Townhouses Proposed

Development Would Be Biggest In Years In BV

One of the largest housing developments to be proposed in Buena Vista in decades will be presented at a public hearing before the city’s Planning Commission on March 11.

On the east side of Magnolia Avenue, between Sixth and Ninth streets, DWK Holdings LLC is proposing to build 22 townhouses on an undeveloped, sloping 2-acre site that’s currently pasture and trees. The northeast side of the site is bounded by Pedlar Gap Run. There is a steep dropoff on the east side of the site down to Woodland Avenue.

The Commission this past Tuesday, Feb. 18, reviewed a site plan that showed the townhouses arranged in five banks with two internal, one-way private drives. All of the units are three stories with gross square footage ranging from about 1,700 to 2,600 square feet. All but six of the units will have garages.

According to a description of the proposal included with the staff report, the development “will provide a housing type currently rare in the city: attached single family rental housing with garages. While these market rate units may house some college students, [they] are expected to attract interest from across the county among professionals and families looking for high-quality, low-maintenance rental housing.”

The proposal would necessitate a rezoning from R3, Residential Limited, to R4, Medium Density Residential, in order to allow for attached units at the proposed density. A conditional use permit would be needed because of setbacks and the height of the structures that are at variance with standards for the R4 district. The units are expected to be as tall as 40 feet high. The units are to be somewhat closer to the street than existing houses along Magnolia Avenue.

Abandonment of an undeveloped alley bisecting the site is to be requested. The total area of the alley is .201 of an acre, or 4,400 square feet. At the standard price of 75 cents per square foot, the price for the abandonment would be $3,300. The developers are working with utilities to relocate overhead and underground utilities on the site.

An underground storm water detention structure is to be located at the north end of the site. This will create a level grassy area above it where residents can gather, play games, walk their dogs or engage in other outdoor recreational activities. A new water main extension is being created from the opposite side of Magnolia Avenue at Sixth Street. A new gravity sewer line will run east from the site, down a pedestrian pathway to tie into the main line on Woodland Avenue.

Renderings were presented that show what the townhouses may look like but, it was pointed out, the exterior materials and styles to be utilized have not been finalized. Rather, the renderings reflect representative materials and styles similar to what may be built. According to the staff report, “Individual townhouse units will have different materials or styles, and materials may include brick, stucco and fiber cement board.”

A just-completed regional housing study recognizes a need for housing in Buena Vista, as does the city’s most recent (2011) comprehensive plan. According to the staff report, the comprehensive plan recommends identifying “‘appropriate locations for compatible infill housing that would replace vacant or underutilized sites in existing neighborhoods.’ This site is currently vacant and underutilized, and located on a main transportation corridor with infrastructure close by.”

The staff report continues: “Although the townhouse format is denser than many of the surrounding detached homes, this site is on Magnolia Avenue and only one block from the mixed use zone which has commercial development; and it is only one block from a row of five duplex buildings (10 units) in the 900 block of Woodland Avenue. Each of these duplexes is sited on a single 50’ x 125’ lot, which is double the density that current R3 zoning would allow.”

“This is a good-looking project,” observed Commission chair Dennis Hawes, noting that the density had been reduced from what it was during an earlier preliminary presentation, when a total of 32 units had been proposed.

The consensus of the Commission was to take the proposed rezoning, CUP and abandonment of an alley to a public hearing at the Commission’s next regular meeting on Thursday, March 11.