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Developers seek zoning and implementation approval for 227-unit River Place project; council heard first reading
Summary
DSI Real Estate presented plans for a two-phase, 227-unit River Place redevelopment; the council heard a general development plan and a precise implementation plan on first reading and discussed parking, height and TIF financing.
DSI Real Estate Group and its design team presented a two-phase redevelopment for the 100–300 River Place site, proposing 227 market-rate multifamily units across two buildings: a seven-story structure at the west end and a six-story building to the east. The city held first readings of a general development plan (GDP) and a precise implementation plan (PIP); no final council vote was taken.
Brian Munson, urban designer for the applicant, said the project is intended to add housing to a commercial corridor and to activate the existing cove and boardwalk. "We saw this as a great opportunity to bring some much needed housing into a thriving commercial corridor," Munson said. The applicant also said it intends to pursue tax increment financing and hopes to return with a final zoning approval that will allow the developer to obtain firm construction bids.
Council members and staff focused questions on parking, building height, open space and sustainability. Staff calculations in the packet showed a standards-based parking requirement of 362 stalls; the applicant proposed 302 on-site stalls plus 22 existing on-street stalls adjacent to the site for a total of 324, leaving a shortfall that the applicants said they would monitor after Phase 1 occupancy.
On sustainability and future infrastructure, developers said they plan to "rough in" conduits for electric vehicle charging and are open to solar; a DSI representative said, "We're big proponents of solar" but noted technical and metering challenges for individually metered units.
The Plan Commission recommended approval of the GDP and PIP with conditions (GDP 4–3; PIP 6–1 votes at the commission). City staff and the applicant said they prefer council approval of zoning at the next available meeting so the developer can obtain construction bids needed to present a TIF application to the Community Development Authority.
Because both items were introduced as first readings, the council did not adopt final approvals on April 15; the items will return for subsequent consideration with additional details and any conditions the council requires.
