Developer presents 9‑story Woodward mixed‑use plan; board flags parking, traffic and code questions

BezTek Companies and Suroke Architecture presented a pre‑application for a 9‑story mixed‑use building at Woodward and Maple during the Birmingham City Planning Board meeting on Dec. 10.

Sam Besnos, CEO of BezTek Companies, described the firm as a long‑term holder of apartments and senior living across multiple states and introduced an in‑house development and design team. Architect Victor Ciroki said the schematic calls for two levels of underground parking (B2: 152 spaces; B1: 157 spaces), a tall first‑floor retail podium, apartments on floors two through seven (about 190 units), and 27 condominiums on the top two floors for sale.

"By ordinance in the residential requires 260 spaces. The retail will require 55 spaces," Ciroki said, summarizing the ordinance calculation and the project totals. He added that, including bonus floors, the ordinance count is roughly 516 spaces and the current design provides 444 — "a little bit short, 72 short spaces." The team said they have engaged Stonefield Engineering to produce a shared‑parking analysis and hired Rich & Associates to refine garage layouts.

Board members foregrounded parking and traffic safety as the central issues. The chair said: "I think the biggest problem you have is the shortage of parking spaces," and reminded the applicant that the board recently declined a project that was roughly 50 spaces short. Members asked the applicant to demonstrate how public and residential demands would be segregated or shared and whether on‑street and nearby municipal parking could mitigate off‑site demand.

Members also urged careful coordination with the Michigan Department of Transportation because the site fronts Michigan 1/Woodward. "They're gonna have a say in what is gonna happen along there," a member said; Ciroki confirmed the team will coordinate with MDOT and that bus stops on both Maple and Woodward will be considered in design.

Traffic egress was another focal point. Board members asked the traffic consultant to study left‑turn egress onto westbound Maple — an intersection noted for backups — and requested that the CIS (community impact study) examine any historical hazardous‑materials records and whether a phase II environmental assessment is required.

The applicant flagged a building‑code nuance: an internal parking level behind the tall retail could be classified as a separate "floor" by building code (rather than a mezzanine), which could require a variance from the Board of Zoning Appeals even if the building height complies with zoning. Ciroki said, "If it's classified as a floor, we will need a variance from the Board of Zoning Appeals." The board noted that building‑code and zoning‑code reviews involve different jurisdictions and encouraged early coordination.

The design team emphasized streetscape improvements including replacing diagonal on‑street parking with parallel parking and widening sidewalks with street trees. Ciroki said the project includes two public parking levels the team intends to maintain for public use and pledged to refine parking counts through the shared‑parking analysis.

The board did not take a vote on the pre‑application. Members asked the applicant to return with the shared‑parking study, updated circulation and curb‑cut proposals (especially regarding left‑turn egress), the environmental assessment if indicated, and clarification on how public parking will be provided and counted for bonus‑floor eligibility. The applicant said they plan to continue refining the design and to coordinate required reviews with city staff and MDOT.