioned to improve the community? Will there be a community room available to the wider neighborhood?

5. Miscellaneous- If rentals, will there be any units set aside at a reduced rate for public sector employees such as fireman, teachers or nurses? Why the option not to have 3 bedroom units?

One other concern was the setback variance referred to on the site plan. It is our understanding that this is not currently in effect and if it does not go through, how does this impact the proposed development.