Board approves first‑step approvals for two mixed‑income projects on Livingston and Cassidy; remands design to ARB

The Board of Zoning and Planning took multiple actions on a two‑site redevelopment proposal by Community Builders and local partners that would deliver 43 multifamily apartments across two sites (27 units at 23100 East Livingston and 16 units at 420 North Cassidy) and house the Bexley Senior Center in the Cassidy building’s commercial space.

After lengthy staff presentations and public comment, the board approved a conditional use permit to allow first‑floor residential units at 23100 East Livingston under the city’s Mixed Use Commercial (MUC) standards and required that the project’s streetscape frontage be coordinated with the city’s upcoming Livingston Avenue streetscape design (board condition: frontage to the satisfaction of staff, with the intent to conform to the selected Livingston Avenue streetscape design). The conditional use vote passed 6–1.

The board also granted a variance to allow the required rear property fence to step down in height along the Livingston site to accommodate an adjacent driveway and remanded the project’s architectural details back to the Architectural Review Board (ARB) for final certificate of appropriateness. The fence variance and the remand to ARB passed unanimously.

The two sites are tied: Community Builders said the project received a competitive Low‑Income Housing Tax Credit award that covers both sites, and staff confirmed the financing and development approach presumes both sites move forward together. Community Builders’ representatives said ownership would be structured so the nonprofit manages and holds long‑term interest while project entities use tax‑credit financing; staff and the applicant said the city has authorized a real‑property tax abatement for residential projects of this type and that, because of the abatement, the project won’t begin paying property taxes during the abatement term but will do so when the abatement expires.

Public comment was extensive. Supporters, including the Bexley CIC and residents, urged the board to approve affordable housing at these locations and to ensure the senior center finds a permanent home. Opponents, primarily residents near Livingston, raised safety concerns about children and pedestrians on Livingston Avenue pending planned corridor improvements and questioned whether first‑floor residential is appropriate while the street remains auto‑oriented. Staff and the applicant responded that a funded joint Livingston Avenue streetscape project is moving forward and that the board’s streetscape condition requires the applicant to install frontage improvements consistent with that plan.

The board’s actions allow the developments to proceed to design review and permit steps while requiring the applicant to return with ARB recommendations on architectural details and to coordinate final frontage design with city staff and the Tree & Public Garden Commission.