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Italian Village Commission reviews conceptual plans for Dickinson Street apartment building
Summary
The Italian Village Commission heard a conceptual application for a multi-unit building on Dickinson Street with three unit-mix options and provided design feedback; staff recommended commissioners give design guidance and return with elevations and site plans.
The Italian Village Commission met Tuesday and reviewed a conceptual application (COA 2500513301) for new construction on Dickinson Street that proposes a multi-story apartment building under three unit-mix options and asked for additional design detail before final approval.
Commission staff told members the applicant presented three options: an all-studio option with 86 units, a one-bedroom–heavy option with 72 units, and a two-bedroom–heavy option with 72 units. Staff said previous reviews between 2021 and 2023 had supported the project’s massing and scale and recommended the commission provide design feedback now that no elevations or final site plans had yet been submitted.
Members stressed design details and pedestrian experience as the commission’s primary concerns. Commissioners said they favored eliminating long interior corridors without daylighting, preserving or replicating courtyard and exterior materials that have worked in earlier phases, and keeping the building scale consistent with neighboring phases. Commissioners also urged the applicant to consider how the building will read from the adjacent highway and recommended making the frontage more pedestrian-friendly and walkable.
Commissioners and commenters discussed parking and operational flexibility: members noted the existing garage on the site and said the project should accommodate any requirements that city parking rules ultimately impose. Several commissioners described a preference for residential use on the site rather than office, and members suggested refining the building’s courtyard, landscaping, and façade articulation to soften long elevations and improve connections to adjacent streets.
Staff and applicants were asked to return with elevations, detailed site plans and material samples so the commission could confirm conformity with the Italian Village design guidelines. No final action or permit was granted at the meeting; staff’s recommendation was for the commission to provide design feedback to guide a future, formal submittal.
The commission’s discussion was primarily conceptual; commissioners repeatedly framed comments as guidance to improve a future application rather than requirements that the commission had already approved.
