Council hears plan to convert former Neumeier Funeral Home into 13 apartments; applicant commits to coordination on refuse and historic review

City planning staff presented Resolution 4 of 2026 seeking preliminary/final land development approval for 1332 North 2nd Street, a reuse of the former Neumeier Funeral Home into additional multifamily units.

Jeff (planning staff) explained the project would convert the 5,000-square-foot commercial/first-floor funeral-home area into eight first-floor apartments and yield a total of 13 units in the building (five existing upstairs plus eight new). The site includes an accessory surface parking lot with roughly 35 spaces; planning conditions call for historic-preservation review of exterior alterations and coordination with the Department of Public Works on refuse-container size, location and screening. Planning staff recommended approval subject to those conditions.

Michael White, director of acquisitions and development for Brennaman Group, said the building is about 8,500 square feet and that the current funeral-home operator provides only sparse services and is planning to cease operations. White said the project team has construction and management partners lined up and aims for a construction-close timeline around March, then 35–45 days for permits and roughly an eight‑month construction schedule plus 2–4 months of lease‑up.

Council members asked multiple operational and policy questions. Councilwoman Rawls and others asked whether current second‑floor residents would be displaced; White said they do not plan to displace current residents and that current rents for those units would not be raised as part of the current budget. President Hill and others pressed on affordability: White said the 1332 project would not participate in the city’s 20% affordable-housing expectation, and estimated rents for studios to two‑bedrooms would range from about $1,000 to $1,800 per month with an average “just over 1,300.” The developer said they are pursuing other projects that would include affordable units and that accessibility accommodations are planned where feasible.

Councilman Lawson moved the resolution to the next legislative session for a recorded vote; the planning commission’s recommended conditions (historic-preservation certificate of appropriateness and refuse coordination) will remain part of the record.

What happens next: The resolution will come to the legislative session for a recorded vote; if approved, the applicant must follow up on the planning conditions (historic review, refuse container coordination) and finalize construction and financing timelines.