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Commission approves preliminary plan and conditional use for Bridge Park Block J with conditions on materials and circulation
Summary
The commission approved a preliminary development plan, parking plan and a conditional use for a mixed‑use Block J in Bridge Park after extensive Q&A about a Green Street pedestrian/service connection, garage façade treatments, proposed materials (thin brick and HPL panels) and coordination with COTA for a temporary park‑and‑ride location. One material waiver was deferred to final plan review.
The Dublin Planning & Zoning Commission voted May 20 to approve a preliminary development plan, associated waivers and a conditional use for Bridge Park Block J, a multi‑building proposal that includes an office/restaurant building, a parking garage intended to serve the block (and a temporary COTA park‑and‑ride), and a five‑story condominium building with a central landscaped open space.
The applicant team — led by Russell Hunter and architects and landscape designers — described a central "Community Lawn" and a daylighted bioretention feature, a pedestrian footbridge linking phases, and a private‑street promenade intended to prioritize pedestrians while preserving service access. Landscape architect Haley Wolf said the core space will feature large transplanted London plane trees and a community deck for year‑round use.
Architects described a material palette with a brick base, metal panels and a warm phenolic (wood‑look) panel; the condominium elevations used a thin‑brick application above the base. The applicant also proposed HPL/phenolic panels on some office façades and a frosted‑glass stair tower on the garage. Commissioners and staff asked for additional substantiation of long‑term durability for less‑familiar materials and asked for continued refinement of the south elevation (the long façade facing the central open space) to break up horizontal massing.
A primary operational question was whether the private Green Street through the block should remain a through‑street — accommodating service, delivery and garage egress — or be limited to pedestrian and service access only. The applicant and staff said they had studied both options and described tradeoffs: through access simplifies service vehicle turning and garbage collection and provides two garage egress points, while limited access would better prioritize pedestrian character but would require careful operational controls (bollards, time restrictions) for deliveries and servicing.
The commission approved most requested waivers but did not grant a waiver for one material (an HPL panel application) to allow staff and the applicant to bring more information and to resolve the material decision at final development plan stage. The approval included multiple conditions requiring the applicant to work with staff on Green Street and park connectivity, to refine the south elevation and garage façade treatment, to coordinate with COTA on bus‑stop and temporary park‑and‑ride requirements, and to provide material samples and third‑party review where needed.
Next steps: the applicant will move to final development plan submittal, address the staff and commission conditions (material samples, façade adjustments, Green Street operational plan), and return to staff/commission review for final engineering and permitting.
