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Permalink Reply by DeWain Feller on September 23, 2011 at 11:08pm

Lets get a good dialog about this project before the public meeting on Thursday.  This project will have a major impact (good and bad) on our neighborhood.  The most significant new development in the proposal is that the proposed apartment building now contains more units and would be 11 stories.  I do not have a problem with the height of the building, but I know that some residents in the area undoubtedly will.  There are also serious questions about whether the project would create problems with parking, as the project would displace some existing parking and create the demand for more parking.

 

I would like to hear what others think about the impact of this project.  What are the real concerns?  What could be done to minimize the negative impacts?  What can be done to maximize the positive impacts?

 

My personal view is that I would like to see the drive-through for the credit union removed in order to keep more parking at the site.  Drive-throughs are not an appropriate use in a dense urban development.  While the credit union may say that they need a drive through, my belief is that we have plenty of other vacant or marginal commercial sites in less congested areas of the Southwest that could be a more appropriate site for the credit union.

 

I also would like to see the developer put in a bus shelter at the site and encourage the students to use transit (in order to make the site attractive to car-less students and minimize the demand on parking).

 

Lastly, I want to explore the possibility that we can ask the developer to provide some funds to rehabilitate a few houses in the SW in exchange for our approval of the height variance.  Rehabbing a house or two in the immediate area would compensate neighbors that would be immediately impacted by the project.  Rehabbing a house or two in the northern part of the SW (I vote for Chili Avenue) would provide a way to spread the positive impact of Brooks Landing to the areas of the SW that need improvements the most.

 

Thoughts?  Comments?

DeWain Feller

President, 19th Ward Community Association

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Permalink Reply by Diane Watkins on September 30, 2011 at 12:37am

Good points DeWain. After listening to one of our neighborhood & business associations (jointly) on the other side of the bridge, I understand that they are now trying to rectify some of the unintended consequences of the developments on their side of the bridge. Parking is one of the biggest issues for them. Students have dominated parking on almost every street. Neighbors are proposing restricted; permit only parking like Corn Hill. Either way, there is increased cost to the taxpayer because they are City streets and RPD is charged with enforcement.

They are also distressed by large corporations buying up of the single family homes and converting them into rentals for student housing. One corporation is actually based out of Hawaii. Of course, our neighbors view the shift from quiet residential streets into loud, all night college parties as an unacceptable balance. They have made some progress, working with the Nancy from their Neighborhood Team to get one of the landlords to reconvert one of his divisions. They even reported that someone had attempted to convert the detached garage into livable space and that another had paved the grass in the backyard for student parking.

Our bridge neighbors had to have RPD engage the MCC's lacrosse team at a frat house in the District over a loud, rowdy party. We must devise clear agreements with both MCC and the U of R that students that live in neighborhood housing are still their responsibility just as if they lived on campus.  City taxpayer's should not foot the entire cost of policing students. The developers make money; the U of R makes money, the City pays and won't break even for decades to come.

There is also the issue with businesses that have drive throughs that do not have enough room to stack cars as they wait. This issue pushes the waiting cars, in their case; onto Elmwood Ave, in our case on to Genesee So, maybe the credit union has enough stack space, but we should still ask.

 Personally, I feel that the student housing design looks like a big old project building. I would like to see a more circular building with more glass on the exterior. I can see the under hang (float) as a place where undesirable behaviors can take place.

 

Lastly, I don't see anyway for the promise of reconnecting Plymouth vehicular traffic with Elmwood to be fulfilled without creating a major traffic flow through the Stay bridge parking lot.

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Permalink Reply by Judi Baker on October 4, 2011 at 11:01am

WOW Diane, for a minute I thought you were speaking of my neighborhood.  Many roll-offs over here signaling interior changes in once vacant homes, or those snatched up before the 'For Sale' signs can hit the front lawns.

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Permalink Reply by Diane Watkins on October 12, 2011 at 7:08pm

Is anyone organizing citizens to make sure that our voices a loud and clear on the student housing plan at Brooks Landing. I am very concerned about diverting a traffic flow through a parking lot, limited parking, and the huge brick student housing building ending up looking like the "projects". That corner is already too tight for left turns. I can't imagine a drive through there. I plan on sending my comments to Rick, but I want to know what others think.

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