Grant Avenue Parkway development Tribecca Park gets P&Z nod

A planned development for the Tribecca Park LLC development on Grant Avenue Parkway was given the nod by the Springfield Planning & Zoning Commission last night.

The 2.5-acre project is at the intersection of Grant Avenue and Grand Street and is bordered to the west by Douglas Avenue.

Springfield City Council is scheduled to hold a public hearing on the planned development on March 9.

Michael Sparlin, senior planner for the city, noted the applicant intends to build a three- to four-story mixed-use development to include multifamily residential units and a food hall.

The property was rezoned in 2021 to the Grant Avenue Parkway District, and the proposed rezoning maintains many of the GAP District provisions. The GAP District requires a nonresidential ground floor along Grant Avenue, but the placement of a box culvert through the property makes that difficult.

“To make this work, they’ve switched the nonresidential ground floor to Grand,” Sparlin said.

The plan calls for increased plantings along Grant and Douglas avenues, he said.

The GAP District also requires a prominent architectural feature, Sparlin noted, and that feature – a 45% diagonal cutout – is to be located on the Grant/Grand corner, according to the site plan.

Andrew Doolittle of the development group told P&Z the project was changed from its previous rezoning approval because more property became available for purchase – specifically the Grant Avenue Pet Hospital and two lots behind it, doubling the site size.

“After we made that acquisition, we just went back to the drawing board alongside city staff to see what the maximally productive use of the site would be, and this project is what we came up with,” he said. “Our goal has always been to create an activity center for the Grant Avenue Parkway, and we feel like the food hall should accomplish that, creating a neighborhood hub for both Fassnight/West Central [neighborhoods] and hopefully the Grant Avenue Parkway.”

The commission voted 8-0 to recommend approval of the planned development, with member Layne Hunton absent.

Hawkins Mill Subdivision

Senior city planner Andrew Menke gave the staff report on a preliminary plat of the Hawkins Mill Subdivision, a 103-acre development planned at the junction of North Vernon Road and North Summit Avenue.

Hawkins Mill LLC is the applicant.

The preliminary plat for the currently undeveloped land, located north of Interstate 44 and just east of Dickerson Park Zoo, contains five lots ranging from 3 to 73 acres.

Civil engineer Derrick Estell of Toth and Associates Inc. said the subdivision will have two phases, starting with the first and second lots, then with a later return to P&Z planned to discuss the other three.

“It will be a multifamily development that’s being proposed there,” he said of the first two lots.

He said the developers plan to move forward quickly by moving dirt this spring.

Central Assembly parking lot

P&Z also recommended approval of request to vacate the 1300 block of North Lyon Avenue for Central Assembly of God church, which intends to build a parking lot to serve the church’s community center, sanctuary and offices. The church owns the property.

The process of vacating the street removes it from city maintenance and puts it under private control. In this instance, the street would be used in part for infrastructure installation and access.

Executive Pastor Carter McDaniel said his church has been part of the fabric of the community since 1920.

“We love being a part right there in the center part of town where people from all over our community can gather together for church or other various events,” he said.

He said the church has average weekly attendance topping 1,500 but has fewer than 350 parking spaces. Reciprocal agreements for shared parking exist between the church and several entities, including Assemblies of God national office and world missions, Springfield Public Schools, Greene County and Cox North Hospital.

“That allows us to share that parking and be able to serve the needs of several entities in that part of town,” he said.

He noted that construction in the area will push his congregation to street parking upon its completion, and the lot will remove inconvenience and safety concerns.

Pipkin Middle School will be able to use the new lot, according to McDaniel.

“We intend to continue sharing it with the community,” he said, noting nearby Pipkin Middle School will need additional parking for expanded athletic complexes. “We think this lot is solving a big need for them as it will be the closest lot to their property.”

He said the church has tried to be sensitive to the needs of the neighborhood, supplementing stormwater retention that exists and preserving houses on the site, including one that will be relocated.

Pipkin Principal Duane Cox spoke in support of the plan.

“I just appreciate that they are keeping us in mind and trying to look out for us,” he said. “We just partner with them a lot, and we really appreciate that. It would definitely be a benefit to all parties.”

P&Z is the authority on the vacation measure, which does not require City Council approval.

Cooperative spirit

Some of the developers who came before P&Z last night were praised by a commission member and a public speaker for working with neighborhood residents.

Upon recommending the Central Assembly of God vacation, Commissioner Bill Knuckles highlighted the close cooperation between the church and its neighbors.

“I would like to applaud the applicant for reaching out to the neighborhood around him, coordinating the vacation in a very responsible manner and putting a lot of effort into this to blend into the community and support the community,” he said.

Springfield resident Rusty Worley, who formerly led the Downtown Springfield Association as its executive director and said he works a lot with neighborhoods, also talked about the positive interactions, both for the Hawkins Mill Subdivision and the Tribecca Park development.

“Housing is a critical need for our community,” he said.

He added that since the Great Recession, the city’s building permits are down 300 per year, which has had a cumulative effect over two decades.

Worley pointed to the Hawkins Mill and Tribecca Park developments as paradigms of cooperative effort by developers. Doolittle, he said, has worked hard to listen to both the Fassnight and the West Central neighborhoods.

“As we want to try to improve the relations between the development community and neighborhoods, we’re thankful for these developers who go out of their way to make that effort,” he said.

North Glenstone project

A rezoning and conditional use permit were approved for an undeveloped site sized just under 1 acre in the 3200-3300 blocks of North Glenstone Avenue at the request of WLM RE Holdco LLC.

The rezoning would take the land from medium-density multifamily to general retail, to include 77 residential apartments and a potential restaurant.

The conditional use permit calls for a mixed-use development that includes residential units on the ground floor. This diverges from city code that requires the portion of the ground facing Glenstone Avenue to be fully residential, according to the staff report.

Ricky Haase, vice president of engineering firm Olsson Inc., called the combined three-parcel site a tricky one, but he said the developers have coordinated with neighbors and plans to clean, clear and make functional an existing detention basin that is now full of brush and trees.

“They want to do the project the right way,” he said.

Haase said the development is proposed by local development company Greenway Development Group LLC, under managing partner Brent Brown. Greenway Development Group’s recent projects include Moon City Lofts at 1452 N. Eastgate Ave. and Galloway Creek at 3938 S. Lone Pine Ave.

P&Z voted to recommend approval, and the measure is scheduled to appear before City Council March 9.

Other action items

• P&Z recommended the rezoning from planned development to general retail for approximately 2 acres at 3636 E. Olive St. for applicant Kyon House LLC, with a council hearing set for March 9. A new pet boarding and day care is planned by James Craigmyle, former deputy with the Greene County Sheriff’s Office..

• An application by Lakes Country Rehabilitation Center Association to build duplexes on 1.4 acres of undeveloped land to provide supportive housing for clients of Preferred Family Health Care Inc. was recommended for approval with a council vote March 9. The property is located at the 2600 blocks of West College Road and West Olive Street. The application was to rezone the land from three designations – highway commercial, low-density multifamily residential with COD and residential townhouse – into a combined lot zoned low-density multifamily residential with a COD.