Is new project activity beginning to slow down? Maybe. Or maybe it’s just winter and everyone is busy with the multitude of projects already in progress. Either way, the February Design Review Board Urban Panel meeting had only one item on the agenda with a couple of informal reviews.
Flournoy Development, District West
This application is to install a blade-type sign at the District West apartment complex on Reedy View Drive (just off Academy Street). Even though the proposed sign is not within normal sign guidelines, city staff said they felt it would “fit in with the size and scale of the building.” The DRB agreed, saying the sign was really an “architectural element instead of a sign” and approved the application.
Camperdown project
As Centennial American Properties and contractor Trehel get ready to start work on the first office building and parking structure of the Camperdown project (a.k.a. the Greenville News site), a preliminary rendering of the apartment building and parking garage for the project were reviewed informally by the DRB before the design arrives for formal consideration in March.
Centennial propose a mixture of glass and brick materials for the 12-story apartment building, with retail on the ground level and a pool for the apartments above the new parking garage.
The city has been working with the applicant to encourage a more modern design for the building, said Michael Kerski, planning and development manager for the city of Greenville. DRB members said the rendering still looks like “one big building” and they would like to see more volume and variations on the design. However, board members agreed a good job has been done on the selection of materials.
The parking garage also needs more work on the corners to activate it for pedestrians, said the DRB. The garage will be owned by Centennial American Properties. DRB member Danielle Fontaine said she would like to see some sort of “sculptural quality” on the garage walls that face Fall Street.
Hotel across from Fluor Field
Also up for informal review was an application to demolish the existing building and surface parking lot for a hotel on the former Elgin auto property across from Fluor Field.
The proposed Homewood Suites Hotel will be built by Cary, N.C.-based Parks Hospitality Group.
Right now, city staff says the design doesn’t meet the setbacks required in the West End or the new retail requirements the city just adopted requiring mixed-use projects to include retail on the ground level.
The DRB says it would like to see more modulation of materials and vertical modulation and to make the street level more inviting. This application is also set to be formally reviewed at the March DRB meeting.
