|
119 Unit
Bellwood Project Unveiled |
|
|
June 14, 2006 At the June Tract 7260 board meeting, Developer Jim Suhr of Bellwood Partners presented preliminary plans for a 119 unit condominium project on Bellwood. The project site is on the south side of Olympic, east of Beverly Glen. The project as currently envisioned involves 35 1,100sf units, 22 1220sf units, 41 1350sf units and 21 1500sf units. The developer expects the selling price for the units to be around $650/sf. The development includes the city “vacating” a portion of Bellwood Avenue.
The project would have subterranean parking and would replace 112 studio apartments and one hair salon on the property. The current population of the apartments is estimated at 120 people and the population of the new development is estimated at 208. The developer is seeking a “Mitigated Negative Declaration” (MND) and traffic study as opposed to a full environmental review. A MND is a process whereby the city finds that although the proposed project could have a significant effect on the environment, there will not be a significant effect because revisions to the project have been made by or agreed to by the developer. The Tract 7260 board raised several issues. First and foremost is the impact the proposed project would have on residents of Kerwood, Keswick and Orton. As the proposed buildings are primarily four story buildings the board raised view and privacy concerns for those homes in the immediate area. The board also raised traffic concerns, specifically that residents of the new property would have difficulty going west onto Olympic. The developer suggested that a new light on Olympic might be appropriate, and the board rejected the idea as it would impact capacity of Olympic which is critical to regional traffic flow. The developer did not have trip generation data. The board asked about toxic concerns as the proposed site is adjacent to or includes several sites that had businesses that typically generate hazardous chemicals. The developer stated that core samples near the drycleaner were clear and that the “flow” of the former AM/PM toxic site was toward Olympic, not toward the project. The project will not be seeking variances, but will be seeking to have the city vacate a portion of Bellwood. Zoning changes may also be required. The board asked about project timing. If the developer receives a MND, demolition and construction would start in approximately 16 months. If the developer is required to conduct a full environmental review, construction would start in approximately 36 months. Demolition and construction is expected to take between 18 and 24 months. While the Tract 7260 board did not take a position on the project at the meeting, there are, as stated above, significant concerns. The Tract 7260 board intends to be fully engaged in the project process toward the goal of protecting and preserving Tract 7260 member quality of life as well as property values. Please send any comments to the Tract 7260 board via email to: Bellwood at Tract7260.org. You can also send comments via the feedback page.
|
Proposed
Project