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REVIEW COMMENTS DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT PLANNING AND ZONING DIVISION MEMORANDUM NO. PZ 07-122 FROM: Chair and Members Community Redevel;L?nt Agency Board Michael RumpflY Director of Planning and Zoning Gabriel Wuebben If : \ Planner [,/'\ IJV TO: THRU: DATE: November 7, 2007 PROJECT: The Arches / SPTE 07-012 REQUEST: Site Plan Time Extension PROJECT DESCRIPTION Property Owner: Boynton Ventures I, LLC Applicant / Agent: William Bloom with Holland & Knight Location: Southwest corner of Ocean Avenue and Federal Highway(Exhibit "A'') Existing Land Use/ Zoning: Mixed Use Core (MX-C) / Mixed Use High (MU-H) Proposed Uses: Request site plan time extension approval for a mixed use project consisting of 40,596 square feet of retail space and 378 condominium units on 4.688 acres. Acreage: 4.688 acres Adjacent Uses: North: Right-of-way for Ocean Avenue and farther north are developed properties zoned Central Business District (CBD); Right-of-way for Southeast 2nd Avenue and farther south is a developed commercial plaza zoned Community Commercial (C-3); South: East: Right-of-way for Federal Highway and farther east is developed commercial properties zoned CBD; and West: Right-of-way for Southeast 4th Street and still farther west is developed commercial properties zoned CBD. Page 2 Memorandum No. PZ 07-122 BACKGROUND Mr. William Bloom, agent for Boynton Ventures I, LLC, is requesting that a second one (1) year time extension be granted for the Arches Site Plan and Height Exception development orders (MSPM 05-008 and HTEX 05- 006), which were approved by the City Commission on September 6, 2005. These approvals are valid for one (1) year from the date of approval, unless a building permit has been issued or a time extension applied for. If this request for extensions were approved, the expiration date, including concurrency certification, would be extended to September 6, 2008. According to the site plan staff report, The Arches was approved to construct a total of 378 dwelling units and 40,596 square feet of retail space (combining retail, office, and restaurant space). The height exception request was for certain rooftop elements that conceal mechanical equipment, elevator shafts and stairwells at a height of 167 feet, or 17 feet above the maximum height threshold of 150 feet. Originally, a similar mixed-use project was approved in 2003, and was subsequently awarded two (2) site plan time extensions. In 2005, a Major Site Plan Modification application was approved as filed by new owners of the property. This in effect resets the entire development clock and marks a departure point for what is essentially a new approval procedure. As mentioned above, the project received a Site Plan Time Extension in 2006. In this respect, this is the second site plan extension request for the revised project in accordance with the City of Boynton Beach Code of Ordinances. ANALYSIS According to Chapter 4, Section 5 of the Land Development Regulations, "the applicant shall have one (1) year to secure a building permit from the Development Department". Examples of building permits include but are not limited to the following: Plumbing, electrical, mechanical, foundation, and structural. The Regulations authorize the City Commission to approve one (1) year time extensions, provided that the applicant files the request prior to the expiration date of the development order or previous time extensions. In this case, the applicant has met that requirement. The Planning & Zoning Division received the extension request September 5, 2007 - one (1) day prior to the expiration of the previous site plan time extension. According to the request and justification, the developer has worked to address the difficulties of undertaking a luxury condominium project in market conditions that have become increasingly unfavorable since the previous site plan time extension was granted in 2006. The applicant has been working to realign the project with current demand through numerous modifications. Most significantly, the applicant will ultimately propose the conversion of the luxury condominiums to rental units. Additionally, the applicant expects to create six (6) additional units through project redesign, relocating the amenity deck within the project and diminishing its size. The applicant has indicated a plan to remove the two-story retail component from the northwest corner of the project, and include an improved loading area and additional landscaping in its place. The applicant also plans to reconfigure various aesthetic details of the project so that project costs coincide more with market demand. It should be noted that if the time extension is approved, any future changes to the project must be determined as "major" or "minor", and reviewed according to the required process. This is the first time staff has been presented with descriptions of the proposed changes to the project, and staff recognizes that such alterations to the originally proposed project may ultimately require a major site plan modification. At this time, however, it appears that the applicant is working toward project commencement. Construction plans for the modified project have been put out to bid, and the applicant believes that project redesign will commence in the coming months. Page 3 Memorandum No. PZ 07-122 A more formal criterion for evaluating requests for time extensions is compliance with concurrency requirements. This project's traffic study was sent to Palm Beach County Traffic Division for their review and approval. The Traffic Division determined that the proposed mixed-use project is located within the designated Boynton Beach Traffic Concurrency Exception Area (TCEA), and therefore meets the Traffic Performance Standards (TPS) of Palm Beach County. However, no building permits are to be issued by the city after the build-out date of 2010. Since the applicant has what would appear to be adequate time remaining on the applicant's traffic concurrency, nothing further in this regard is needed at this time. The site plan time extension would still be subject to the original conditions of approval (site plan and height exception. Lastly, no new land development regulations are now in place against which the project should be reviewed and modified. As for application of the Art in Public Places Ordinance, site plan approval occurred prior to the adoption of Ordinance 05-060. RECOMMENDATION Staff recommends approval of this request for a one (1) year time extension of the major site plan modification (MSPM 05-008) and height exception (HTEX 05-006). If these requests for extension were approved, the expiration date of both applications, including concurrency certification would be extended to September 6, 2008, and all conditions from the original approvals must still be satisfactorily addressed during the building permit process. S:\Planning\SHARED\WP\PROJECTS\ARCHE5 @ BB\5PTE 07-012\Arches SPTE 07-012 Staff Report.doc " Exbtbit "A" - THE ARbt'lES Location Map E co .... I. CI) - C) c: .- U) 440 I Feet N w+, 11 0 55 0 r-\-I"'\- 110 220 330 s EXHIBIT B November 6, 2007 The Arches Time Extension Additional Justification The following statement provides additional justification to the City to support the applicants need for a time extension for the project known as the "The Arches" located at 500 Ocean Avenue. The current market conditions are a major factor in the stalling of the project. The applicant has been working on creative solutions to this problem in order to make the project move forward and begin beginning construction. After some analysis of current market conditions, the applicant is moving forward with a luxury rental project instead of the previously proposed condominium units. There is a need for upscale rental units within the City of Boynton Beach. With the potential conversion to rental come minor mechanical, electrical, and plumbing modifications. The applicant has currently put the construction plans out to bid for these modifications and intends on beginning this modification process within the next several months. Below details the list of proposed construction changes that the applicant is proposing: Architectural Value Enaineerina Chanaes: . Eliminated 1 floor of the parking gara~e o Amenity deck is now on the 51 floor rather than the 6th o 6th floor residential is now identical to floors yth _15th o Exercise room and Party room are now located on 5th floor. o Unit number will change from 356 to 362, addition of 6 units . Reduce size of Amenity deck o Stair C-3 has been eliminated o 'Storage room' to replace stair C-3 on roof deck to maintain symmetry o Maximum occupancy for smaller roof deck: 625 occupants o Maximum occupied area for smaller roof deck: 19,000 square feet . Eliminated building 'D' retail (2-Story) o Northwest corner of parking garage was redesigned to accommodate two loading docks. (1 sl floor) o Northwest side of plaza where building 'D' used to sit will require a new landscape layout. . Trellis and associated planters on the 1 st floor have been eliminated from parking garage fac;ade . Glass canopy has been removed from first floor at northeast and southeast corners of retail . Eliminated high ceiling and curtain wall system in corner units on 5th and 15th floor. o Roof slabs at both 5th and 15th floor are continuous all the way to corners. o Slab still projects 2'-0" past parapet at corners o Glass balcony guardrail sitting on concrete curb at corners where curtain wall used to be. Structural VE Chan~es: Change foundation system from augercast piles to vibroflotation. The applicant feels that progress continues to be made in order to keep the proposed project moving forward in a market that is currently unfavorable towards residential development. The applicant respectfully requests the approval of the requested time extension. EXHIBIT "e" Conditions of Approval Project name: 500 Ocean (tka The Arches) File number: SPTE 07-012 Reference: I DEPARTMENTS I INCLUDE I REJ ECT I PUBLIC WORKS - General Comments: None ~~ PUBLIC WORKS - Traffic Comments: None =-"-- UTILITIES Comments: None --- FIRE Comments: None - - POLICE Comments: None ~- ENGINEERING DIVISION Comments: None BUILDING DIVISION Comments: None ~- PARKS AND RECREATION Co mm e n ts : None FORESTER/ENVIRONMENT ALIST Comments: None ~" PLANNING AND ZONING Comments: ----- _._----~~_._--_.- I. The time extension is subject to the original Conditions of Approval. ----_._.---_._~-_. -------.---- 500 Ocean (fka The Arches) SPTE 07-012 Conditions of Approval Paoe ') 'M' - I DEPARTMENTS I INCLUDE ! REJ ECT I ADDITIONAL COMMUNITY REDEVELOPMENT AGENCY BOARD CONDITIONS Comments: - ----- - -- None ~_. ADDITIONAL CITY COMMISSION CONDITIONS Comments: ~._---_.~., - ~~.- To be determined. S \Planning\SHARED\WP\PROJECTSIARCHES @ BB\SPTE 07-012\COA.doc