Impact
WARD: 1
COMMITTEE: Community Development
$ IMPACT: N/A
Title
Public Hearing Only - Zoning Request Z17-014 - Rezoning from NS & OI to MU-Conditional for the development of a mixed use project with 310 multi-family units, a hotel, 15,000 sq. ft. of retail space and 80,000 sq. ft. of office space - 8.7 Acres - Land Lots 880 & 881 - 2800 & 2810 Spring Road - Westplan Investors Acquisitions, LLC -
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ISSUE: Westplan Acquisitions, LLC is requesting to annex and rezone the property at 2800 & 2810 Spring Road from Neighborhood Shopping (NS) and Office/Institutional (OI) to Mixed Use (MU) - Conditional for the development of a mixed use development consisting of a hotel, an office building, a retail/office building and a multi-family development.
The proposed mixed use development will have the following uses:
1. A 6 to 12 story hotel (126,000 sq. ft.), which will accommodate 140 to 250 rooms with associated structured parking below the hotel. The hotel will be located near Spring Road.
2. A 5 to 6 story multi-family building consisting of 310 apartment units wrapped around a 5 to 6 story parking deck with 465 parking spaces. The multi-family building will be 389,333 sq. ft. in floor area with an average unit size of 900 sq. ft The multi-family building will be located towards the rear of the property along I-285.
3. A 3 to 4 story office building containing 80,000 sq. ft. of floor area with frontage on I-285.
4. A two-story flex retail/office building with 7,500 sq. ft. of retail space on the bottom floor and 7,500 sq. ft. of office/commercial space on the second floor over the retail, located along Spring Road.
BACKGROUND: The zoning request was heard by the Planning and Zoning Board at the April 9, 2018 meeting and was recommended for denial by a vote of 6-0.
RECOMMENDATION/REQUESTED ACTION: If the proposed development is viewed as providing "mixed uses", then one could say in a broad sense that it is "generally consistent" with the land use recommendations in the Spring Road LCI Master Plan. However, if viewed in the larger context of meeting the intent and goals of the LCI plan, then the current proposal as designed falls short. The proposed plan does provide different types of uses within the development (apartments, hotel(s), retail and office); however, the layout, design and integration of those uses within the site does not draw someone's interest into the site nor does it encourage easy and natural connectivity within the site or to adjacent sites. As currently design, the proposed use within the site and are isolated and independent of one another. The only thing connecting one use to the other is a sidewalk that runs from Spring Road to Springhill Parkway. In addition, the ranges in building heights and number of rooms for the proposed hotel are different than those submitted for the DRI. Further, staff has only been provided limited information regarding the type of hotel that is being requested. The LCI study suggests that “a select service type of establishment (somewhat upgraded from a conventional limited service hotel) is possible in the study area. Staff does not have enough information to determine what type of hotel is actually being proposed and as such is not supportive.
The current design does not encourage the essential interactions between the uses to make a successful mixed use development due to building orientation, traffic flow through the site and the site topography. The 30 to 40 foot elevation change from Spring Road to I-285 would allow for the construction of all the buildings on top of a parking structure with the parking below. If all the parking was located below buildings, the development could be designed in such a way to meet all the goals and policies established in the Spring Road LCI Master Plan. The buildings could be constructed at the same elevation on a community plaza or open space while separating pedestrians from vehicular traffic and providing integrated landing spots for the pedestrian bridges over Spring Road and I-285. The proposed apartment complex should be oriented closer to and/or along Spring Road with the proposed hotel located closer to I-285.
The proposed site design negatively and permanently impacts the city’s opportunity to achieve the officially adopted LCI Master Plan. The opportunity costs associated with the approval of the development are significant with respect to future development south of Spring Road between Cobb Parkway and Cumberland Boulevard. In addition, the proposed plan presents concerns with respect to fire safety & accessibility, as well as stormwater management (since no information was presented). Therefore, Community Development recommends denial of the request.