Proposed Apartment Project
Article by Dave Kurtz | KPC News | February 8, 2019
AUBURN — A request to rezone land in east Auburn for 40 apartment units will go before the Auburn Plan Commission Tuesday.
The site along S.R. 8 lies directly south of DeKalb Health hospital, east of Hope’s Landing apartments and north of Smith Acres Park.
Mahesh and Dimpal Chaudhari of Auburn own the 8-acre property. They propose to build 20 duplex structures, creating 40 units that would be known as Sunrise Apartments.
Their application lists Jeff Counterman of Angola as the project developer. It describes the units as “upscale duplex apartments” and says each apartment would have 900 square feet of floor space.
Tuesday’s meeting will involve only a rezoning of the land to permit multi-family residential use. It now carries a “general commercial” designation.
The owners would need to return to the Plan Commission later for approval of detailed plans for the apartment development.
The site, with an address of 3326 S.R. 8, now lies just outside the city limits. The owners have filed a petition for voluntary annexation into the city, which is expected to go before the Auburn Common Council for a vote Feb. 19, a city report says.
The report by the Auburn Department of Building, Planning and Development takes a generally favorable view of the apartment project.
“Staff is encouraged to see interest in market-rate, multi-family development and believes this property is in a suitable location considering its proximity to State Road 8, DeKalb Health, East Side Plaza, Smith Acres Park and other multi-family developments. A buffer is created by the old railroad bed and existing utility easements between the proposed development and the Valley Park neighborhood,” the staff report to the Plan Commission says.
“Staff’s only concern is that no market or rent studies were completed for this project, and the end product might not be exactly what is proposed,” the report adds.
“With that being said, Staff encourages the Commission to consider the public input that is offered prior to making their decision. If there is no public objection, Staff recommends forwarding a favorable recommendation to Common Council to change the zoning” as requested, the report concludes.
The Plan Commission will make a recommendation to the Auburn Common Council, which must give final approval to any rezoning.
Tuesday’s Plan Commission meeting will begin at 6 p.m. in the City Hall council chambers on East 9th Street.
Article source: https://www.kpcnews.com/thestar/article_3f9e49d4-6b2d-57a7-bf18-ea6aa35ab694.html