RICHARD LINTZ – SECOND. MOTION APPROVED 6-0.

2 OLD BUSINESS

7801 FORSYTH BOULEVARD – ARCHITECTURAL REVIEW – EXTERIOR ALTERATIONS

Director Susan M. Istenes summarizes the following staff report: “The 18,745 square foot site is located on the west side of North Bemiston Avenue at the northwest corner of Bemiston Avenue and Forsyth Boulevard. The property has a zoning designation of HDC High Density Commercial District and is located in the CBD Core Downtown Overlay District. The subject property was purchased by M1 Development, LLC, along with 7 N. Bemiston Avenue which underwent extensive renovations for approximately 18 months and is now complete. The owner proposes to construct a below grade garage level expansion, façade upgrades to the building and site improvements, including the addition of a second drive through lane, repaving the driveway and parking area and upgrading the landscaping. The office/bank use will remain the same.

The building will be clad with Butt Glazed curtain wall system with clear glass which will allow visual “see through” to the interior of the building. A recessed, patterned perforated metal screen with a bronze finish, which is see through to the glass behind it, is also proposed to be installed over the front entry. A metal fascia panel, bronze in color will surround the rooftop and an RTU metal screen will screen the rooftop mechanical equipment.

The driveway and parking area will be repaved with 4 inch x 5 inch pavers, set in a herring bone pattern. The applicant did not specify the brick color. Raised planter beds will be installed at the west elevation and will be constructed of brick with a cast stone cap. Three existing trees will be removed at the northeast corner of the site adjacent to the driveway off Bemiston Avenue. Electrical transformers will be placed in that cleared area and screened with an approximately 9 foot 6 inch screen wall. A landscape bed is proposed in front of the wall, however the property is located within the City right-of-way. The proposed screen wall extends on the south side of the entrance off Bemiston Avenue and creates a tall, hard edge against the sidewalk that is not of pedestrian scale and is out of scale with the building to the north.

Existing walls on the Forsyth frontage will be clad with brick; the walls will be of varying heights and the brick will match the brick that was used on the property to the north (7 N. Bemiston Avenue). The walls will be topped with a 3 foot 6 inch high railing composed of a decorative metal screen material that matches the south façade at the entry and which spans between the black metal posts and top and bottom rails/frames to hold the screen material. A landscaped area will be installed parallel to the north side property line. The applicant proposes to replace street trees and upgrade the landscaping on site. Replacement trees will exceed the City tree replacement requirements by 24 caliper inches.

The proposed renovations will upgrade the appearance of the existing building and are compatible with the materials of nearby properties. The proposed brick clad walls will tie in to the property to the north, which is under the same ownership and provides supplemental office space to the subject building, however the proposed height of the walls along the Bemiston Avenue frontage create a tall harsh edge at the sidewalk and are not of pedestrian scale.

STAFF RECOMMENDATION IS TO APPROVE WITH THE FOLLOWING CONDITION:

PERMIT REQUIREMENTS, PRIOR TO THE ISSUANCE OF A BUILDING PERMIT.