Applicant presents reworked CR-4 design for 201 Oak Avenue; board offers early design guidance

An applicant team presented a reworked design for 201 Oak Avenue on April 22 after the city’s rezoning in the surrounding area. The team said they changed the proposal from an earlier CR-3 approach to a CR-4-compliant scheme that consolidates massing into a pinwheel plan with four sub-facade expressions to meet maximum façade-length rules.

Presenters described the revised building as four stories over a walkout basement; grouping common spaces into the south-facing, lower-level volume and moving mechanicals and condensers to the roof. The applicant said the new plan provides accessible on-grade entry from Summit Avenue into an elevator lobby, two remote egress stairs to meet fire-safety expectations, improved rooftop condenser placement and greater contiguous green space (approaching 30 percent compared with earlier iterations).

Board members responded with early guidance rather than formal votes. Several members praised improvements in accessibility, overall massing and the move to a single clear entry and elevator. They asked for more development of materiality and façade articulation so the pinwheel massing reads clearly in perspective and so the building better fits the neighborhood character. Vice Chair Elizabeth Godden and others recommended a pedestrian eye‑level viewpoint for the plaza and the trail interface in future visualizations; members also asked for clearer north arrows and labeled streets on subsequent plans.

The applicant said they would continue to test materials and return with additional details in subsequent submissions.

Sources: Applicant presentation and board member comments, April 22, 2025.