HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes COM 02-07-23 Aasen motions to send this to City Council with a favorable recommendation.Zoccola seconded contingent to
continuing work with Engineering and have a plan so there is no runoff into Cool Creek and work with Engineering on
the traffic access piece.Adam Aasen agrees to amendment to motion.
A Motion made by Adam Aasen and seconded Christine Zoccola by to send PZ-2022-00224 OA to the City
Council with a favorable recommendation contingent on continued work with Engineering to prevent runoff
into Cool Creek and improving traffic access. Approved 4-0.
3. Docket No.PZ-2022-00237 DP/ADLS: Carmel Medical Office Building at The Bridges.
The applicant seeks site plan and design approval for a new,three-story medical office building on 9.23
acres. The site is located at the SW corner of Illinois Street and Pittman Way,south of the Market District
grocery and west of the KAR office building. The future address will be 11380 Illinois Street.It is zoned PUD
(The Bridges Z-550-11)and is not within any overlay district.Filed by Nathan Winslow of American
Structure point on behalf of the owner,Cornerstone Companies.
Petitioner: Nathan Winslow:
Concerns brought up during the previous Plan Commission hearing:
• Drainage issues both adjacent to and on our site,as well as further north into the overall Bridges development.
Steve Pittman is here to explain. There has been communication between owners expressing the PC concerns.
Communication has been included with our resubmittal package. Is there any feedback you have received?
Steve Pittman: Property was sold in March 2017 and then sold again. I was able to track down the person in charge
with Eco Bridges Properties.They are aware that there is a problem and says that while the system appears to be
working well,he believes there are still issues.He mentioned there are questions about the water feature going away
and becoming landscaping.He didn't want to make commitments on that,but they are open to the possibility. They are
a separate property, separate petition,and they are not responsible for that. I wanted to communicate this here.My
reputation is attached to property as the original developer.I am glad to work with the City and new owner to make
sure this gets taken care of as expected.
Winslow:
• Questions about what the visuals would be from the new Steadman apartments across the street. Would they
see the mechanical equipment from the top floor of those buildings?We submitted a rendering showing that
view with the resubmittal package.All mechanical equipment on the rooftop will be fully screened.
• Included renderings of dumpster enclosure showing that it matches the aesthetics of the building.It is now in
compliance.
• There was some discussion about the landscaping and what it might look like from the apartments.Produced
exhibit showing trees proposed on our site relative to the street along the apartment site.You will see adjacent
to what we are developing, it is significantly denser on our site because of the parking lot.We feel this is a
very visual aesthetic screening element we have implemented to further enhance the view from the apartments
across the street.
Zoccola: What is distance from the trees.Albert Radomski: It's approximately 10-ft between the back of the
sidewalk and the back of the parking lot. There is a 4 to 5-ft strip between the sidewalk and curb line.The trees will be
behind the sidewalk so there is room for the root system to grow.
Dierckman: Is the water feature going to stay with the current ownership of the building or is it ultimately going to
end up under different ownership?Jeff Shively:that will be part of the current ownership.Winslow:As part of the
overall engineering development approval process,we will have to prepare an operations and maintenance agreement
to be signed and recorded.That essentially gives the City authority to enforce lack of maintenance.
Zoccola: How much parking do you have here.Aasen: You had more than you needed anticipating futures.Zoccola:
So,you are anticipating whatever goes next?Hollibaugh: 211 are proposed. Shively: The users require just over 4
spaces/1000sf,we are just over that;our goal is to make this a whole medical campus.Winslow: We are in
negotiations with users which are confidential right now. Shively: We are looking at a medical office northeast,
potentially a surgery center northwest,and a medical office south of empty space.
Dierckman: Do the Traffic studies indicate that this is still an acceptable utilization level?Winslow: it is my
understanding.
Aasen: I feel comfortable that concerns with the existing water feature will be addressed.I noticed that the questions
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of showers and bicycle parking have been brought up.Is there a reason the employees would not utilize these services?
Shively:As a result of the pandemic much of the typical medical office space scheduling is being done from home,so
Iwhat we have are employees who are very transient. They spend half a day in clinic and half a day in a surgery center
which will not be in the same building.Very few people who would be there 8hr/day.Zoccola: Is there space available
to add a shower if someone had the need?Shively: We would have to have one of the first-floor tenants sacrifice some
of their programs.That could be a PED CT going away.Aasen: The showers are not as much of a concern to me as a
bicycle parking.It is an easier, less costly fix.Is there more for long term parking?Radomski: We have some exterior
parking. Shively: It's the long term and overnight parking that was in question.
Kirsh: A good compromise is to provide covered bike parking,not just U-shaped hoops by the front door.A nice,
covered parking with a bike pump and fix it stations to try and meet the UDO requirements.Then as you move forward
with the rest of the projects,maybe there would be a space where there are two showers,some lockers,and overnight,
long term bicycle parking should we decide that this is feasible.I am not asking for a commitment,but if we can get a
commitment for good,covered bike parking at this facility and a consideration that with the synergy of what is going
on in this future development you may be able to work out a shower and some lockers in the future. Shively: We could
commit to a covered outdoor bicycle parking at this building location and as the rest evolves,we can consider
accommodating for long term indoor bicycle parking and a couple of showers.
Department Report:Mike Hollibaugh:
It is disappointing to have this issue continue to be what we,as we get to the end,must fight for.It being something
that was part of the PUD and was purposely integrated and successfully achieved at the Market District building. We
are not picking who is using it and whether they needed it today.Tomorrow they may wish they had it. This is a
provision in the PUD that should have been designed for but has been ignored. I do like the proposed compromise,but
it does not get them past the need for BZA approval.As Rachel has stated in the Dept.report,we are happy to continue
to work with you on that issue,but when it does get to the BZA we are not likely to support the variance request.
IShively: The issue is the tenants who asked for aCT which is a high revenue producing piece of equipment which
affects the assessed value of the building.Zoccola: This kind of construction is expensive,CTs,MRI's,etc.Kirsh:to
Director Hollibaugh's point you are in a PUD that is already established,you know what the requirements are.
Zoccola: I would not want any of these services lost we have to fmd a way to make it work.Kirsh: We are trying to
solve the problem and trying to do right by what was already established. How do we feel about there being continued
development here. Can you make a commitment that showers will be available moving forward so so there will be
future access to a shower?Aasen: was not on council when this was originally passed.I remember covering this and it
was a controversial City Council decision to put this into the plan development. The Chamber of Commerce opposed
it. But it is the law,other parts of the development have had to do that.I feel comfortable leaving it up to the BZA to
decide.Zoccola: I am more concerned about the gas station. This is going to be a medical campus,which is so much
better that many other proposals. This will provide great service to the community. When the ambulatory surgery
center comes through,plan ahead and have the showers there. Shively: That is easy to do,because you must have
showers there anyways to make it work.
Dierckman: Where are planning on putting the garbage?Winslow: Enclosure is planned on Northeast of the
development. There will be landscaping surrounding it and a screen wall.Hollibaugh: Staff is satisfied with location
and design.Dierckman: I like the suggestion for covered spaces outside and showers and changing facilities at
another building down the road.But the problem with this is disseminating information about its availability to
everyone will be an issue.From a practical standpoint over time, it may not happen.Josh Kirsh: What if you have two
unisex bathrooms with showers on the first floor instead of just bathrooms on the first floor?Not sacrificing any space,
a family style restroom with a shower and six lockers.
Shively: One unisex bathroom was planned,but we could add a shower and six lockers.Dierckman: And we are
getting covered outdoor bicycle parking. Shively: Yes.Kirsh: To me this is a reasonable compromise.Hollibaugh: I
don't know if that requires BZA,I will have to double check with Staff if there is a square footage requirement.I do
think this compromise would address this PUD requirement.Kirsh: One unisex bathroom on the first floor,how many
Iother bathrooms so you have?Shively: They are all within the suites and one unisex in the common area.
Committee Comments:
Josh Kirsh: Commitments:
• Interior shower
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• Changing Facility
• Long Term bicycle parking
Winslow: Will you verify that this would not require variance?Hollibaugh: I will verify.
Motion: Christine Zoccola makes a motion to send to send back to the Full Plan Commission with a favorable
recommendation with the outlined commitments. Seconded by Adam Aasen.
A Motion made by Christine Zoccola and seconded by Adam Aasen to send PZ-2022-00237 DP/ADLS to the
Feb.21 Plan Commission meeting with a favorable recommendation. Approved 4-0.
4. Docket No.PZ-2022-00238 ADLS: Tru Hotel Carmel.
The applicant seeks design approval for a new,five story, 126 room hotel on 1.13 acres.Development plan
approval was granted under Docket No. 19060018 DP and Use Variance approval was granted under
18050007 UV. The site is located at 12164 N.Meridian Street, immediately north of the Ritz Charles.It is
zoned MC/Meridian Corridor and is not within any overlay district. Filed by Nathan Winslow of American
Structurepoint on behalf of the owner,Dora Hotel Group.
Petitioner:
Nathan Winslow: Presented and summarized.Added the existing monument sign on Illinois with a request that it be
modified with updated labeling to add the Tru Hotel.One of the biggest items outside architectural detail is the shared
parking, so we have included a shared parking analysis showing peak hour breakdowns(between 8-l0am and 3-5pm).
Based on this assessment there is a surplus of available parking.
Vince Dora: Biggest thing to highlight is off-time use,hotel typically 5pm-7am with people staying overnight
assuming we are 100%occupied versus Ritz Charles being full during the daytime, if there is a bigger event at night,
in theory,we would be working together assuming guests would be shared. Same thing with medical office,it is a
purely daytime use in comparison to hotel where guests are gone during the day and back at night.Aasen: In the
scenario where Ritz Charles has a big wedding with local people who are not staying at hotel and the hotel is booked
with Grand Park guests,if both are fully booked,how much space is available?Dora: This parking analysis didn't
include the Ritz Charles parking lot because we don't have an easement on their site. The parking we have is only on
the medical office building and the hotel.Aasen: So,if there is any issue it would be on the Ritz' side, spilling over to
your site,more than the other way around.Dora: Yes.
Winslow: Discussed correspondence with neighbors concerning the height of the building,as part of the original
development plan there was a request to densify the site;using number of stories as a measure is misleading.
Comparing to the surrounding buildings are listed as 3 stories,but the architecture extends up to about 60' which is
roughly in line with what our building is at 5 stories which is necessary from a financial standpoint.Lighting that is
adjacent to the neighborhood is existing,we are not adding additional lighting to the parking lot.New lighting will be
on the building and most of that will be directed away from the residential side,mostly towards Meridian St.and the
31 corridor.
John Hafner(virtual):
Revised filing which illustrates the result of the with Hilton, input from developer,etc. including revised exterior
elevations,3 additional renderings that better show what this will look like in 3D,and the original filing.
Elevations: feedback revolved around amending the exterior to make more sense to provide a more traditional base for
the building to sit on. There were objections to the asymmetric randomness of some of the features,having too much
EIFS,and not enough brick.
South Elevation: Compared old and new.Rachel expressed a dislike for the louvers that cover the guestroom AC units
to be so visible and objected to the random splash of blue color. Changed to:
• A uniform stone base material,a large format substantial base made up of larger masonry units.
• We are no longer interrupting the base with vertical elements,eliminated random splashes of blue color on both
ends,cleaned up the roofline so it makes more sense with the overall building massing,and added a panel system
(Trespo rain screen),which looks like metal panels,but much more durable, low maintenance and less susceptible
to weather.
• Introduced a new durable cementitious material,a fiber cement panel which comes'with a scored pattern for
texture and rhythm.
• Tried to pull the background colors together, so they are in gray tones on both bumped-out areas.
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Commercial Committee Meeting Minutes 2-7-23