SOUTHLAKE — More people will be calling Southlake's Town Square home as plans for 140 more residences were approved by the City Council, 5-2, late Tuesday night.
Construction could begin early next year on the Garden District project planned on 10.7 acres just off Texas 114, Frank Bliss, president of Cooper & Stebbins, said after the meeting.
By approving the concept plan, the council increased the maximum number of houses allowed in Town Square from 115 to 185.
The higher density caused concern for councilwomen Carolyn Morris and Pamela Muller, who voted against the proposal.
Discussion went on for more than two hours last night after taking up several hours at two meetings last month.
Of the 140 units, up to 130 of the owner-occupied homes would be in multi-unit buildings stacked three-stories high with underground parking garages. Living space would be limited to one floor in the owner-occupied homes unless the homeowner wanted a larger unit. The remaining 10 units would be similar to the existing brownstones with attached garages and small yards.
Demand for brownstones dried up in recent years because buyers -- especially empty nesters -- want smaller units between 1,500 to 3,000-square feet with everything on one floor, Bliss said. That is what led to the Garden District concept, he said.
This type of housing hasn’t been allowed in Southlake before and it required the council to change the wording to the downtown zoning ordinance.
Southlake has always held a firm line against higher density and allowing anything that could potentially become an apartment or a rental.
"I really question if there is a market for that? What happens if they don't sell? Would they be rented?" Morris asked.
Muller said this kind of high-density housing typically requires access to mass transit, which Southlake does not have.
Bliss countered that the older, wealthy buyers interested in these homes won't be commuting to work but want to live in a vibrant atmosphere without worrying about maintaining a lawn or a pool. The units would be valued at about $250 a square foot, too expensive to rent, Bliss said.
Mayor John Terrell and Mayor Pro Tem Brandon Bledsoe spoke in favor of the project.
"It does not set a precedent for anywhere else in the city," Terrell said. "It hasn't to date."
He said that the Planning and Zoning Commission approved the project unanimously in March.
Another positive will be that the new project will shield the back side of the existing brownstones from the highway, Bledsoe said.
The site currently has dirt piles, unfinished foundations and utilities sticking out of the ground that has been a constant eyesore for brownstone residents.
The council included a stipulation that when the first phase opens, the remaining part of the tract will have grass and irrigation.
Cooper & Stebbins will come back with a detailed site plan for the project before the end of the year, Bliss said.
This marks the second residential plan that Cooper & Stebbins has proposed in the past year. The first, dubbed Block 3, called for about 77 stacked units near the west parking garage and the post office. The project came under harsh criticism, prompting the planning commission to deny the project in June. It was withdrawn in July before it reached council.
Read more: http://www.star-telegram.com/2011/05/04/3048678/140-unit-residential-development.html#ixzz1LP2AcCMN
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