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Home My WebLink AboutZMA201900006 Narrative 2019-07-12Greenfield Terrace Apartments, Albemarle county, VA Project Description: Rio Greenfield Apartments is a planned 110-unit three apartment building complex to be located fronting both Rio Road West and the Greenfield Terrace cul-de-sac, west of Berkmar Drive. The development will be a rental property, with provisions to possibly convert into condominiums at a later date. This contemporary complex includes two four-story apartment buildings fronting Rio and Station Lane (existing private road) with a three-story building fronting Greenfield Terrace. All three elevatored buildings have a one level basement parking garage, plus surface parking in front of each. The three buildings share a similar 10 unit typical floor layout with an equal distribution of two -bedroom two -bath and one -bedroom one -bath units ranging from 750 SF to 1180 SF, each with 100 SF balcony. The two -bedroom two - bathroom units are designed with couples or shared singles in mind, with one bedrooms for singles and couples. We anticipate the units and location will appeal primarily to Miilennials and Baby Boomer singles and couples. Contemplated resident interior amenities include a resident lounge and a fitness center. Exterior site amenities likely will include a swimming pool, extensive lawns, and other recreational amenities to be finalized at site planning stage. We shall preserve a mature sloped wooded area to our west edge and we back onto a County owned woods directly to our north (School Board property). The buildings are contemporary in their architectural expression, suited to the target Millennial tenant market, flat roofed to keep the building scale and profile low, with generous glazing and cement board horizontal plank and board exteriors. The building is highly articulated, with each living room expressed as a projected "bay" and each unit's balcony deeply recessed, all of which contribute to modulating the building's scale. The buildings are organized fronting the roadways, with private Road Station Lane meeting Greenfield Terrace extended at right angles in a 4 way intersection, which also connects to the north building garage and surface parking. These roadways are lined with allee's of trees in planting strips between the roadways and parking spaces and sidewalks. The buildings fronting Rio step back one room module on the top floor creating lower rooftop terraces, and the facades facing Rio have a front entrance expressed with entry canopy facing Rio. The Rio facades are angled parallel to Rio, then the massing transitions to the primary orientation of the complex which is orthogonal to Station Lane and Greenfield Terrace. We feel that setting a new contemporary context for the Rio Small Area fronting its main east -west arterial will set a forward -looking new vision for this Rio 29 "urban village center", with the stepped 3 and 4 story scale appropriate as the transition edge of this Small Area. Neighboring properties include: + mature wooded area immediately to the west with four single family homes well beyond the woods fronting on Woodburn Road • County School Board owned mature woods directly to the north and Agnor-Hurt School immediately north of the woods • one block long Greenfield Terrace cul-de-sac accessing four small office buildings • small commercial and retail buildings east of us along Rio to Berkmar • older office buildings and new assisted living development south across Rio Residents will be close to Fashion Square and Route 29 shopping, and employment centers north up Berkmar to the Research Park and south in -town via Route 29 or Rio, with bus routes along both Rio and Berkmar, and bicycle lanes on Rio leading to nearby trails. Re- Zoning Request for a Planned Residential Development (35 DUA) and Requested Waivers/Variances Zoning: The property is an assembly of four contiguous lots totaling 3.2 acres which are currently all zoned Commercial Office CO, (permitting multifamily development with a Special Use Permit). We recently obtained a Special Use Permit on two of the lots for a 33 unit Greenfield Terrace apartment building (R-15 density). Two more contiguous adjacent lots became available, so we are submitting this rezoning request for a Planned Residential Development RPD at a density 35 units per acre, for a total of 110 units (35 DUA x 3.2 acres actually totals 112 units). We are proposing to least 15% of the total units as affordable apartments at 80% AMI: 9 one -bed and 8 two - bed. Parking: Current zoning requires 192 parking spaces, but we request a 10% parking reduction in recognition of the very close proximity to both the Rio and Berkmar bus routes. Our current site plan shows 85+ spaces on site, plus 30 to 32 spaces in each of the three garages for a current total of +/-180 spaces (10% reduction actually equals 173 spaces) and there is also considerable on -street parking available for guests on Greenfield Terrace. Setbacks: We also request using multifamily residential setbacks in lieu of the CO setbacks for this multifamily development. Stepbacks: Our one room width fourth floor stepback varies from 14 feet to 23 feet as its angles to parallel Rio Road so requires a minor variance. (We are setback 10 feet from the Rio r.o.w.) Amenities: We are providing amenities targeting our anticipated singles and couples market including swimming pool, fitness room, lounge and exterior fire pit conversation area and grilling area and request waiving the tot lot requirement. The development is in keeping with Albemarle County's Rio 29 Small Area Plan which encourages high density urban development in this location; the property is in the "Flex" area which encourages multifamily in its neighborhood mix. Adding 110 residential families to this office and retail neighborhood begins to evolve Rio 29 small area into more of a mixed -use character. Powe Studio Architects for Urban Places LLC, Developer Greenfield Terrace Apartments, Albemarle County, VA Submission Narrative: Project Proposal Consistency with Comprehensive Plan: • The proposed apartment building is entirely consistent with the newly adopted Rio 29 Small Area Plan which encourages increased urban density development to increase places to live, work and play. Urban density, as defined in the Comprehensive Plan (Rio 29 SAP) as multifamily development up to 35 DUA. Developing Multifamily on Rio and on Greenfield Terrace, which is currently all office and retail uses, increases the mixed -use character of this Greenfield Terrace neighborhood. Public Need or Benefit • There is a current high demand for Millennial and Baby Boomer housing in Albemarle County's inner ring suburban areas, with the Comprehensive Plan/Rio 29 Small Area Plan for this area encouraging more of an urban density which we are proposing with our 35 units per acre development. With existing bus routes a block away, existing Rio bike lanes and bicycle routes planned to connect this neighborhood to the Rio at 29 mixed use center, and a sidewalk system developing, a more urban lifestyle is encouraged. How rezoning will not be a detriment to adjacent lots • An apartment buildings compliment the adjacent businesses on Greenfield and on Rio which are all office and retail buildings, providing walk -to -work opportunities. The single family homes west of our property are set back considerably from our site and we propose a treed buffer area separating them from our proposed apartment buildings which are set downhill from the adjacent homes. How the character of the zoning district will not be changed by proposed multifamily use • The character of Greenfield Terrace and the Rio Road corridor will be enhanced by the addition of multifamily apartments, changing this office/retail-only area into a live -work mixed -use neighborhood. The proposed contemporary character of the complex will help set a more forward -looking character for the Rio Small Area. Now rezoning will be in harmony with the following: • Purpose and intent of the Zoning Ordinance o The current zoning ordinance encourages multifamily use as a Special Use and County zoning provides this Planned Residential Development option for properties such as ours which exceed 3 acres. • Uses permitted by right in this Zoning District o The addition of multifamily units enhances the existing office use by creating a more urban mixed - use neighborhood. • Regulations provided in Section 19 PRD of the Zoning Ordinance o We are capturing the spirit of the PRD zoning option to increase the intensity of land use while preserving as many natural features and adding new treed landscape to the neighborhood. • Public health, safety and general welfare o By introducing residential into this neighborhood, we are encouraging a live -work urban neighborhood. Being proximate to retail amenities and to proposed bicycle and pedestrian ways, and with two bus routes only a block away, we will encourage a less automobile -oriented and more urbane lifestyle. Impacts on Public Facilities & Public Infrastructure o Pre -application discussion with VDOT engineer and County engineer confirm that there appears to be no problematic increased traffic impacts with the added residents onto Greenfield/Berkmar or Rio. (We will be required to request an exception from VDOT standard of separation between entrances onto a minor arterial on the same side of the street: note: we are not changing the existing Station Lane private road access point onto Rio). Similarly, we understand that existing utilities are sized with sufficient capacity to manage this increased density. We shall engineer a modified storm water management system including detention dry pond approach during the site plan submission process. We do not anticipate many children living in these homes, although the complex is very convenient to nearby Agnor-Hurt Elementary School. Impacts on Environmental Features • Two of the lots are currently vacant land with an overgrown wooded area; the other two have low density residential -scaled structures (5 townhomes and cottage on one, 2 single family homes currently used for child care and residence on the other). It is our intent to preserve as many healthy trees on site as possible, most particularly by leaving a preserved strip of wooded property (except for clearing overgrowth) along the west edge of our site. There are some minor managed slopes to the west edge of our property which we propose to leave as wooded areas. We shall be adding tree allees for our internal streets to create a greener ambiance for our residents and starting to begin edge Rio with a tree border (as planned in the Rio 29 SAP). Affordable Housing • Urban Places LLC and Powe Studio Architects are committed to creating more affordable housing in our region. We shall pledge at least 15% of the units will be affordable at 80% AMI (50:50 of one and two bedroom units distribution) and we are prepared to discuss further reduction in rental costs should the County adopt a system to assist in subsidizing affordability below 80% AMI. Powe Studio Architects for Urban Places LLC, Developer