Quote:
Originally Posted by GeorgiaPeanuts
What about the other proposals at the drc?  |
I'll do my best to try and summarize the rest from memory, granted I am a terrible reporter, and the technical specifics discussed at these meetings often go over my head
NCR: The tower will be connected to the podium bordered by Spring and 8th, and this will be the main entrance for the building, although a secondary entrance will be on 8th. This covers the northern portion of the lot. The southern portion of the lot, bordering Square on 5th, is reserved for a second phase. Because they plan to develop this portion of the lot as well, they requested a variance to not cover the exposed garage facing the south/square on 5th. The DRC was not happy with that request as they cannot guarantee that a second phase will be delivered and then we would be stuck with an exposed garage. The developer suggested that if that was the case, they would come back later and do something to the garage to mask it better. Although the DRC was still apprehensive because that still means we could be looking at an exposed garage for the better part of 7-10 years. Although, they are assuring that they will do something with this portion but it's anyone's guess now what that could be (pocket park, public space, etc). As I said earlier, from what I heard in passing, it sounds like the tower will be a total of 28 stories. The DRC was also concerned with them wanting to place on-street parking/drop off on West Peachtree, as it would confuse people in Midtown who are used to actual on-street parking as opposed to Buckhead where there are more of these "drop-off zones". The biggest thing NCR is trying to accomplish with this development is to use the mid-rise portion fronting Spring as a way to draw in students. They want them to see in and want to work there and are incorporating a plaza type feel, but expressed thoroughly that while it's open to the public, it is still private property and they will enforce their private property rules (removing someone who should not be there). The top portion of the podium will be exclusively for hte use of NCR employees, but could include a connection to the 5th street plaza in tech square (although you would need some sort of a key card or be invited to gain access to the top).
1270 Spring Street: The mid-rise development bordered by 16th to the north, spring to the east, williams to the left, and a future 15th street street/bridge extension. The willaims street side is covered with granite, which the devlopers plan to incorporate into the design. There will be a curb cut to the southern portion on the williams street side, almost like you're driving into the granite. The site is pretty tricky due to the grade changes on almost all corners of the site. There will be retail all along spring street, with a curb cut on spring. The building lobby will be on the corner of Spring and 16th. The DRC members were concerned that the retail facing the future 15th St extension/Spring is not being planned very well, as the grade changes to only 10ft floor to ceiling (will still be 14ft inside, as you will walk down steps to get into the retail) and they had concerns with the retail feeling like an "arcade" due to the residential portion sticking out 5ft further than the retail. In general, the DRC members were concerned with the retail portion looking very dark and unwelcoming, compared to the lighter colors used for the residential portion. The developers admittedly are in the early stages of this thing and they will be back for a second showing, in which they will give more details about the retail portion as their renderings were not very detailed in regard to this. DRC was happy with just about everything else with this proposal, they are mostly just concerned with the corner of Spring and the future 15th st extension. It's important to note that the developer does not own the land going all the way up to the future 15th street extension. A portion of the lot, is still owned by GDOT, which means it will have a set back from any future 15th street bridge/street extension.
1400 West Peachtree Street: This one was really pretty underwhelming in my opinion. No retail. All active use so far is going to just be the lobby portions of the residential and hotel towers. Granted, these guys have a tricky situation to deal with, as a Marta ventilation structure is smack middle in their developed, encroaching onto the side walk, leaving a very narrow strip of sidewalk to deal with for a small portion of their West Peachtree frontage
(see google maps below). Curb cut on West Peachtree, curb cut on on 18th, curb cut/loading on spring. The DRC at least recommended that the curb cut on West Peachtree be an entrance only, while 18th would be exit only. This should cut down on the size of the curb cuts from the standard 24ft, to possibly 12ft and also help with the flow of traffic on West Peachtree. The biggest issue here is that Marta ventilation shaft. There will need to be more discussions between Marta and the developer to arrive at a solution that doesn't kill the pedestrian experience.
https://www.google.com/maps/@33.79295,-8...Wwkuvf7BfmbTvBTnXC-nQ!2e0!7i13312!8i6656
With all this said, both of these projects are very much in the early stages of planning and a lot can change between now and the next time they are presented. I did not stay for the town-home presentation as it seemed the DRC members were packing up, so I'm not sure if that one was rescheduled or not.
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