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HomeMy WebLinkAboutAPEX - HAVEN APARTMENTS - FDP210012 - SUBMITTAL DOCUMENTS - ROUND 1 - PROJECT NARRATIVEProject Narrative APEX-HAVEN APARTMENTS NTS Haven Haven Apartments (1)Apartments (1) (2)(2) CSU STADIUMCSU STADIUM LAKE STREETLAKE STREET W. PROSPECT ROADW. PROSPECT ROAD PROSPECT LANEPROSPECT LANEEAE AND MULTI-MODAL EAE AND MULTI-MODAL CONNECTIONCONNECTION The StandardThe Standard The StandardThe Standard Existing Existing APEXAPEX PROJECT LOCATION (3)(3) Project Narrative APEX-HAVEN APARTMENTS PROJECT GOAL: The design intent of Apex-Haven Apartments development is to provide student oriented housing near the university within the High Density Mixed Use (HMN) zone district. The existing Apex Apartments (808 W Prospect, Parcel 9714321001, plated as The Slab) lot and the lot to the east (730 W Prospect, Parcel 9714321002) will be replatted as a single lot with this new submittal. The development will have a smaller scale residential feel by adaptively re-using the existing single-family homes as well as by providing a more residential landscape character (i.e. cottage garden) with shrub beds and lawns along Prospect Road. The new 3-story multi-family building is sited behind the existing single-family homes in order to minimize the visual impact of the building. In addition to this, it is designed to be much smaller in scale than many of the recently constructed buildings along Prospect in order to emphasize the historic character of the lot. The building steps down as it extend closer to the existing historic home. BACKGROUND: The Existing Apex Apartments has 61 studio and 1 bedroom units. The existing parking lot contains 87 vehicular parking spaces. There are a total of 67 bike parking spaces located within the basement of the building as well as outside in the plaza areas. A 10’ east-west multi-modal path was installed along Prospect Road, as well as an 8’ north-south multi-modal path that connects all the way to Lake Street. A detention pond was also installed in the SW portion of the 730 W Prospect lot that facilitates drainage from the Apex lot and building. The site at 730 W Prospect consists of two existing single-family residential homes, one has been landmarked and the other is eligible for the designation. Approximately half of the frontage of the lot contains the 10’ multi-modal path that was installed with the development of the Apex, this will be extended along the remaining lot frontage of Prospect. In addition to the sidewalk, a detention pond and surrounding landscaping as well as portions of the multi-modal path the extends to the north were also installed as a connection from Prospect to Lake Street. With this proposal all of this will now be re-platted as one lot with the Apex Apartments (The Slab Property). 1. PROJECT TITLE: Apex-Haven Apartments (previously submitted as Haven Apartments) 2. MEETING DATES: Preliminary Development Plan Meeting: June 26, 2019 Neighborhood Meeting: August 5, 2019 Second Neighborhood Meeting: February 24, 2020 (meeting was not required by City, applicant chose to hold additional meeting) Planning and Zoning Meeting: April 1, 2020. Project was passed unanimously. 3. GENERAL INFORMATION: Project Location: 808 and 730 W Prospect Road, on north side between Shields Street and S Whitcomb Street. Size: 114,570 sf / 2.63 ac Existing zoning: High Density Mixed-Use Neighborhood District (HMN) Proposed zoning: High Density Mixed-Use Neighborhood District (HMN) Number of off street parking spaces provided: 92 + 2 signed for ride share and delivery vehicles Number of building stories proposed: Three Maximum building height of new building: 46’-8” 4. PROPOSED OWNERS: CSU Research Foundation Contact: Rick Callan 601 S Howes St #410 Fort Collins, CO 80521 Project Narrative APEX-HAVEN APARTMENTS Maximo Development Group LLC Contact: Christian and Robin Bachelet 970-566-2948 christianbachelet@icloud.com rbachelet@mac.com Applicant: Russell + Mills Studios Contact: Shelley LaMastra 506 S College Ave, Unit A Fort Collins, CO 80524 970-484-8855 slamastra@russellmillsstudios.com 5. EXISTING OWNERS: CSU Research Foundation Contact: Rick Callan 601 S Howes St #410 Fort Collins, CO 80521 6. TRANSPORTATION IMPROVEMENTS: Vehicular traffic accesses Apex-Haven Apartments off of W. Prospect Road. Pedestrian and bicycle traffic utilizes the existing north- south multi-modal path between the Haven and Apex Apartments that connects from Prospect to Lake Street. A continuation of the east-west 10’ multi-modal walk along W Prospect is added to the property frontage. Improvements to public ROW curb to meet LCUASS with detached sidewalks and tree lawn are proposed with the project. A traffic memo has been provided with the submittal per the direction of City staff. 7. NEIGHBORHOOD & PROJECT UPDATE MEETINGS A neighborhood meeting was held on August 5, 2019 at the Plymouth Congregational Church building at 916 W Prospect Rd, Fort Collins, CO 80526. Several neighbors attended the meeting. Discussion were primarily centered on the neighbors to the east and their concerns. The submittal has addressed their concerns of noise and visual disturbance with a row of evergreen trees along the east side of the property adjacent to the neighbors existing home. These trees will be part of the mitigation tree requirements and will be planted at 8’ height instead of the required 6’ for a more immediate impact. Light disturbances are handled as per code with no light spillage and shown on the plans as such. Smoking will be not be permitted within the plaza area in order to mitigate concerns of air pollution since they do not have an AC unit for cooling in the summer. This requirement could be removed once the property redevelops into high density as projected with the current zoning. A second neighborhood meeting was held on February 24, 2020. Discussion again centered on neighbors to the east. Previous concerns for gathering area disturbances were no longer the case with the gathering plaza having been moved to the north to be internal to the new multi-family building as a courtyard area. Concerns were raised over detention pond that was located in the previous gathering area and possible flooding into basement of the 714 home. Please see stormwater text that addresses that concern for both neighbors as well as the existing landmark home. The neighbor at 638 W Prospect wanted the 25’ landscape buffer to be adhered to. He incorrectly stated that all of the boundary trees had been removed that were shown on the plan. Field photos, included in the modification request, the following morning on the 25th confirm that all trees are still on the site. Please see attached modification request for further information on this. A project update meeting was held on March 24, 2021. Key concerns at this meeting were the existing offsite trees on the neighboring properties. The plans were revised to show the interior and critical root zones of the three mentioned trees. Grading was adjusted to ensure no more than 3” of grade change occurred with the interior critical root zones of these trees that are on the Haven property. Tree protection fencing has also been added to the plans. Project Narrative APEX-HAVEN APARTMENTS 8. SITE DESIGN Apex-Haven Apartments is located on a unique property near Colorado State University. The lot has two existing residential homes, one of which has received landmark designation. The homes are located centrally on the lot, with one toward the east and one to the west side of the lot. In addition to these homes a detention area was constructed on the SW corner of the property to serve both the existing Apex multi-family to the west as well as the Haven Apartment. The site design seeks to create a more residential character by matching vehicular access patterns with the existing Apex parking lot functioning as the main lot and a smaller lot near the historic homes that will be permitted for those residents. The landscape aims to create a ‘front-yard’ residential or cottage garden character to anchor the existing structures in a low-water use landscape. The new 3-story multi-family building is located at the rear of the lot to minimize visual impact and allow existing structures and landscape to reduce its overall scale. A 25’ landscape buffer has been incorporated into the east side yard setback due to concerns on the neighbors and Planning and Zoning board members. Vehicular traffic will enter the site from west bound Prospect Ave (arterial) and exit west bound as well with a pork chop island directing traffic flow. Poudre Fire Authority will be able to utilize an emergency access easement through the parking lot that will also connect to the existing emergency access easement that runs through Apex’s parking lot and then to the north to connect to Lake Street. Ambulances and trash trucks will be able to pull into the existing Apex parking lot and exit out to the west through Apex’s parking lot. Trash trucks will be able to pull partially in on the EAE drive to service the trash enclosure located NW of building 2 on the Haven side. The 16’ wide pass through area between Apex and Haven is signed for no vehicular traffic other than emergency vehicles. Surface parking is utilized with the existing Apex lot and new smaller Haven lot. 94 total spaces are provided. Pedestrian traffic is accommodated with the continuation of the 10’ multi-modal sidewalk along Prospect Road. Pedestrian and bike traffic will be able to use the 16’ pass through between buildings 1 and 2 to connect to CSU campus via Lake Street. An accessible route into the site has been provided via the existing 10’ multi-modal path and the new east-west sidewalk to the south of building 2. Landscaping will use a variety of low water and native species as well as more ornamental/flowering shrubs that are more typically found within residential landscapes. Turf lawn areas with be provided along the entrance drive and in front of the historic home (building 3). A row of densely planted evergreens with 8’ planting heights will be located to the east of the historic home along the property boundary to help mitigate noise and visual disturbances for the existing neighbor to the east. 9. DISTURBANCES No existing wetlands, natural habitat areas are being disturbed with this project. 10. TRANSITION TECHNIQUES The project seeks to transition to both the surrounding neighborhood as well as the existing residential homes on the lot and neighboring lot by its architectural character as well as the 25’ landscape buffer and plantings along the east property. 11. ARCHITECTURE This proposed project includes the adaptive reuse of Building 3, which is a designated local historical landmark 1-story house at 720 W. Prospect; and Building 2, which is a historically eligible 2-story house at 730 W. Prospect, to convert them into two duplex apartment units. The existing exterior of these two buildings will be rehabilitated per Secretary of the Interior Standards for Rehabilitation, with only minimal changes being proposed on the north and east elevations of Building 2 to allow for a new resident entry. These proposed changes were approved by the Landmark Preservation Commission at the February 19, 2020 LPC Meeting. The proposed new 3-story, 48-unit apartment Building 1 is located behind the two historic houses, adjacent to the north side of the property, and will consist of (29) studio units, (17) 1-bedroom units and (2) 2-bedroom units. The massing of this building has been broken up into two wings connected by a central, 1-story common area element with an adjacent south-facing plaza space. This building configuration provides for an appearance of two smaller buildings with its overall massing, and also allows for views through the building when looking north from Prospect Road, over the 1-story common area connector. Both the west end of the west wing and south end of the east wing incorporates building step backs down to 2-stories in order to reduce the scale and relate to the 1- and 1-1/2-story historic houses and existing house to the southeast – this is adjacent to Building 3. Entrances to the Project Narrative APEX-HAVEN APARTMENTS apartment units are accessed from five interior stairs that are located along each of the building’s two wings on the west and south elevations., along with a single exterior stair located on the south end of the east wing. These stair entry points include expansive glazing and one-story roof entry elements to better define the entries and provide views for the residents looking both into and out of the stairways. The architectural design of Building 1 has been developed to relate to the surrounding context including the use of 1- and 2-story massing, and roof elements with simple gable and shed roof forms that complement the existing 1- and 2-story Buildings 2 and 3 and the existing Apex apartment building, including a series of low profile, shed roof dormers at the mezzanine level of the centrally located 3rd level units located at the west wing. The overall use of massing, step backs and roof forms have been used to create a transition from the existing 1- and 2-story single family residences to the east and south east, as well as the historic 1-1/2 story Buildings 2 and 3, to the larger 5-story apartment buildings and parking structure directly to the west and northwest of this site, along with the 120’ tall Canvas Stadium to the north. Use of stucco, brick and lap siding materials are being proposed, with a stronger emphasis of stucco at the south wing and south elevation, to respond to the existing stucco clad Buildings 2 and 3. The punched window fenestration has been designed to relate to the surrounding historic house and context with their sizing, and proportions. The proposed Building 1 design was also approved by the Landmark Preservation Commission at the February 19, 2020 LPC Meeting. Subsequent building design changes made to Building 1 to reduce the overall building footprint and allow for an increased east yard setback of 25’ were also review of City Historic Preservation Staff and approved on November 11, 2020. Based on this, it was determined that the project did not need to go back to the Landmark Preservation Commission for another design review since the changes did not constitute a change in compliance with the basic code requirements, and the execution of the design is equal to or better than the original version regarding Land Use Code 3.4.7. LANDMARK PRESERVATION COMMISSION CONCEPTUAL REVIEW COMMENTS AND RESPONSES A conceptual review meeting with the Landmark Preservation meeting was held on April 17, 2019. The project was presented and the following are some of the key comments that were heard from the Board included our responses. • While the LPC appreciated the step backs at the west and south elevations, they did want to see additional use of gable roof elements on the south side of proposed apartment building to relate more to the historic homes onsite and neighboring single-family properties. The elevations of Building 1 have been since updated to provide more gable roof and dormer elements on the west, south and southeast elevations to reflect this comment. • The LPC requested additional space to be provided between the proposed Building 1 apartment building and the historic Bldg. 3 and also preferred to see landscaping between these building instead of the hammerhead turn around that was presented. The design has since been updated which included reducing the overall area of Building 1 approximately 5% and reducing the length of the south wing 12’ in length and increasing the space from 20’ to 32’ between Building 1 and Building 3 and increase the distance from 22’ to 25’ between the north side of Building 2 and Building 1. Furthermore, the revised design also includes a high quality, south facing plaza and landscaped gathering space by being able to eliminate the hammerhead turnaround. • The LPC discuss options of height and massing of Building and was curious if a full 4-story design without the L-shaped south wing was considered. Further discussion between the Board members indicated a majority of them felt that a mostly 3-story building as presented with the L-shaped south wing that stepped down to 2-stories was preferred from an overall massing and articulation standpoint. • The south elevation of Building 1 included a parapet at the third level roof along the south elevation with the intent of Building 1 of serving as more of a “background building” to Building 2 and 3. The 2-story step backs at the west and south wings utilized shed roof elements to make the transitions from the main 3-story portion of the building. The Board members stated that they felt the parapet element did not speak to Building 2 and 3 and suggested mimicking the plain, sloped roof form of Building 2. The building elevations of Building 1 have been redesigned to address this comment with utilizing more gable roof forms that mimic Building 2 on the west, south and east elevations. • A Board member commented that the covered parking/garage entrance for Building 1 and the lower level of the south elevation looked a bit industrial and suggest making it look more residential. The current proposed design has addressed this comment with the use of a shed roof canopy with corbel support brackets on either side of the opening for support. This garage entry element has also been incorporated into the overall façade design and includes a gable roof form at the third level to create a stronger overall design element. Project Narrative APEX-HAVEN APARTMENTS An additional LPC meeting was held on February 19, 2020. The LPC Commission gave the recommendation for approval of the new redesigned project for Planning and Zoning. 12. PHASING SCHEDULE No phasing is proposed with this development. COMPLIANCE WITH THE WEST CENTRAL AREA PLAN (WCAP) POLICIES AND GUIDELINES Neighborhood Character – Principals to guide new development in the West Central area: • Design of new development must be sensitive to the general context and overall character of the neighborhood, influenced by local attributes, and demonstrate cohesiveness with adjacent properties. Out-of-scale development in relationship to existing development will be discouraged. Proposed Building 1 has been carefully designed with massing, form, fenestration and proportion to relate to the historically eligible Building 2 and historic Building 3 while creating a transition to the larger 4 and 5-story apartment projects to the northwest. The Building 1 step backs also helps transition to the neighboring single-family residence to the east of the property. • Compatibility can be achieved through careful site planning so that mass and scale are mitigated and located away from existing houses. Careful use of open space, yards and building setbacks, within an urban context, will help with density transitions. Proposed Building 1 was intentionally sited to deal specifically to this principal by placing it behind Buildings 2 and 3, thus maintaining the open space around the primary sides of these historic resources as well as keeping the existing streetscape character along Prospect that currently exists. • Building entrances should be oriented toward public streets. Building entrances for Buildings 2 and 3 are to remain and currently address the public street. The proposed Building 1 has been placed to the back of the site in order to maintain and respect the historic significance of Buildings 2 and 3 while still providing a visible and prominent location for its entry at southwest corner of the south elevation. • Height should be stepped back and buildings set back so that taller buildings do not loom over the street and shadowing of private property is minimized. The proposed Building 1 has significant step backs on both the west and southeast wings that bring the scale down to 2-stories from 3 stories. The Building has also been placed on the north end of the site to mitigate the impact if it overall scale to the eligible and historic Buildings 2 and 3 and neighboring single-family residence fronting Prospect Road to the east. • Parking lots should be located to the side and rear of buildings. The proposed smaller parking is behind and to the side of the existing, and contextually significant Buildings 2 and 3 in order to maintain and preserve the open space along the Prospect street scape. The bulk of the parking will be in the back behind the existing Apex building. • Building forms are expected to be responsive to the individual context of the site. The building forms of Building 3 have been specifically designed to compliment the existing Buildings 2 and 3 onsite which include massing modularity, proportions and roof forms. • Each site will relate to the street by a plaza, courtyard, entry feature or other ground floor amenities that enliven pedestrian interest and enhance the public streetscape. The existing historic streetscape will be maintained with this project and include new plaza, landscaping and other exterior features that enhance both the street scape as well as multiple areas around Buildings 2 and 3. • Additions and renovations to all properties are encouraged to be toward the side and rear and follow the Secretary of Interior Standards for the preservation of historic properties. No additions are being proposed for Buildings 2 and 3 and all exterior improvements to these buildings will be done per the Secretary of the Interiors Standards for Rehabilitation and will be reviewed by Historic Preservation Staff and the LPC for approval. • Figure 7. Potential Redevelopment Scenarios in the HMN Zone (Policy 1.9) The High-Density Mixed-Use Neighborhood (HMN) zone is generally located between Prospect Road and the CSU main campus. The HMN zone is comprised primarily of small lots varying in size, which could potentially be consolidated to successfully accommodate new development. The examples below illustrate a variety of lot consolidation scenarios addressing access, parking, setback and design strategies to assist with breaking up the overall mass of structures. Providing larger south facing courtyards and/or upper story setbacks Project Narrative APEX-HAVEN APARTMENTS will help avoid a monotonous “wall” along the street and create a perception of a series of smaller structures to improve compatibility. There are several houses in that are potentially eligible for local landmark designation. Designers of new buildings will need to pay close attention to architectural details in order to comply with both Chapter 14 of the City Code (Landmark Preservation) and Section 3.4.7 of the Land Use Code (Historic and Cultural Resources). Informal consultation with the Landmark Preservation Commission is encouraged in order to find design solutions that are beneficial to all parties. We have previously attended a Conceptual Design review meeting with the LPC on April 17, 2019 and will work with Historic Preservation Staff and LPC with future submittals as needed to receive a certificate of appropriateness and ultimately a recommendation to Planning & Zoning Board. Recommendation for approval was given on February 19, 2020. • Figure 9. Design Guidelines for Multi-Family Redevelopment & Infill (Policies 1.9, 1.10, 1.11) Multi-family redevelopment and infill should emphasize compatibility with adjacent neighborhoods and relate to a dominant residential character. The guidelines emphasize means of articulation or modulation to reduce large, monotonous masses and feel more residential in scale. In addition, consistent yet varied rooflines, front porches, human-scale detail (such as brackets/corbels and consistent fenestration patterns) are encouraged. Commercial type multi-family structures lacking these elements are discouraged. The west, south and east elevations of Building 3 uses residential roof forms, modules of massing and scale, window fenestration and other details that are complimentary of the both Building 2 and 3 as well as the neighboring single-family properties to the east of the site. UTILITIES The site utilizes existing infrastructure in the area to provide services for the project. Water for domestic and fire use, sanitary sewer, storm drainage and electric services is provided by the City of Fort Collins. Natural gas is provided by Xcel Energy. Phone and Internet is provided by CenturyLink and/or Comcast. LIGHTING All lighting will meet City of Fort Collins requirements. A photometric plan has been submitted. STORMWATER: The site will provide stormwater detention and water quality treatment onsite prior to releasing it offsite. Per communications with City personnel, after detention and water quality treatment, stormwater will be released to the existing street grade at Prospect Avenue. Additionally, the site will meet Low Impact Development standards through the use of bioretention and underground detention. A new detention pond, designated Pond C in the Construction Documents, is being proposed between Building 1 and 3 to address drainage requirements for this development. Pond C will provide detention for the contributing drainage basin. As water quality for the contributing drainage basin is being provided downstream, Pond C will not provide any water quality detention. Therefore, smaller storm events (i.e. water quality events) will be allowed to pass through the pond without any significant storage in the pond. During the 100-year event, the pond is designed to detain the entirety of the storm event, with a maximum depth of 30-inches, and release the detained volume slowly over a period of no more than 120-hours per State of Colorado requirements. To reduce the risk of stormwater infiltrating from the pond and into the adjacent basement of Building 3 and/or neighboring properties, the pond will be lined with a minimum of a 30-mil PVC liner outside of the wall limits (Refer to the Wall Detail). Additionally, to further protect Building 3, a foundation drain with sump pump located in the basement of the building will be provided. For emergency situations (e.g. the outlet structure becomes clogged or for storm events larger than the 100-year event) the pond is designed to control where stormwater will spill from the detention pond. This is accomplished through an emergency overflow structure which is designed to be located at the southeast corner of the pond wall. Water discharged from the emergency overflow will be directed via an onsite drainage swale from the overflow location to the eastern property line south of Building 3 and south of the existing residence east of the site. Once at the property line, water will be conveyed along the property line to West Prospect Road. As stated, the pond is only designed to release water over the emergency spillway during emergency situations. Additionally, the City of Fort Collins will require regular maintenance of the pond system through the Standard Operating Procedures attached to the Development Agreement for the property, limiting the probability of an emergency situation due to pond failure. Project Narrative APEX-HAVEN APARTMENTS TRASH AND RECYCLING SERVICE: Trash and recycling services will enter the site off of Prospect Road at the Apex entrance. The existing enclosure will continue to be serviced as it has historically with the exception of bins changing from 3CY to 4CY. The new enclosure will require the truck to pull slighting down the east-west portion of the EAE drive (with public access easement in place) to empty the 4CY bins in that enclosure. The truck will then back out into the Apex lot to exit back onto Prospect. LANDMARK PRESERVATION COMMISSION (LPC): Refer to Section 11 Architecture Section for comments related to architecture. The site plan and landscape plan are designed to provide a more residential feel in the front of the two existing single-family homes on the property. A patio space with room for a patio furnishings is provided. A wide planting area in front of the patio and home provides a rich palette of plants including blooming shrubs, ornamental grasses and perennials. Lawn areas in front of the landmark designated home and along the front entry drive are implemented as requested by the LPC. Since the first LPC meeting, the space between the historic landmark structure and proposed building has been increased with additional planting and gathering areas, per comments received. Recommendation for approval was granted at the February 19, 2020 meeting.