By Mark Wineka
mwineka@salisburypost.com
A 104-unit apartment complex has been proposed for the vacant property at 1229 Statesville Blvd. across from Meadowbrook Road.
Crosland Properties of Charlotte would be the developer for “Grants Creek Crossing Apartments,” designed as seven three-story buildings covering the 6-acre location, which was envisioned in earlier site plans as an office/medical park.
The owners, still listed as Milbrook Medical Park LLC of Salisbury, will go to the Salisbury Planning Board Tuesday seeking a repeal of an an existing special (S) district.
They will ask for a Conditional District in its place. Otherwise, the current zoning ó Residential Mixed Use, which is intended for high-density residential development ó will not change.
The Planning Board meets at 4 p.m. Tuesday at City Hall, 217 S. Main St.
According to an application for the development, the apartments will be “two- and three-bedroom garden flats and have been well-designed for comfortable living and long-term durability.”
“The complex will provide a sense of community with a number of site amenities and a resident clubhouse with management offices and community space for the enjoyment and support of its residents,” the application continues.
The buildings will be oriented inward in a campus-style arrangement. The development would have its own system of sidewalks, streets, drives, signs and lighting. The developer has asked permission to exceed the allowed driveway entrance width to allow for a 40-foot-deep planter.
The owners also want to reduce the minimum allowance for parking spaces by 20 percent.
“There is adequate public transportation within walking distance of the site,” the application says.
The RMX zoning district allows a density of 18 units per acre. The proposal calls for a density of 17.4 units per acre.
The now vacant property used to include a house that was moved. A 70-foot-deep, 300-foot-wide section along the rear property line has remained as an undisturbed buffer, as was part of a site plan approved in 2004.
In other agenda items Tuesday, the board will:
– Consider adopting a Conditional District overlay for the 4.5 acres at 1415 S. Martin Luther King Jr. Ave., where a new Salisbury Customer Service Center will be constructed this year.
The 26,000-square-foot building will house customer service operations such as utility billing and payments, the Information Technology department, Fleet Shop, Wellness Center and the “head-in” operations for the city’s Fiber-to-the-Home cable utility.
The plan also includes a 21,850-square-foot fenced storage area to the rear of the site.
The city property, which is vacant, is located on the east side of South Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue between Vance Avenue and Calhoun Street, across from Lutheran Services for the Aging.
– Consider a request from Michael Kelley for a one-year extension of a previous site plan approved for the 1100 block of East Innes Street. The developer has been trying to attract a hotel and restaurant to the site near Interstate 85.
– Consider a revision to the master plan for Competitive Sport Properties, which will allow its expansion to take place in phases.
– Consider a revision to the elevations for the Grand on Julian apartments at 1310 Julian Road. The revision will reflect that the buildings’ exterior will be lap siding with a secondary element of brick. The original plan called for a majority of brick and secondary lap siding.
– Consider easing sidewalk requirements for infill properties.
– Consider changes to required canopy lighting for gas stations.