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HomeMy WebLinkAboutIMPALA REDEVELOPMENT - PDP220005 - SUBMITTAL DOCUMENTS - ROUND 2 - PROJECT NARRATIVE MINIMAL RISK. PAINLESS PROCESS. BEAUTIFUL SPACES. o: 970.224.5828 | w: ripleydesigninc.com RIPLEY DESIGN, INC. | 419 Canyon Avenue, Suite 200 | Fort Collins, CO 80521 April 13th, 2022 Edited June 8th, 2022 Impala Redevelopment Project Development Plan | Project Narrative Preliminary Design Meeting Date: 3/9/2022 Neighborhood Meeting Date: 3/24/2022 Proposed Owners: Both properties are owned by Housing Catalyst Entities. 306 Impala Circle ownership is held by the Housing Authority of the City of Fort Collins. 400 Impala ownership is held by Villages LTD. Ultimately the ownership of both properties will be transferred into a Limited Liability Limited Partnership (LLLP) at the time of financial closing. Housing Catalyst will maintain ownership interest as the General Partner in the to be formed LLP. Existing Owners: Both properties are owned by Housing Catalyst Entities. 306 Impala Circle ownership is held by the Housing Authority of the City of Fort Collins. 400 Impala ownership is held by Villages LTD. Overview: The applicant, Housing Catalyst, is proposing to develop 62 new affordable dwelling units on the properties of 306 and 400 Impala Circle to complement the 12 existing duplexes on 400 Impala. The goal of the new units is to provide housing to Fort Collins Residents ranging in income from 30%-80% AMI with a target average of 55% AMI. The current zoning to remain is Low Density Mixed-Use (LMN). The two existing properties, 306- and 400 Impala, will be platted into one parcel. The overall 7.19 acre development will be within the allowable density and height and for affordable housing within the LMN zone district, adequate parking is provided to accommodate requirements for the development as a whole. As with most affordable infill housing projects modifications will be required. Three modifications are provided with this proposal for Maximum Number of dwelling units per building (LUC 4.5 (E)(4)(a)), Maximum Floor Area (LUC 4.5 (E)(4)(i)), and Orientation to a Connecting Walkway (LUC 3.5.2 (D)(1)). Most of the major improvements are proposed on the 306 Impala site. To accommodate 56 new affordable units on that site, the existing single-family homes on the property will be demolished and residents relocated. The layout for 306 Impala has been carefully organized to provide neighborhood compatibility. All buildings fronting Impala Drive and Impala circle will be limited to two stories. A single 3-story building is tucked behind the two-story buildings in the northeast corner of the 306 block. This puts the largest building farthest away from the adjacent single family residential. This is similar MINIMAL RISK. PAINLESS PROCESS. BEAUTIFUL SPACES. o: 970.224.5828 | w: ripleydesigninc.com RIPLEY DESIGN, INC. | 419 Canyon Avenue, Suite 200 | Fort Collins, CO 80521 to another successful site design approach Housing Catalyst used at their recent Village on Redwood project. On the 400 Impala site, a new 6-unit, two-story multifamily building is proposed along Mulberry. The existing duplex will be removed to make room for the new residences. Interior and exterior updating of the other 12 existing duplexes within 400 Impala are also anticipated as part of the development proposal. Additionally, landscape enhancements around the detention areas and an improved pedestrian/bicycle connection to Mulberry will happen on 400 Impala Circle. Housing Catalyst sees these two properties as a great opportunity to provide high quality affordable housing units to our community. Bringing this community to life will meet the intended goals of the City Plan (2019) and the affordable Housing Strategic Plan (2015-2019) by increasing the affordable housing stock and leveraging the priorities and incentives outlined in the Housing Strategic Plan (2021). Current site conditions 300 Impala currently has 11 small single-family residences on it. They will be removed for the new development. On 400 Impala, the existing 12 duplexes will receive important capital improvements and updates which will improve the accessibility and energy efficiency of the homes (final scope is yet to be determined). The single duplex fronting Mulberry will be removed and a new 6-unit, two-story building will be built there. Site Access and Circulation The site will be accessed off of Impala Drive and Mulberry Street. The application will request the vacation of the Impala Circle right of way. This is needed to provide parking for the 56 units proposed on the 306 Impala Circle site. The access will be provided through a public/emergency access and utility easement/ private drive rather than public right of way - essentially acting as a public road while allowing more efficient parking. The new 6-unit building along Mulberry will utilize the current access off of Mulberry Street. In response to neighbor feedback, this proposal is providing 8 parking stalls directly adjacent to the building, with the remaining 2 required parking spaces to be accessed from the cul-de-sac along Impala Circle. A detailed parking breakdown is provided with the site plan package. There is an existing walk connecting the duplex units at 400 Impala to Mulberry. The development is proposing to widen and enhance that connection from the duplexes to the new Mulberry units to a bicycle, pedestrian, and emergency vehicle connection. Site Design The site design for 306 Impala has buildings located along the local streets and private drives. The buildings are designed such that units facing the streets have direct access to the sidewalks. Main entries are oriented so that parking can be easily accessed by residents. This allows for a nice open space interior to the site where site amenities will be placed. The amenity space is a central part of the vision for the property and will play crucial role in fostering a MINIMAL RISK. PAINLESS PROCESS. BEAUTIFUL SPACES. o: 970.224.5828 | w: ripleydesigninc.com RIPLEY DESIGN, INC. | 419 Canyon Avenue, Suite 200 | Fort Collins, CO 80521 vibrant community. Potential programming for the amenity areas includes large and small gathering spaces, BBQ, shade structures, outdoor games, and a playground. On 400 Impala, the site design will remain consistent with the current layout. The additions will be the new building and revised parking (in same location as the existing duplex sits on Mulberry) and the enhanced bicycle/ pedestrian connecting path between the existing duplexes and the new 6-unit walk-up building. The area to the north of the existing duplexes (adjacent to the high school sports fields) will serve as a detention area and will feature a soft trail for resident enjoyment. Bike parking facilities will be dispersed throughout the site. Enclosed and secure bike rooms are provided within each walk-up building and surface bike parking spaces are equally distributed throughout the property. Architectural Design The development at 306 Impala and 400 Impala will consist of a total of 62 new residential units in five residential buildings and an approximately 2,000 SF stand-alone community building. 52 of those units will be designed as one-level “flats”, and 10 of those units will be designed as two-story townhouses. The 52 flats will consist of 1-, 2-, and 3-bedroom units and be located in three “Walk-Up” style buildings. The 10 townhouses will consist of 2- and 3-bedroom units and be located in two buildings along Impala Circle. Architecturally, the goal is to relate to, compliment, and enhance the scale and aesthetic of the surrounding neighborhood as much as possible. Pitched roofs and exterior cladding materials that complement the surrounding architectural character are used on every building so the project fits in seamlessly with the adjacent neighborhood. All window and door sizes are easily recognized as residential in nature. An effort has been made to place a majority of these windows facing the public right-of-way to provide a transparent, safe, and active pedestrian experience along the street. The townhouses have been broken into two separate buildings to reduce the overall scale and feel of those units, and they’ve been given front porches and located to face Impala Circle on the south which will create a vibrant pedestrian experience along that edge. Their east-west orientation will also give each unit great solar access, as each unit’s main living spaces face south. The massing of the townhouse buildings will be mostly two-stories but will step down to one-story elements to further relate to the height of the adjacent single-family and duplex homes. At 306 Impala, the walk-up style buildings will vary in size and height, which will create architectural interest throughout the project. The smaller, two-story walk-up buildings have been located adjacent to the public streets to relate to the size and scale of the neighborhood, and the three-story walk-up building has been located internal to the property to reduce the visibility of the additional height. MINIMAL RISK. PAINLESS PROCESS. BEAUTIFUL SPACES. o: 970.224.5828 | w: ripleydesigninc.com RIPLEY DESIGN, INC. | 419 Canyon Avenue, Suite 200 | Fort Collins, CO 80521 The proposed 6-plex is a one-and two-story building that has been designed to reflect and respect the one-story historic house to the west by stepping down the mass from two-stories to one-story on the west side of the building that faces the historic house. The proposed design also has a centrally- located dormer on the west façade that relates to the south facing, centrally-located dormer on the historic house. The south façade of the proposed 6-plex that faces Mulberry Street has been articulated so that it reads as two smaller halves, instead of one, larger façade. Each half of the facade is similar in width to the historic house. The proposed materials will be of highly-durable fiber cement siding and asphalt shingles to create a visual connection to the historic home. The 8” horizontal lap siding will reference the size of the modular brick façade and stone window heads used on the historic home, and the proposed brick orange color of the siding will further create a connection to the orange brick used on the historic home. The horizontal shadow line cast by the proposed lap siding will relate to the horizontal grout lines of the historic brick. Also, asphalt shingles are proposed on the new building, which will relate to the asphalt shingles used on the historic home. The proposed windows will be single-hung to match the historic home, and the proportion of window to wall will be very similar to the more solid, load bearing brick of the historic home. The proposed porch roof that faces Mulberry will continue the horizontal roof eave line of the historic home, and the proposed white, two-story element will reflect the upper dormer of the historic home that is facing Mulberry Street. There are no fire sprinkler systems in the existing buildings, but all new buildings will be equipped with automatic fire sprinkler systems. Compatibility: Careful consideration was given to the neighborhood context. Lower density two-story buildings are proposed directly across Impala Drive and Impala Circle from existing single-family residential. The highest density building (3-story multifamily building) is placed in the back of 306 Impala Circle site. The two-story building will help screen the 3-story buildings from the homes to the south and to the west; and the adjacent single-family homes to the east are more than 300’ away and buffered by the high school sports fields. Also, the buildings have been designed with pitched roofs, exterior materials and colors, and residential architectural details that are compatible with the surrounding homes. The building height, parking counts, and density are in compliance with the Land Use Code. The 6-unit walk-up along Mulberry is designed to be two-stories, and more than 25’ of separation is provided to the single-family property line to the east. Parking and vehicular traffic is mitigated to the extent feasible, and a bike/pedestrian transition zone is designed to alleviate any potential conflicts along the driveway. A traffic study was conducted as part of the PDP requirements, and no additional infrastructure improvements are warranted. The average daily trip count is not significant increased from the exiting site conditions. MINIMAL RISK. PAINLESS PROCESS. BEAUTIFUL SPACES. o: 970.224.5828 | w: ripleydesigninc.com RIPLEY DESIGN, INC. | 419 Canyon Avenue, Suite 200 | Fort Collins, CO 80521 Stormwater and Wastewater Strategy: 306 and 400 Impala will maintain historic drainage patterns, utilizing existing detention facilities in their current locations. A new storm pipe will be installed from the existing manhole in Mulberry St and brought into the site to lower the bottom of detention facilities to create additional volume required by the increase in imperviousness while maintaining the total site release rate of 5.8 cfs per previous drainage reports. Low Impact Design (LID) features such as rain gardens and/or permeable pavers will be installed to treat new or modified impervious areas. Sanitary sewer will be served by an existing main that runs through 400 Impala to 306 Impala or along an existing main located in Impala Dr. Similarly, existing water mains in Impala Dr or Impala Circle will service the proposed buildings on 306 Impala. Existing water and sewer services to the existing house along Mulberry St that is a demo/build will serve the new building. Neighborhood Meeting Discussion Points A Neighborhood Meeting was held on March 24th, 2022. Some of the main concerns discussed by attendees were traffic and parking provided by the redevelopment and interest in the new building that is accessed off of Mulberry. Regarding parking associated with 306 Impala Drive, all of the required vehicular parking will be provided on-site. The parking requirements are broken down by bedroom and can adequately be accommodated for the two walk-up buildings and townhomes in the north. As a whole, all the new buildings and the existing duplexes are parked to code requirements. A TIS was conducted and it is determined that traffic generated by the new development will not significantly increase the average daily peak hours and no public facility improvements are warranted. Based on feedback received both in meetings with neighbors and during the Neighborhood Meeting, the number of parking stalls were reduced at the 6-unit walk-up along Mulberry from 14 spaces (at PDR) to 6 spaces (current). The intent with reducing the number of parking stalls is to address the number of turns into the driveway, alleviate potential vehicle, pedestrian and bicycle conflicts. The enhanced bike pedestrian connection to the cul-de-sac is also modified to connect to the detached walk behind the parking and provide a transition area to enter the driveway lane when traveling south towards Mulberry. The vehicular entry off of Mulberry has also been modified to reflect a driveway standard. Within the context of the City Plan & Framework Plans As Identified within the context of the City Plan (2019), the Affordable Housing Strategic Plan (2015-2019), and the Housing Strategic Plan (2021), the community need for affordable housing is clear. The Impala Redevelopment proposal can substantially address an important community need by providing 62 new units of affordable housing in a location where residents can feel safe, foster community, access transit, and relieve educational barriers with Poudre High School partnerships. The 49 net new units represent approximately one fifth of the MINIMAL RISK. PAINLESS PROCESS. BEAUTIFUL SPACES. o: 970.224.5828 | w: ripleydesigninc.com RIPLEY DESIGN, INC. | 419 Canyon Avenue, Suite 200 | Fort Collins, CO 80521 targeted annual goal of 282 units to meet 2040 inventory goals (Housing Strategic Plan). This proposal also leverages specific priorities identified in the plan by requesting modifications to the Land Use Code that are considered quick and low-cost wins: Have you previously submitted an application? A Preliminary Design Review Application was submitted by the same applicant on 3/9/2022. First Round PDP was submitted by the same applicant on 4/13/2022.