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HomeMy WebLinkAboutPRESIDIO APARTMENTS - PDP - 25-09 - MINUTES/NOTES - CORRESPONDENCE-NEIGHBORHOOD MEETINGyou considered sinking one-half a story to create a garden level? You need to think about a creative solution to make a sensible transition for our neighborhood. 36. 1 would like to see a Landscape Plan. A. We have not prepared a Landscape Plan at this time but it is a work in progress and a submittal requirement of the City. 37. When would you expect to break ground? A. We estimate that ground -breaking could be in July of 2009. 38. Then how long would it take to build -out the project? A. We anticipate that it would take about 16 to 18 months to build out but that depends on the winter weather. Please note that the project will not be phased in over time. Instead, when we start construction, we intend to build all the buildings with the same construction crew from start to finish. 39. Was Village Homes invited to this meeting? A. Response from City Planner: After checking the notification mailing list, yes, Village Homes received notice of this meeting. s 30. What about the impact on schools? Schools in this area are over- crowded. A. Response from City Planner: After the meeting, I checked with Ed Holder of the Poudre School District. For multi -family projects greater than five dwelling units, here is the formula for estimating the number of new students: Elementary School 0.175 students x 240 = 42 Middle School 0.05 students x 240 = 12 High School 0.045 students x 240 = 11 --------------- Total = 65 The Poudre School District impact fee is $1,800 per unit. For 240 units, the total fee would be $432,000. This fee is payable at the time of building permit issuance. 31. Is it possible that students from this project would have to be bussed outside the neighborhood due to existing capacity at the neighborhood schools? A. Yes, we are told by the Poudre School District that bussing is always a possibility to fill the out -of -neighborhood schools that have available capacity. 32. There is a transient quality to renters that is not a positive impact on our neighborhood. A. We believe our tenants, while younger, are as generally well- behaved as the larger population. As we mentioned, we are owner -operators and we can control for noise, partying, littering, etc. 33. How committed are you to long term ownership? A. We generally sell our projects after 8 to 10 years of completion after they are fully depreciated. 34. 1 live two blocks away and will have a direct line of sight. I oppose the three story aspect of this project and I believe that renters will bring an increase of crime into our neighborhood. 35. 1 like the parking located internal to the site. But, at the same time, the three-story buildings being brought out to the street seems imposing. These buildings definitely need some variety height and mass. Have 22. 1 am concerned about the overall ambiance of our neighborhood. Several folks have mentioned property values but I take a slightly different approach. Our homes are not just a financial investment. Our homes represent a quality of life at the neighborhood level. I see your project as having negative impact on how we experience our everyday lives. 23. 1 don't see you tenants participating in our local activities or our local schools. 24. You need to think about upgrading the architecture of the buildings. The three-story appearance needs to be softened so as not to appear so abrupt compared to our neighborhood. 25. 1 agree. You need to consider adding more variety, more shadow lines and multiple roof lines so the buildings don't look so boxy. The mass needs to be broken down with more detail. 26. Could you add more Craftsman -like details to blend in with Observatory Village? 27. Where have you developed, owned and operated other similar projects? I would like to inspect a completed project. A. We have projects in Arvada, near Park Meadows Mall and near Flatiron Mall. We can provide you with addresses. 28. Will Cinquefoil go north to Harmony Road? A. Yes, it will intersect with Harmony Road to form a tee intersection. The traffic movements will be restricted to right- in/right-out only. There will not be a traffic signal at this intersection. 29. 1 have been listening to the comments. I echo most of the concerns and here is my summary: • Concern about our property values. Too much population / density for our neighborhood. Three stories is too radical a transition. Prefer two story and ownership versus rental. Serious concern about crime. Concern about operations and long term maintenance. • Concern about impact on. our neighborhood ambiance. 6 A. No, because we do not offer a three -bedroom unit and we do not provide private yards. For these reasons, we do not expect families. 18. 1 am concerned about your access onto Rock Creek Drive. There are a number of schools in our neighborhood and yet your project will bring in a population that is not family -oriented. I am concerned about all the extra traffic on our streets as kids walk or ride their bikes to school. All this extra traffic will be hazardous to our school kids. A. Yes, there will more traffic associated with our project but the surrounding streets have the available capacity to handle the extra cars. Lady Moon Drive, Rock Creek Drive and Cinquefoil Lane are all classified by the City as collector streets. These streets are designed to carry traffic from neighborhoods out to the arterial network. 19. 1 remain concerned about renters not contributing or participating in our neighborhood. A. Our tenant mix is about 60% single and 40& married. Our experience is that our tenants will also take pride in the neighborhood to the same extent as the homeowners. We conduct background checks on prospective tenants to verify financial capability and to learn about any criminal history. As an owner -operator, we can control conduct. Unacceptable behavior is a lease violation and grounds for eviction. We believe that renters are a good mix for any neighborhood. 20. 1 echo the concern about increased traffic. A. The City will require a Transportation Impact Study at the time we submit our project into the review process. This study will estimate the number of trips based on the number of units and describe the distribution pattern of the traffic. There are multiple opportunities to shed our traffic into different directions so we do not load up any on particular intersection during peak times. For example, traffic can go west to Lady Moon to Harmony or go east to Strauss Cabin Road. 21. 1 am concerned about our property values. A. Our projects are all well -maintained with a full-time staff. We are as interested in preserving our property values as you. 5 A. If we reduced all the buildings to two-story, then the density would be reduced to about 10 — 12 dwelling units per acre. This would essentially have the effect of making this a townhome project with units being for sale versus being for rent. Reducing the density as you suggest would make an apartment project infeasible. 13. 1 am concerned about the overall aesthetics of the project. The buildings appear to be repetitious. The project would benefit from greater building variety and an upgrade to the architectural character. I see lots of room for improvement from a design standpoint. A. Thank you for this comment. Our building design is by no means final at this point. We are still in the design phase and buildings can be modified. 14. What happened to the houses that were on Lady Moon Drive? A. These houses were deconstructed by the Craftsman Foundation. Materials that could be recycled were saved. This effort provided an opportunity for young people starting out in the trades to gain some experience. And, we were able to reduce the amount of waste at the landfill. 15. 1 am not too jazzed about three-story buildings and a high number of renters in my neighborhood. I would prefer ownership housing such as townhomes or condos. Two-story buildings make more sense for our neighborhood. I also worry about the higher crime rates associated with rental housing. My experience with rental housing is that there will be lots of car break-ins to steal car stereos. A. Our projects all have a staff that lives onsite. We have a full time maintenance and leasing staff that will live in our units. We will have the ability to provide security and any incidents can be reported to our staff immediately. 16. What do you mean by "high -end?" A. Our lowest rent will be approximately $1,020 for a one -bedroom unit that is roughly 725 — 790 square feet in size. Typically, an income of $38,000 is usually required by a tenant for this level of rent. 17. Are you expecting families? 4 review and approval by the Planning and Zoning Board. We are not seeking a zoning change. Three stories are an allowable height. Our density of 18 dwelling units per acre is roughly similar to Settlers Creek that is under construction on J.F.K. Parkway, just north of Home Depot. 8. Our neighborhood is family -oriented because of the nearby schools. Bringing in over 300 renters will upset the ambiance and quality of life in our neighborhood. Our property values will likely go down due to an apartment project of this magnitude. A. Our renters will not disrupt your neighborhood. Typically, our customers are between 24 and 34 years old and gainfully employed. They have been dubbed Generation Y and are characterized by being mobile and trying out various employment opportunities as they begin their professional careers. We see a need to provide rental housing for this demographic until they are financially established and can purchase a home whether it be a house, townhome or condo. It very well could be that they are as attracted to this neighborhood as you are and could become future home buyers. 9. Will you be competing with Settlers Creek? A. Obviously, Settlers Creek is ahead of us but they offer a different program. For example, their lease rates are slightly lower than ours and their amenity package is not as extensive as ours. 10. 1 am opposed to the density and mass of buildings. 11. What is your mix between one and two bedroom units? A. The exact mix has not been finalized. We expect the mix to be in the area of 55% one -bedroom and 45% two -bedroom units. This could be adjusted to a 50% - 50% mix as we work through our market analysis. 12. 1 recognize that multi -family, as a land use, represents an appropriate buffer from the more intense uses (light industrial, office, etc.) planned for the Harmony Technology Park. But, at the same time, I am concerned about the height and mass of the project. My preference is that you reduce the scope of the project to two story buildings instead of three. Would this be possible? 3 A. No, the swale is temporary. At the time of development, this swale will be put into a culvert so a bridge will not be necessary. 3. What about on -street parking along Rock Creek Drive? A. Our project is required to provide 1.5 spaces per one bedroom unit and 1.75 spaces per two bedroom unit. We will exceed these minimum parking requirements and provide all of our parking on our property. We will not depend on parallel parking spaces along Rock Creek Drive to comply with the City's parking code. Now, having said that, keep in mind that Rock Creek Drive is a public street that allows public parking but right now we are providing 404 parking spaces on our site. 4. What is the extra parking for? A. We will provide extra parking for leasing activity and guests. 5. The apartment vacancy rate in Fort Collins is high. Why are you developing this site at this time? A. We are developing because we think the vacancy rates in Fort Collins, for the upper -end rental market, is favorable. Our analysis indicates that apartments at the upper -end are 90% occupied. With the number of retail jobs generated by Front Range Village, along with the major employers in the Harmony Corridor, there is a rental market for housing to be served. 6. Why must you go to three stories? It looks as if Observatory Village, on the south side of Rock Creek Drive, will be "walled -in." A. Three-story buildings are necessary to achieve a sufficient density (about 18 dwelling units per acre) to provide an amenity package that will attract customers willing to pay our lease rates. We will be providing a 25-yard pool, 5,000 square foot clubhouse, business center and a work-out fitness room. We could not build this type of project at any less density so three-story buildings are necessary. 7. 1 am opposed to the mass that is created by the three-story buildings. I also oppose the density of 18 units per acre and I am generally of the opinion that renters do contribute to the family -orientation of our neighborhood. A. Keep in mind that on the north side of Rock Creek Drive, the zoning is H-C, Harmony Corridor. We are not zoned L-M-N, Low Density Mixed -Use Neighborhood like Observatory Village. Our zoning permits multi -family a permitted use, subject to 2 NEIGHBORHOOD MEETING SUMMARY PROJECT: The Apartments at Presidio DATE: October 27, 2008 APPLICANT: Milestone Development c/o Mr. Ken Kiken and Ms. Carter Laing, and Imago Enterprises c/o Mr. Les Kaplan CONSULTANT: Mr. Paul Campbell, Kephart, Inc. CITY PLANNER: Ted Shepard The meeting began with a description of the proposed project. As proposed, the project would consist of 240 apartments divided among 10 buildings. Each building would be three -stories in height. The parcel is referred to as Tract J of the Harmony Technology Park and is 13.5 acres in size. It is located north of Rock Creek Drive, between Lady Moon Drive on the west and Cinquefoil Lane on the East. There would be a total of 404 parking spaces. Of this total, there would be one parking space per unit provided within a garage. The site is zoned H-C, Harmony Corridor which permits multi -family dwelling units as a permitted use, subject to review by the City of Fort Collins Planning and Zoning Board. Precision Drive would be extended as a public street and form the northern boundary of the site. Unless otherwise noted, all responses are from the applicants or the consultants. QUESTIONS, CONCERNS, COMMENTS 1. What are the primary access points to the project? A. The primary access would be on the north from Precision Drive. This access drive is designed to align with a north -south drive that serves the entire Presidio project. This drive will bring customers directly to the leasing office and clubhouse. A secondary access would be from the south off Rock Creek Drive. 2. If you bring a drive out to Rock Creek Drive, will you have to build a bridge over the existing drainage swale?