By Carl Helton, Lakeland Currents staff
A PDP (Preliminary Development Plan) amendment for Phase 1A townhomes at The Lake District (TLC) was tabled during the monthly meeting of the MPC/DRC (Municipal Planning Commission/Design Review Commission) monthly meeting last night (10.21.19) at City Hall.
In Phase 1A, Yehuda Netanel, TLD owner and developer, is seeking to replace 64 single family residential units with 109 townhome units.
Mayor Mike Cunningham, who chaired the meeting in the absence of Chair Susan Mitchell, felt the information from Mr. Netanel was incomplete. The Mayor requested approval of the amendment be tabled until next month. His concern was the potential for the townhouses to become rental units.
Jim Atkinson with A2H, City Planner Forrest Owens and Commissioner Wesley Wright stated the amendment could be approved with conditions as long as the conditions were addressed before the BOC (Board of Commissioners) vote. The Mayor said he stood by his comments and requested the amendment be tabled, calling for the motion which was seconded by Board Member Nikki Bufalino. Commissioner Wright was the lone no vote for tabling the amendment.
When asked about the townhomes, Mr. Netanel said, “The townhouses at The Lake District will be priced at $350,000 and up. They will feature amenities and architectural elements not available in Shelby County for this category. This alone will make it economically prohibitive to rent.”
He said the decision to add townhomes to Phase 1 A is market driven. “The demand for this product type combined with the onslaught of calls from prospects who want to live at The Lake District by 2021 rather than waiting for Phase 2 is overwhelming. We make many decisions based on what the market tells us and we are excited to combine residential and retail in Phase 1.”
Link to agenda: https://tn-lakeland.civicplus.com/ArchiveCenter/ViewFile/Item/881. Also absent at the meeting were Vice Chair Scott Carmichael and Member Todd Laessig.
The second business item was a Final Site Plan for Phase 1, outparcel lot 7 for Starbucks. The Mayor questioned the smoke stack in the design as well as the elevation. An architect representing Starbucks stated the design is different from a typical Starbucks. The design is to mimic the look of a refurbished industrial-use building to add character. The motion was approved unanimously.
TLD background
TLD is a mixed-use development at the southeast corner of Canada Road and I-40. Phase 1 schedule of delivery of space for tenant build out is fall 2020 with businesses opening for the 2020 holiday season, according to Mr. Netanel.
The upscale 160-acre community will surround a 10-acre lake and waterways at I-40 and include five districts: inline retail, main street, hotels, pad sites and offices, and residential.
A final item on the meeting agenda was an approval granted for a revised landscape plan for the Econo Lodge at 9822 Huff N Puff Rd. Mr. Atkinson represented the hotel owners in presenting a revised landscape plan. Due to the high cost of the original proposed plan, the owner had A2H update the plans to help offset the proposed $90K bid as required by the City.
The Econo Lodge owner addressed the Board and asked that the irrigation system not be required due to the high cost. The cost of the irrigation system was partly due to the irrigation water line availability on another property. Commissioner Wright felt that the irrigation system was not needed for the proposed plant species being presented.
Commissioner Wright proposed adding a screen of mature evergreen trees along Beverle Rivera Drive. He also stated that time is crucial. If approved and the owners move forward with planting, it will be more likely to survive rather than planting in hotter months.
