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HomeMy WebLinkAboutDepartment Report 07-06-21 Carmel Plan Commission COMMERCIAL COMMITTEE Tuesday, July 6, 2021 Department Report 4. Docket No. PZ-2021-00075 DP/ADLS: Bank of America – The Bridges. The applicant seeks site plan and design approval for a new bank branch on a new outlot within The Bridges. The site is generally located at the SW corner of Illinois Street and Zotec Drive, with a planned address of 11530 N. Illinois Street. It is zoned PUD – The Bridges (Z-550-11). Filed by Jon Sheidler of Woolpert on behalf of JLL. *Updates to the Dept. Report are in blue. Project Overview: The Petitioner seeks site plan and design approval for a new bank building within the existing parking lot. North of this site is the GetGo gas station and convenience store. West and south surrounding this site is parking for the Market District grocery store; east of this site across Illinois Street is the new Zotec office building. All areas described are also zoned PUD – The Bridges. Northeast across Illinois Street is a daycare facility, zoned MC/Meridian Corridor. Please see the Petitioner’s information package for more information. PUD Standards this project MEETS: Use: • Financial institution allowed in commercial amenity area Parking – car and bike: • 4 spaces per 1,000 for retail/service (18 spaces needed, 40 provided) • Bike parking per the UDO (within 50’ of the front door, two racks provided/required) Exhibit 5 – Development Standards: • Minimum tract size – n/a • Minimum building setback from Illinois – 20’ allowed, 97’ proposed • Minimum side/year setback – n/a • Minimum building height – n/a • Max. building height – 60’ allowed, 23’ proposed • Minimum building GFA – 2,500 sq. ft. required; 4,429 sq. ft. proposed Pedestrian circulation: • Walkway provided on at least one side of the building, must provide access between rear parking and front door of the building (provided) • Pedestrian access to adjacent properties required and provided Exhibit 6 – Architectural Standards: • Prairie style architecture required and provided • Building design shall allow for individual character through signage, awnings, knee walls and storefront treatments • Building facades create a “diversity of experiences” and to provide shelter from the elements • Materials loc ated in close contact with the public shall be more authentic in character (i.e. masonry), materials 8’ and above are more synthetic, (i.e. stucco and EIFS) PUD Standards NOT MET, therefore Variances are required: none Site Plan and Engineering: The proposed building will replace existing parking spaces that are underutilized for the Market District grocery store. Access to the rest of the parking lot (from the south) will be maintained. Access onto Zotec Drive at the north end of the site will also be maintained and unchanged for entrance into the site and through traffic. The Petitioner worked with Staff to reorient the building to face east towards Illinois Street. This allowed the front door to face the public street as well as moved the drive thru lane for ATMs to the south of the building. Parking is required at 4 spaces per 1,000 for retail and service. 16 spaces are required, and 40 spaces are proposed. Engineering review will continue as the project moves through the Plan Commission process to ensure compliance with the City’s Stormwater Technical Standards Manual. Currently the proposed finish floor elevation and flood protection grades are concerns, as the building sits below the adjacent roadway. Active Transportation: New sidewalk is proposed for the north side of the site, connecting the path along Illinois Street into the Bridges 9 Development. This new sidewalk will connect to the existing north/south sidewalk that runs next to the center lane of the Market District parking lot. Crosswalks and connections will also be provided from the exterior sidewalks to the front of the building from both the west and the north. The two bicycle parking racks have been relocated as requested to the NE corner of the building. This brings them closer to the main door as well as the sidewalks connecting to the building. Architectural Design: The proposed building is designed to complement the Prairie architectural style, which is required by the Bridges PUD. The building materials will be a rough/rocked face stone, smooth face stone, brick of two different tones (red/brown and tan), decorative EIFS material (also in tan and a red color) and metal for the cornice cap and awnings. Staff has worked extensively with the Petitioner on moving the design away from their prototypical architecture to something unique that fits the Bridges PUD requirements. With input from Plan Commission members, the Architect has increased the Prairie style detailing along the cornice of the building, adding sheafs of wheat all around the building. The dumpster enclosure will be partially block and partially brick to match the building design. It will be located at the SW corner of the site, adjacent to landscaping buffers. Lighting: Building lighting is proposed through recessed linear fixtures on the underside of the canopies along the north, east, and south facades. Modest, full cut off, wall pack lights are proposed at along the west and south side of the building where there are not under canopy lights. Four new parking lot pole lights are proposed and will match the rest of the Bridges development, as is required by the PUD language. Landscaping: The north perimeter of the site will have a significant number of new trees planted along the street and edge of the parking lot. New parking lot islands will be planted with trees, shrubs, and grasses. Building base landscaping will be placed along the so uthwest corner of the building and along the north side of the building. The other areas will have sidewalk and/or river rock due to the drive thru canopy. After receiving comments from the Plan Commission, the Petitioner has removed parking spaces along the west site border to add more greenspace and trees. These trees will help to screen and beautify the view of the building from the west. The Urban Forester expects to sign off on the plan during the next review round on Project Dox. Signage: Two wall signs are proposed to face east for the two building tenants – Bank of America and Merrill. Additional Bank of America signs are proposed to face south and north. The Bridges PUD allows for signage on each façade except the rear (west). ATM signage is also proposed and will meet the maximum 3 sq. ft. requirement. The spandrel panel area of each of the east façade signs is 5 ’0.5” x 11’. The Bank of America sign is 27.9 sq. ft. and the Merrill sign is 15.1 sq. ft. The north elevation sign spandrel panel area is 3’6” x 18’7”. The proposed sign square footage for the north elevation is 18.3 sq. ft. Lastly, the south elevation sign spandrel panel area is 3’6” x 16’ 11 0.5”. The proposed sign square footage is also 18.3 sq. ft. These signs are well within the allowable spandrel panel areas and comply with the PUD ordinance. June 15, 2021 Public Hearing Recap: The Petitioner introduced the project and went over plans and architectural elevations for the building. Three members of the public spoke regarding the project. One had concerns over the building placement and if more outlot buildings were proposed. Another was dismayed that redevelopment of the site was proposed through an additional bank for the project. More trees and green space were requested, as well as additional architectural details on the west elevation. The third person to speak regarding the project commented on the amount of congestion and safety concerns in the center of the development. Plan Commission members had questions about the signage, the placement of the building, the original plan for this location, pedestrian access to Illinois (concern over grade difference), additional greenspace, enhanced Prairie style details should be added to the building design, current owners of the development need to be present at the next meeting – entrance drive maintenance is a concern and needs to be remedied. The Plan Commission voted to send the to the Commercial Committee meeting on July 6, 2021, with the full Plan Commission having final voting authority. The Bridges PUD Concept Plan: Below is an image of the Concept Plan for the Bridges PUD. During the Plan Commission meeting there were questions 10 regarding if a bank was always proposed for this location. It appears that the correct answer is yes and no. A bank is shown in yellow to the north of the anchor tenant (three drive thru lanes for tellers/ATMs). However, there are also three restaurant buildings shown in pink located along Illinois Street. These restaurants have not been constructed to date and the layout of the entire site is much different than this concept plan. The PUD language does not limit the number of buildings, only the total square footage of retail at 250,000 sq. ft. Currently there is about 203,000 sq. ft. of retail space (including this Bank of America proposal). That leaves about 47,000 sq. ft. that could still be developed per the PUD. DOCS Remaining Comments/Concerns : 1. Engineering Dept. approval 2. Urban Forester approval on landscape plan Recommendation: The Department of Community Services recommends the Commercial Committee discusses this item, then returns it to the full Plan Commission meeting on July 20, 2021 with a Favorable Recommendation.