Rosedale residents continue to see problems, encroachment in 18th Street development

The developers of two proposed mixed-use buildings at the corner of 18th Street South and 26th Avenue South say they’re going to take another look at their development’s height and other factors after a meeting with Rosedale residents Thursday.

Jared Lewis, who owns the property and wants to create buildings with first-story retail and two levels of lofts, attended a community meeting at the Lee Center in Rosedale to talk about the problems neighbors see with his development. The meeting was coordinated and moderated by the Ward 1 city councilors, and the architect of the project, Louis Nequette, also attended.

Lewis and Nequette first presented their proposed development to the Planning Commission in May, with a more modern style that had more offices and fewer residences. The property is currently zoned neighborhood shopping district and Lewis is requesting a rezone to mixed-use, which would allow the addition of residences and a taller height.

Rosedale residents turned out in force against the project in May, stating that it did not match the appearance or historic character of the surrounding neighborhood, that it would add to congestion and that the developers did not solicit any input from residents on what they would like to see on the property.

The Planning Commission carried over the issue after Lewis said he was willing to meet with residents and discuss revising his plans. He held the first such meeting at the Lee Center on June 2.

There, Lewis presented designs with a more traditional façade and two residential stories, which he said would cause lower traffic to the area than the original professional offices. The buildings were still planned to be about 43 feet high, above the 35-foot Walton Investments building that would sit between them.

As part of the project, Lewis and Nequette have offered to use some of their property to widen a portion of 26th Avenue South and add sidewalks, trees and a total of 17 parallel parking spaces on both sides.

This design was reviewed at the June 20 meeting, with Nequette showing plans for parking — their mixed-use development would require 54 parking spaces, while a similarly sized building under the neighborhood shopping district building would require 69 — and the placement of the buildings on the lot.

The building north of Walton Investments would be 32 feet wide and 70 feet deep, while the south building was 30 feet wide by 90 feet deep, and there would be a connective piece behind the Walton building. Nequette said the buildings would meet the property line where the existing buildings on the site sit, and he added that the buildings took up less of the lot than the original artistic drawings showed.

“The renderings we had did not represent it well,” he said.

In addition to trees and sidewalks, Nequette said they also plan to rebuild part of the street curb and put small wooden bridges over Griffin Creek.

He also acknowledged that residents were right in saying their voices were not heard in the design process.

“We’re here to say you’re right – we didn’t do what we should have done,” Nequette said.

Lewis said he would not want a high-volume business like a restaurant on the property, but did not say he was seeking a particular type of commercial tenant.

While the new appearance of the buildings received better reactions, neighbors at the meeting still felt that the height was effectively blocking out the neighborhood from 18th Street South.

One resident said they like “this mixed community that we are, and we want to stay that way. We don’t want to be hidden.”

Scott Walton, the owner of the building between the two parts of the development, also said he was worried about the height and how the new buildings would reduce sunlight, particularly on his rooftop garden.

“If we start to treat Rosedale like a game of Monopoly like we have in the past, we won’t preserve it,” Walton said.

Traffic and parking were still sources of concern since 26th Avenue South has frequent on-street parking and multiple churches, so it could get crowded in peak hours.

The trees proposed along that street also drew some opposition, as some residents said they would block the visibility of Rosedale’s historic churches and they might not be properly maintained.

Edgewood resident Mary Ellen Snell asked if a decision on the project could be put on hold until the city approves a final version of its new downtown zoning code, which would designate the property as a low-density area, with a building cap of 2.5 stories.

Another meeting on the downtown zoning code will be held June 27, after which the final version will be brought to the Planning Commission and City Council for approval in the coming months.

Residents also said they want to see more investment in improving and beautifying Rosedale itself, both from the city and the developers.

The community meeting also became a broader discussion about how Rosedale residents feel squeezed by commercial developments from Central Avenue, 18th Street South and areas like the ServisFirst Bank headquarters.

“You’re going to wipe us out,” one resident said.

A lack of trust from Rosedale residents for the city “seems to be the elephant in the room that nobody’s talking about,” another attendee said.

One woman asked for the city to commit to protecting the existing residential borders of the neighborhood, which Councilor Andy Gwaltney and Councilor Britt Thames both said had been their goal since being elected.

Near the end of the meeting, Lewis asked the attendees if they would feel more supportive of the development if he reduced its height to be nearer to the 35-foot Walton building. While he didn’t get strong feedback either way, he and Nequette said they plan to revisit many of the issues that were brought up, including working with Walton, and factor that into their designs before the next Planning Commission discussion.