Board approves special exception to convert vacant lot at 1452 Prospect St. into 22-space parking lot

The Metropolitan Board of Zoning Appeals, Division 2, on Feb. 11 approved a special exception and two minor setback variances to allow JC Hart Company to convert a vacant lot at 1452 Prospect Street into an auxiliary parking lot with 22 spaces to serve the City's End apartment and retail project across the street. The board vote was 3–1: Chairperson Craig Von Dalen, Patrice Duckett Brown and James Duke voted yes; Tom Barnes voted no.

JC Hart representatives said the off-site lot is intended primarily to improve leasing prospects for ground-floor retail within City's End, a 2021 project of 103 apartments and 123 bedrooms with 5,580 square feet of ground-floor commercial space. Attorney Misha Rabinowitch said the apartment project has 107 parking spaces (including on-street and ADA spaces) and that retail leasing has stalled in part because prospective tenants see limited parking. Rabinowitch said the proposed lot is about 0.23 acres and would be improved with landscaping, perimeter fencing and lighting, and that the curb cut would be moved from Prospect Street to Spruce Street to maintain continuous sidewalk and pedestrian flow.

The petitioner requested a special exception for commercial parking in a C4 zone and variances to allow 5-foot front-yard setbacks from both Prospect and Spruce streets. The petitioner presented letters of support included in the record from City-County Councilor Kristin Jones, the Fountain Square Neighborhood Association and the Fountain Fletcher District Organization, and a leasing opinion letter from Beth Patterson explaining parking as a barrier to leasing the retail space.

City planning staff recommended denial. Staff cited the Marion County Comprehensive Plan designation of “village mixed use” for the corridor and said a single-use surface parking lot could be inconsistent with the long-term intent for walkable, mixed-use development along Prospect Street. Staff also raised concerns that the lot could be dedicated in practice to the adjacent development for many years and therefore prevent neighborhood-serving mixed uses from locating on the parcel.

Petitioners said they attempted to arrange shared parking agreements with nearby property owners but were unsuccessful, and that the subject lot in its current state is underutilized. Todd May, vice president of development for JC Hart, told the board the project team would coordinate with the city's engineering department on pedestrian safety measures, including striping or a pedestrian flasher at the crossing to Prospect Street.

Board members who voted for the petition said the combination of neighborhood support, the parcel's small size (0.23 acres) and the practical difficulty of finding alternative, workable parking arrangements supported approval. Barnes, who voted no, echoed staff concerns that the lot could preclude village mixed-use development on that parcel and increase vehicle traffic in a corridor intended to be more pedestrian-oriented.

The board's action grants the special exception and variances; staff recommended conditions and enforcement requirements associated with permits and affidavits of compliance remain applicable to the approval.

Ending: The petitioner may proceed to obtain required development permits and will coordinate with applicable city departments on site improvements and pedestrian-safety measures. If there is a petition for judicial review, parties must file a written request for notice within five days of the board’s decision, per the board's rules of procedure.