Planning commissioners on Wednesday supported a proposed mixed-use development with 52 condos and commercial space on 2.2 acres at Shore and Marlin Bay drives.
Most of the land is a storage yard. It was part of a larger, prior project that sought nearly 200 apartments and had Planning Commission support in 2021. That plan was abandoned later, but a reminder remains painted on a fence: “NO APTS HERE.”
The new plan, too, faces opposition, but officials noted it’s smaller, with a different approach – home ownership rather than rentals. The applicant, an affiliate of McLeskey & Associates, met with community groups over the past two years to discuss what they want and adjust plans.
“I think it’s a vast improvement for this area,” said Planning Commissioner Katherine Schoonover, who made the motion to approve the recommendation. “I think it’s going to solve some of the stormwater problem. I love that it’s mixed use.”
Officials said they’ve received dozens of letters with concerns, including density, height, traffic and stormwater, but the commission recommended approval, 9-1, with one abstention.
Commissioner Walter Camp cast the lone no vote. He’d raised the issue of planned road improvements along Shore Drive and a stormwater pump station tentatively sited on the property. After the vote, Camp told WHRO he didn’t think the land should receive higher-density zoning “at this time.”
During the meeting, Kathryn Byler, vice chair of the commission, said she was surprised so much opposition remained after all the outreach.
If approved by City Council, the project would allow a 52-unit condominium building with as much as 2,500 square feet of commercial space. The main part of the building would be five stories, dropping to three stories near existing townhouses.
Lisa Murphy, an attorney representing the applicant, told the commission that McLeskey lowered its plans from 62 to 52. Murphy said stormwater would be handled underground and be an improvement on what’s there now.
Last month, a majority of the Bayfront Advisory Commission voted to recommend approval, with conditions such as pulling back the height of the five-story part of the building near the corner at Shore Drive and adjusting the building design. On Wednesday, Murphy presented the adjustments.
Windy Crutchfield was among two members of the Bayfront Advisory Commission who voted against the project, and she spoke against it Wednesday.
In April, she wrote to members of the Bayfront Advisory Commission, noting the project is in an area of Shore Drive meant to “bridge, not overwhelm” a transition between residential, lower-density uses and higher-density.
“A five-story condominium building is considered high-density,” Crutchfield wrote. “It doesn’t turn the dial up – it spikes it.”
Mary Reismeier spoke against the project on behalf of the Baylake Pines Civic League on Wednesday.
“Our opposition is not to redevelopment itself, but to the unprecedented scale, density and intensity of the project being proposed,” she said.
