The Design Review Board on Dec. 19 approved several major Portman Brookside items — the site plan and photometrics, the landscape plan (with specified changes), and exterior materials — while asking the applicant to return with a focused redesign of the long north elevation.

Portman representatives described a multi‑phase mixed‑use redevelopment fronting Old Milton Parkway and Brookside Parkway. Phase 1 includes a multifamily building over an internal six‑story parking deck (the team noted the deck will provide 800‑plus spaces within the podium), multiple standalone retail buildings along a private street network, and future pedestrian connections to Brookside Park and the Big Creek Greenway. Staff said many ground‑floor retail storefronts will return later as tenant fit‑outs.

On landscape, CORE presented a planting strategy that preserves existing street trees along Old Milton, introduces permeable pavers and bioswales, and layers shrubs and understory plantings to screen parking and public views. Board members asked for additional planting to screen the stormwater pond from Old Milton Parkway and to soften the view corridor down to the loading area; they also recommended replacing redbud tree proposals under the dense canopy with more shade‑tolerant understory species and avoiding planting large specimen evergreens atop geogrid retaining walls where roots could compromise wall performance. The board approved the landscape package with those conditions.

Architectural reviewers praised the development’s varied masonry palettes but flagged the length and relative monotony of a segment of the Old Milton (north) elevation. The board voted to approve exterior elevations and materials overall but required the applicant to return with a full resubmission of the north elevation (Part 1) including a three‑dimensional rendering and a plan showing how residential dryer and bathroom vents will be handled without disrupting the brick articulation. The board also asked the applicant to submit building lighting to staff for approval.

The board approved the site plan and photometrics (motion passed 7‑0), the landscape plan with the requested changes (7‑0), and elevations with the return‑to‑DRB condition (7‑0). Staff and the applicant agreed follow‑up items — the design standards document, furnishings and signage packages, and tenant storefronts — will come back through staff or DRB as appropriate prior to final permitting.

Next steps include the applicant producing the north‑elevation 3‑D rendering and a mechanical exhaust/venting plan for staff and board review before final sign‑off on the multifamily façade.