Developers outline 'Hamlet' final development plan; request five zoning waivers

Developers presented an informal review of the Hamlet final development plan to the New Albany Architectural Review Board on Aug. 12, describing a mixed-use neighborhood centered on Sugar Run Park and requesting five zoning waivers the team plans to formally file in September.

Justin Lyda (Steiner Associates) and Brian O'Looney (Torti Gallas and Partners) described the roughly 30-acre hamlet as five interlocking subareas with a central green — Sugar Run Park — that the team said has been increased from an initial estimate to just over 8 acres. The developers said they are proposing 33% open space in the submission, up from the zoning text's 25% requirement, and that approximately 60 acres of land associated with the project are expected to be turned over to the city for public ownership and maintenance (presenters described the 60-acre figure as a ballpark estimate).

Lyda said the project intends to avoid a single-builder cookie-cutter look by engaging several architects and builders and by using a project-specific pattern book to guide materials and form. "We pushed into the green space...we push that to 33% in our current version," Lyda said.

O'Looney reviewed the hamlet's design approach, emphasizing compact walkable blocks, a mix of housing types (flats, townhomes, single-family), multiple pedestrian loops, and a restrained, "humble" material palette intended to be deferential to the village center. He said the team has redesigned a flats building to preserve two specimen pin oaks and intends to break larger facades into smaller storefront increments to maintain street scale.

The team outlined five waivers they will present at formal review: (1) allow 4-foot sidewalks on certain interior streets instead of the code-required 5-foot sidewalks; (2) permit two custom single-family homes at an entry point where the zoning text otherwise calls for duplexes or townhomes; (3) use a consistent 44-foot datum through parts of a subarea rather than alternating 40/50-foot sections, while retaining 40-foot maximum frontage heights on main roads; (4) permit residential entries with two risers rather than a full 2-foot rise (to aid accessibility and avoid basements); and (5) revise a 10,000-square-foot tenant cap so it applies only to retail uses (allowing larger office tenants), coupled with an 80% active ground-floor use requirement.

Board members asked procedural questions about the ARB's role: staff confirmed the ARB will review the final development application and make a recommendation to the planning commission, while final site-level building permits and some detailed architectural reviews will be conducted by city staff and the city architect in accordance with code.

Residents spoke during public comment. Tricia Signini, president of the Albany Links Homeowners Association, said the hamlet is a major gateway for thousands of residents and urged the developer and board to elevate the aesthetic quality of the gateway along Central College and 605. "This is our major gateway... it should feel as special as you came into the city center," she said. Presenters said main thoroughfares and perimeter frontages are intended to be more formal, with the interior neighborhoods calibrated to be "intimate."

The applicant plans to return to the ARB for formal review on Sept. 9 and to the planning commission on Sept. 16. Staff and the applicant emphasized that final waivers, detailed elevations and phasing plans will be considered in those upcoming reviews.