So I did a little more digging through the Zoning Board of Appeals minutes last night & this morning. I didn't find anything else on 440 S. Burdick Street. But there are three other developments that caught my eye, in the
November 12, 2020 and
December 10, 2020 Meeting Agendas. Thanks again, BrewInKzoo, for inadvertently sending me down this path. I am going to try and track these minutes more closely from now on so we don't miss any vital information.
1. 1211 S. Westnedge Ave. (Current Knights Inn)
First, there was a request on the November 12, 2020 meeting agenda for three zoning variances related to
1211 S. Westnedge Ave. This is currently the site of a derelict Knights Inn that was built in the early 1960's. The
LIFT Foundation - a local, non-profit, low-income housing provider, wants to purchase the property and convert it into 60 studio apartments. They plan to keep the existing skeleton of the building and pretty much overhaul all of the materials & finishes, inside & out. I think this is a great idea, and honestly, I'm pretty sure that this Knights Inn is already a long-term home for many of its occupants. The three variances requested included:
- A request to allow dwelling units on a ground floor level in a commercial zone (CN-1);
- A request to allow for smaller lot areas per dwelling unit (627 SF Ea. vs. the minimum 1,800 SF required by ordinance); and
- A request for an off-street parking variance to allow for a total of 38 spaces, where a minimum of 46 would be required. The argument here is that some residents will be elderly and others will be too poor to afford a car, and the property is on the public transit route.
All three variance requests were granted unanimously.
2. 205 / 209 E. Stockbridge Ave. (Hawthorne Park Development)
Second, some more info on Hawthorne Park, which I mentioned on
November 22. Apparently this did pass Site Plan Review, and - surprise surprise, it consists of a 4-story and 2-story apartment building (60 units total). Like the Knights Inn conversion project above, this development is spearheaded by the LIFT Foundation. All they are doing is requesting a re-approval of a previously approved use variance to allow residential dwelling units on the ground floor of each building. It has several physical addresses - you can see the site here:
205 / 209 E. Stockbridge Ave. This should pass with no issue.
The first renderings that I've seen for this project are included in the December 12, 2020 ZBA Meeting Agenda -
3. 508 Harrison / 600 Gull Road (River Caddis Development)
Third, the December 10, 2020 meeting agenda included a hearing for the River Caddis Development planned for
508 Harrison and 660 Gull Road. This is that tricky flood-prone, funding-challenged, Brownfield site that I mentioned a few posts back. If fully built-out, this development would include five buildings, including - two 4-story apartment buildings with a mix of 222 affordable & market-rate units, one apartment amenities building, and two commercial buildings. River Caddis is requesting three variances as well:
- A use variance to allow for residential units on the ground floor;
- A dimensional variance to reduce the lot area per dwelling (from 1,500 SF to 1,234 SF); and
- A dimensional variance to allow a range between 5 - 30 feet front build-to requirement for the primary building façade (vs. the required 0 - 10 feet in this zone).
I don't know what the decision was by the board for these requests yet. Once approved the next step is city site plan review. There's a site plan included that I don't think has been seen / shared on here yet -
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If you're out there, feel free to join & chime in! It's always nice to have discussion.
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