3900 Charlotte Avenue Community Meeting Notes - May 24, 2021
3900 Block of Charlotte Avenue Community Meeting – Specific plan to allow grocer under current IR zoning
At Councilwoman Kathleen Murphy’s community meeting on May 24th, 2021, the developers and architect for the 3900 Charlotte Avenue project gave a presentation and provided preliminary images for the project which is being updated to include a grocer.
The current zoning for at the 3900 block of Charlotte Avenue is Industrial Restrictive District (IR) and developers plan a multi-use building with six stories on Charlotte and seven stories after a 150’ setback.
This block is north of the border of Sylvan Heights on the north side of Charlotte Avenue so it is not in our neighborhood but will still impact our neighborhood.
The purpose of the meeting was to review the request for a Specific Plan modification of the current zoning to permit a grocery store in the development and get community feedback.
Here is a link to the Charlotte Corridor Study and Policy Update from 2018:
Meeting Notes
With the current IR zoning, the developers can move forward with the mixed use development which would not have a grocery store.
The developers/design group are working with the community and Kathleen Murphy to present a specific plan that allows them to have a grocery store without changing the entire zoning. The intent is that the grocery store would serve our area, the Nations and OneCity.
After the design is completed and the community gives more feedback, Kathleen Murphy will submit a specific plan to the planning commission to allow the grocery store to be built in the building based on the design they presented. They haven't yet completed some logistical steps like a marketing study for retail and traffic study so that has to happen first.
Here is a list of the requirements of the zoning for Industrial Restrictive district and how the developers/architect plan to address the requirements.
a. Requirement 1: Up to six stories beyond 150 feet north of Charlotte Avenue with provision of publicly accessible open space or adaptive reuse; otherwise, up to four stories.
The developers presented the publicly accessible open space part of the design that includes a park around the building with picnic tables and a dog park. It matches the design overlay for the Charlotte Corridor like the HG Hill Sylvan Heights and Sylvan Supply developments also follow. 10% open space is required.
They are proposing six stories on the Charlotte side and 7 stories on the Alabama side which is allowed by setting the back of the building back from Charlotte and as a buffer to the interstate.
b. Requirement 2: Mixed-use buildings with residential or office on upper floors and commercial uses on ground floor
46K square feet for the grocer and 5K for another retail area could be several retailers or one restaurant/retail area. The specific plan will have restrictions on what the second retail/restaurant can be.
Apartments: 300 units for apartments at market rate. State law does not allow affordable housing to be required.
c. Requirement 3: Emphasis of development should be on preserving and enhancing the industrial heritage character through adaptive reuse of historic buildings
This applies to buildings like the L&L building but does not apply to this new building.
d. Requirement 4: Compatible infill and redevelopment are required to ensure that buildings are sensitively designed with appropriate scale, massing, and proper orientation to street.
Large pedestrian oriented entrance to the grocer along Charlotte and the public space is also along Charlotte and around the building on 38th. There is also a space for ride-sharing.
The current plan is exceeding the parking requirement with underground parking, parking on top of grocery store; and the plan is self-sustaining with parking.
See photos for proposed design materials that will be used on the outside of the building, including a green roof on top of the grocery store and textural wood walls.
e. Requirement 5: Additional height permitted along interstate provides a buffer between I-40 and lower intensity on Charlotte Avenue; and
This allows the project to have the 7th story on the Alabama side north of the building as stated above.
f. Requirement 6: Topography gap between the east and west sides of 38th Avenue should be addressed
See elevation pictures.
Other meeting notes: The developers said they were in talks with a grocer but weren't allowed to disclose the grocer. The loading and garage entrances will be in the back along Alabama. There are several residential units on Alabama that open directly on to the street too. They predict a 3-year timeline for construction. The next two timepoints for public input will be when the specific plan goes before the planning commission and then the metro council.
