Springfield City Council last night passed a proposal allowing additional apartment units as part of the planned development at The Abbey Apartments, 1530 E. Erie St.
The 7-2 vote allows apartment owner TLC Properties to develop a three-story, 33-unit building despite neighbors’ concerns it would increase flooding problems downhill and reduce property values.
Councilmen Doug Burlison and Craig Hosmer each cast votes against the zoning change at the meeting.
“I won’t be supporting this tonight due to the questions surrounding additional stormwater runoff in this area and it’s impact on the adjoining neighborhood,” Burlison said before the vote.
During the public hearing at the Aug. 4 meeting, three neighbors, who live to the south and downhill of The Abbey, said significant rain events routinely produce flooding in the neighborhood. They each said another building would likely increase stormwater problems and traffic and decrease privacy and property values.
TLC’s plans would bring its total number of units at The Abbey to 364. The original planned development only allowed up to 350 units.
At the Aug. 4 council meeting, Springfield Stormwater Engineer Rodney Colson told council he visited the apartments in mid-July after a rain event and saw some obstructions in place preventing water frlow into the regional detention area to the west of the apartments. He said TLC management addressed the issue and removed the blockages.
Brett Stevens, project architect for H Design Group and representative of the developer during the public hearing, said TLC Properties would work to minimize flooding in the area. According to city codes, he said the new structure – estimated to cost around $2.5 million – couldn’t make flooding worse downhill.
This morning, TLC Properties founder Sam E. Coryell said construction on The Abbey building could begin in six months and take six additional months to finish, though he expects it to be about a year and a half, in all, before completion. He said the company currently is focused on starting construction on two other projects: the 130-unit Coryell Commons coming to East Monestary Street and the $10 million Township 28 complex in Galloway Village.
Coryell said the family’s Coryell Enterprises would serve as the general contractor for all three projects, though The Abbey addition – funded through a U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development loan – could need a different builder to meet HUD specifications.
“Taking that big of a loan out is like going to the dentist for a root canal, only with HUD there’s no Novocain,” Coryell said.
He said construction on Township 28 – a project forwarded by Coryell’s son and TLC Executive Director Sam M. Coryell – and Coryell Commons is expected to begin next month.[[In-content Ad]]
