Council hears detailed review of 300 North Kirkwood Road mixed-use development plan

A public hearing on a proposed four-story mixed-use building at 300 North Kirkwood Road drew extended review from city planning staff, the developer and many nearby residents at the Sept. 4 meeting of the Kirkwood City Council.

City Planner 2 Amy Lowry presented the development plan and described the site as the southern 1.4-acre parcel of the former Commerce Bank property. She said the applicant proposes 4,829 square feet of ground-floor commercial space along Kirkwood Road, about 81,896 square feet of building (not including a parking structure), and 16 dwelling units on floors two through four. The plan includes a parking structure with 111 spaces, 13 bike racks and five accessible spaces, and a floor area ratio of about 1.3 (code allows up to 2.5). The building would be under the 60-foot height limit in the zoning code.

Lowry said the applicant requested a modification to the mandatory type C buffer on the property’s east side: instead of a six-foot masonry sound wall with a planting buffer, the proposal would retain an historic limestone wall…