Developers present concept for six‑story Front Street apartments; neighbors raise traffic and scale concerns

Developers seeking to replace the existing “Swiss chalet” building at 1036 South Front Street presented a conceptual plan June 18 to the Historic Resources Commission for a six‑story apartment building with ground‑floor residential entries and a partly submerged parking garage. No formal demolition or construction approvals were requested or taken; staff and the commission treated the session as conceptual review to help the applicant refine designs.

The applicant’s legal counsel, Craig Moncrief, said the team had revised the design after early feedback: “the goal for tonight’s meeting is to hopefully finalize the discussion on the demolition” and to return with a full application for demolition and new construction. The design team told the commission it has filed variance requests…