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Request by Phillip Aiello, Mandel Group Inc., for a Preliminary Planned Unit Development at 1330 Wauwatosa Avenue, 7463 Harwood Avenue, and 7460/7462 and 7470 Blanchard Street for a multi-unit residential development (Harlow & Hem)
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Submitted by:
Tammy Szudy
Department:
Development
A. Background/Options
The applicant is proposing to construct a 157-unit multi-family housing development on a 1.63-acre site located at the northern corner of Wauwatosa Avenue and Blanchard Street. Currently the site contains a public parking lot with 98 stalls, duplex residence, and a commercial building. The development is proposed to be 5-7 stories in height containing 54 studio apartments, 59 one-bedroom units, 27 two-bedroom units, and 17 three-bedroom units. The units are distributed within 5 levels over 2 levels of private and public parking. Planned amenities include a rooftop patio, community room and kitchen, fitness center, pet spa, café/lounge, bike repair, and electric vehicle chargers.
By utilizing grade change from Harwood Avenue to Blanchard Street, the development will have two levels of partially underground parking consisting of 189 private parking spaces and 51 public spaces. A surface lot is also provided at the north end of the site (accessed from Harwood Ave.) that will provide 47 public parking spaces. In total, the project provides 98 public parking spaces, replacing the sites existing public parking at a 1 to 1 ratio. Entrances to the public and private structured parking will be off Blanchard Street and Wauwatosa Avenue.
The PUD is being requested to provide flexibility to the following development standards:
• City Code 24.03.030 - Building Height: Maximum building height in the C1 District is 40 feet. The proposed building varies to a maximum height of 50 feet to 60 feet on Wauwatosa Avenue and 79 feet on Blanchard Street.
• City Code 8.44.080 - Parking Space Setback (Surface Lot): City Code requires 2 feet and the applicant is proposing a setback that gradually tapers from 2 feet to 0.3 feet for approximately 200 feet along the east side of the proposed public surface parking lot.
• City of Wauwatosa parking lot standards require a drive aisle width of 24 feet for 2-way traffic with 90- degree parking lot stalls. The applicant is proposing a drive aisle width of 22 feet for the proposed public surface parking lot.
• City Code 24.12.020.B.1: A landscape strip with a minimum depth of 10 feet must be provided between the vehicular use area and the public right-of-way. The northeast perimeter island has a proposed depth of 8 feet 7 inches.
• City Code 24.12.030.B.2: At least 10% of the interior of vehicular use areas must be landscaped. The landscaping plans propose an interior landscaping area of 1.8%.
• City Code 24.12.030.B.3.a: Landscape islands and medians must be at least 10 feet in width. The two landscape islands provided have a width of 9.9 and 4.4 feet.
• City Code 24.12.030.B.3.b: Landscape islands shall be provided at the end of each parking row and within the row of parking spaces so that there are no more than 15 consecutive parking spaces without a landscape island. On the east side of the proposed public surface parking lot, there are 24 consecutive parking spaces.
• City Code 24.12.030.B.3.d: Shade trees must be provided in interior landscape islands at a minimum rate of one tree per 180 square feet of required interior landscape area. The required interior landscape area is 1,265 square feet. Therefore, the number of required shade trees is 7. The applicant is proposing 2 shade trees.
The Plan Commission recommended approval 6-0-1 at the May 13, 2024 meeting. The required public hearing was held on June 18 before the Common Council with one person speaking in favor of the proposal, twelve in opposition, and several comments/questions.
Questions raised at public hearing were:
1. Are public parking spaces open to visitors of the housing residents? Yes.
2. Traffic engineer should look at development? Per the staff comments below, the applicant submitted an initial traffic study that shows this is a low volume trip generator. A comprehensive traffic analysis is required prior to Final PUD submittal.
3. Date on the traffic study? It will be current.
4. What are the vacancy rates for past five years for those properties recently built? Per Costar, the average vacancy rate over the past five years is 4.8%. An average vacancy rate between 5-8 % is considered healthy.
5. CDA released four bids in 2021 with condos and affordable housing? The CDA initially reviewed four proposals and selected the Mandel Group who proposed a multi-unit housing development that included four condos and 18 affordable units. Since then, on two occasions, the CDA reviewed and approved Mandel’s revised proposals due to increased construction and financing costs.
6. Should the CDA have rebid? Per City Attorney, the CDA is not required to bid and see response above.
Attached to this report are the project description and plans.
B. Staff Comments
Planning/Zoning Division
This request is contingent upon approval of the Zoning Map Amendment application (7462 Blanchard Street) and the Certified Survey Map application.
Public parking agreements shall be recorded prior to ownership transfer of the City’s parking lots.
The current 2024 Wauwatosa vacancy rate for buildings with 4-25 units is 3.1% and for buildings with 26+ units is 4.8%. Given pent up demand from many years where no housing was constructed, the City’s large non-resident workforce population, and continued developer interest in undertaking multi-family projects, demonstrates there remains demand for apartments at varying rent levels, including higher end.
Vacancy rates are one of the key statistics the National Association of Home Builders track to judge the health and direction of the housing market. Low vacancy rates are typically interpreted as a sign of tight housing markets, with lower vacancy rates signaling a greater housing shortage, and vice versa for high vacancy rates. While the general perception of property vacancies may be a negative one, vacancy on some level is necessary for a healthy market and economy. Healthy vacancy rates ensure rents remain relatively stable and assist employers in recruiting and retaining workers who can find and afford a place to live in the community. The median rental vacancy rate in the United States has hovered around 7% in recent years and an average vacancy rate between 5-8 % is considered healthy. While there is a low vacancy rate, leasing agencies generally advertise because they want potential tenants to inquire about their residential communities and availability to have a database of prospective clients to contact when units become available.
Building Division
Design Review Board approval required; plan review, building permits and DSPS plan approvals required.
City Assessor’s Office
Provide detailed costs of any alterations and/or new construction, as well as income & expense information as requested by the Assessor’s Office.
City Clerk’s Office
No issues.
Public Works Department
A perpetual public parking lot agreement is required to be fully executed prior to building permit issuance that will give the City sole authority to determine parking regulations within the public parking lots, including the potential for overnight parking options. The electronic space monitoring system required for the structured public parking lot shall utilize open source API integration so that the City can integrate open parking space count data on its website or a 3rd party application that will allow the public to view parking availability from their hand-held devices as well as the variable message sign that will be located outside of the parking entrance. The system shall also utilize a data collection method that will allow the City to collect and review historical parking occupancy data.
A public parking displacement plan is needed for the parking that will be lost during construction of the development prior to Final PUD application submittal.
The public parking lot shall include a minimum of three Level 2 Electric Vehicle charging stations, which may be 3rd party owned and operated, but must be available to and advertised to the general public for their use.
It is strongly encouraged that placement of a Solar PV system be considered for the rooftops of the buildings.
Engineering Division
Plans showing adequate sewer capacity, storm water management, traffic/access improvement, parking lot lighting, and construction staging impacts shall be submitted and approved by the Engineering Division prior to building permit issuance.
Applicant must contact Engineering to discuss addressing for the proposed multi-family development. Addressing must be finalized prior to building permit issuance.
Retaining walls greater than four (4) feet in height requires a structural design by a licensed professional engineer. All walls adjacent to pedestrian areas must include fencing on top of the retaining wall. Stamped structural drawings must be submitted to the Engineering Department prior to building permit issuance.
Existing City parking lot signage/monuments and decorative light poles that are in the public right-of-way and adjacent to the proposed development may need to be relocated. Applicant will work with Engineering staff on the final location of parking lot and wayfinding signage/monuments. The existing Village monument sign on Wauwatosa Ave that is currently damaged will be within the proposed construction staging area for this development. The applicant will be required to repair the base as needed and re-install the sign that the City has already purchased. Parking lot signage/monuments and decorative light pole comments must be addressed prior to final site plan approval.
Fire and domestic water demand calculations must be submitted prior to final site plan approval. Fire flow calculations must be in accordance with City Code Section 14.20.080 and NFPA 13.
A maintenance agreement for any required storm water quality devices must signed by the owner/person responsible for maintenance and recorded with Milwaukee County prior to Final Building Occupancy issuance.
Detailed plans showing how all overhead electric facilities will be relocated on the property will be required prior to final PUD submittal.
A tree replacement fee is required for any existing City street trees and Silva cells that are removed for the proposed development. The fee must be paid prior to final site plan approval.
The applicant requests that deviations to the interior and perimeter landscaping code be granted through the PUD process for proposed surface lot on Harwood Ave. The narrative states that that permeable pavers have been provided to compensate for the deviations to the landscaping code. The plans do include permeable asphalt pavement along the southwest side of the surface parking lot. The permeable pavement is not required by City or MMSD Codes and does provide water quality and quantity benefits. While it is acknowledged that the landscaping code cannot be met while also providing public parking at a 1:1 ratio based on existing public parking counts, interior and perimeter landscaping does help reduce the heat island effect, provide water quality and quantity benefits, and natural aesthetics.
In addition, deviations to the surface parking lot required setback and minimum drive aisle width have been requested. A turning template for both a mid-size car and a large pick-up truck have been provided to demonstrate how vehicles will enter and exit from the proposed parking stalls. The proposed parking lot at the south end is spatially restricted due to the location of the existing Overlook Apartments building on the east side and proposed retaining walls on the south and west sides. Restricting the parking stalls on the south end of the parking lot to only compact size vehicles may be required. Screening between the proposed parking lot and the Overlook Apartments building may be required based on the façade of the existing building. If screening is required, it must be included in the plans prior to final site plan approval.
The applicant has submitted an initial traffic study outlining the trip generation for the proposed development as requested by the City’s traffic engineer for the preliminary PUD. The development is expected to generate 60 trips during the weekday morning rush hour (15 in/45 out) and 65 trips during the weekday evening rush hour (40 in/25 out). This is a low volume trip generator. A comprehensive traffic analysis of the development driveways, as well as of Wauwatosa Avenue from Harmonee Avenue to State Street is required prior to Final PUD application submittal. The comprehensive traffic analysis will identify modifications, if necessary, to improve traffic safety and operations in the study area.
The initial traffic study also states that under the proposed development plan, the proximity of the building to the sidewalk will result in limited visibility to pedestrians at the Wauwatosa Avenue structured parking exit. The study recommends mitigation options for the sidewalk sight line such as providing signing that encourages exiting vehicles to be aware of the potential presence of pedestrians. In addition to signage and mirrors, the applicant is encouraged to work with staff on moving the proposed pedestrian exit to the north side of the garage opening to help with the pedestrian lines of sight for vehicles exiting the structure. All pedestrian visibility concerns must be addressed prior to final PUD application submittal.
The plans show a 16-foot overhead door on Blanchard Street. The applicant is encouraged to work with staff in providing more details regarding the access system and how much this will impact pedestrian accessibility at the sidewalk prior to final site plan approval.
The current construction staging plan shows long term sidewalk closures on the east side of Wauwatosa Ave and the north side of Blanchard Street and a proposed crane swing encroachment within the public right-of-way, which are all subject to approval by the Board of Public Works. A detailed phased construction staging plan is required and must include where deliveries will be made during each phase and where construction materials will be stored. The construction staging plan must also accurately depict if any lane closures will be necessary.
Lane closures are subject to approval by the Board of Public Works prior to building permit issuance.
A shoring and soil stabilization plan showing how Wauwatosa Ave and adjacent neighboring structures will be protected during construction will be required prior to building permit issuance.
A profile of the existing grade and the proposed building must be provided to assess how much excavation will be proposed. Recent redevelopment in the area encountered high groundwater during and after construction.
For this proposal, a dewatering plan may be necessary during construction and extra foundation protection measures may need to be considered post construction and must be submitted to Engineering prior to building permit issuance.
The City is currently engaged in a Village Area Parking Study with Walker Consultants. The study is being reviewed and results are anticipated to be presented to the Transportation Affairs Committee on July 23, 2024. The study will include recommendations for public parking within the study area.
Fire Department
No Issues
Health Department
No comments provided.
Police Department
No comments provided.
C. Recommendation
Staff recommends approval subject to:
1. Approval of the CSM and zoning map amendment applications.
2. Compliance with all conditions in the Public Works and Engineering comment sections of this report.
3. Approval from the Design Review Board is required prior to submitting for Final PUD approval.
4. Providing detailed costs of any alterations and/or new construction as well as income and expense information as requested by the Assessor's office.
5. Filing application for Final PUD approval within 12 months of the date of Preliminary PUD approval.
6. Obtaining all necessary approvals, licenses, and permits.