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Planning Board approves Phase 3 of Eaton Street development at 325 S. Eaton with conditions
Summary
The board unanimously approved the final site plan and design review for 325 South Eaton Street (District Lots Phase 3), subject to six conditions including updated plans reflecting Eaton Road redesign, complete floor plans, revised photometrics, 12-foot first-floor height confirmation, transformer dimensions and compliance with city departments.
On Jan. 28 the Birmingham Planning Board unanimously approved the final site plan and design review for Phase 3 of the District Lots project at 325 South Eaton Street, subject to six conditions aimed at updating plans and ensuring compliance with departmental engineering and design standards.
Staff noted the proposal is substantially the same application the board approved in 2021 but that plans were put on hold and need updating for changes beyond the applicant’s control, chiefly the Eaton Road redesign that shifts the curb 5–6 feet and creates additional right-of-way for sidewalks and streetscape amenities. Staff recommended approval with conditions to address those updates and carryover items from the 2021 approval.
Architect Alex Saroki and owner-builder John Kelly described the project as the final piece of a multi-building campus. Kelly said the curb shift provides space for additional landscaping and green space and that the team will reduce impervious area where possible. He told the board the recently installed gate (a "green gate") was intended to control delivery vehicles and reduce through-traffic; the project is not proposing the gate as part of the current submission.
Board members pressed the team on circulation, loading spaces and parking counts, and on some plan artifacts that appear to be carryovers from the earlier submission. Member Robin Boyle pointed to a plan line that listed "47 1-bedroom units times 1,500 square feet," which staff and the applicants acknowledged was a carryover and not accurate for the proposed unit sizes; applicants said many units are closer to about 692 sq. ft. Kelly said the Phase 3 product is rental and intended to meet a market demand for smaller, more-affordable units in the district.
After discussion the board voted to approve the final site plan for 325 South Eaton Street with these conditions: (1) update plans based on the Eaton Road redesign and adjust where necessary; (2) submit complete floor plans showing bedrooms and unit counts to verify lot area per unit requirements; (3) provide a revised photometric plan to meet minimum circulation luminance; (4) confirm first-floor height of 12 feet from finished floor to finished ceiling on submitted building plans; (5) provide dimensions for electronic transformers to verify screening; and (6) comply with requests of all city departments.
The board recorded the motion as unanimous. Applicant representatives indicated the next detailed submittals will follow departmental review; John Kelly said major construction timing is still contingent on market factors but suggested the team would be roughly nine months from construction readiness as the project advances.
