The Summit County Council unanimously approved the redevelopment of Junction Commons into a residential and commercial hub on Tuesday, which marks the first use of the Snyderville Basin’s neighborhood mixed-use zone since its creation more than five years ago.

“We’re really happy and impressed that you’re able to use that NMU zone,” County Council Chair Canice Harte told the developers after the vote. “We’re excited to see what this brings. The blend of residential mixed with the enhanced commercial experience is something that I think the community will benefit from.”

Singerman Real Estate purchased the outlet mall in 2018, three years before the County Council created the neighborhood mixed-use zone. The neighborhood mixed-use zone accommodates projects with at least three land uses, such as commercial, residential and recreational areas. It also requires at least 50% of the development’s housing units be earmarked as affordable.

The approval this week authorized a rezone of the Junction Commons property from the town center zone to the neighborhood mixed-use zone. The County Council also voted in favor of a master plan development document, which will be further refined as the county government and Singerman Real Estate work to draft a legally binding development agreement before construction begins.

The proposal to redevelop the outlet mall outlines plans for 370 residential units, 220 of which will be earmarked as affordable housing. Of those affordable units, 188 will be priced around the 80% area median income, or AMI, mark. The remaining 32 units will be priced around the 60% AMI mark.

The developers said they plan to use a system that averages the AMIs of the affordable units, allowing for more flexibility. For example, if a resident in an affordable unit receives a pay raise, their AMI would increase, and the rent payment would rise in proportion to their new salary. This permits the developer to lease the next affordable unit at a lower AMI, according to Singerman Real Estate representatives.

The project also reduces existing commercial space on the property by approximately 56,000 square feet. The residential units, which are a mix of townhomes and apartment buildings, will be integrated into commercial spaces.

The site plan for the Junction Commons redevelopment has been downsized since it was first presented to the Snyderville Basin Planning Commission. The original proposal included 433 residential units, with 205 units set aside as affordable housing.

However, the County Council expressed concerns about the project’s density and traffic impacts, especially in combination with other Snyderville Basin developments, such as Altus Park City or the Utah Olympic Park expansion.

The reduction in units amounted to a 14% decrease from the original proposal.

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The Summit County Council postponed a vote on the proposed Junction Commons redevelopment to next week after the county’s legal counsel said the agenda item had been noticed incorrectly and needed to be rescheduled.

Singerman Real Estate, the company that purchased the outlet mall in 2018, submitted plans to rezone the property from the town center zone to the neighborhood mixed-use zone, which encourages developers to build affordable housing alongside commercial stores.

The proposal outlines plans for 370 residential units, 220 of which will be earmarked as affordable housing. Of those affordable units, 188 will be priced around the 80% area median income, or AMI, mark, while the remaining 32 units will be priced around the 60% AMI.

The developers said they plan to use a system that averages the AMIs of the affordable units, allowing for more flexibility. For example, if a resident in an affordable unit receives a pay raise, their AMI would increase, and the rent payment will rise in proportion to their new salary. This permits the developer to lease the next affordable unit for a lower AMI, according to Singerman Real Estate representatives.

The project also reduces existing commercial space on the property by approximately 56,000 square feet. The residential units, which are a mix of townhomes and apartment buildings, will be integrated into the commercial space.

County councilors overwhelmingly expressed their support for the project on Wednesday and were poised to make a motion approving the development’s master plan until Chief Civil Deputy David Thomas said the agenda item had been noticed incorrectly, which halted the process.

Specifically, the agenda item was marked as a possible approval of the master plan development rather than the rezone request, which the developers need to obtain before the larger plan advances.

The County Council will instead meet virtually at 8:30 a.m. on Tuesday to vote on the rezone and master plan document during a special meeting. If the master plan is approved, the county will then negotiate with Singerman Real Estate to draft a formal development agreement.

The site plan for the Junction Commons redevelopment project has been downsized since it was first presented to the Snyderville Basin Planning Commission. The original proposal included 433 residential units, with 205 earmarked as affordable housing, but the County Council expressed concerns about the project’s density and traffic impacts, especially in combination with other Snyderville Basin developments, such as Altus Park City or the Utah Olympic Park expansion.

The reduction in units amounted to a 14% decrease from the original proposal.

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The team behind the proposed Junction Commons redevelopment project has decreased the density of the neighborhood and added more affordable housing units based on feedback from the Summit County Council.

Singerman Real Estate, the company that purchased the outlet mall in 2018, originally suggested redeveloping the property into a mixed-use area with commercial space and 433 residential units, 205 of which were earmarked as affordable housing.

However, the development team on Wednesday said it revised its plans after the County Council expressed concerns about density and traffic congestion. Councilors pointed out Junction Commons’ proximity to the Utah Olympic Park and Altus Park City projects, which will also add residential units to Kimball Junction over the next few years.

The County Council additionally requested more affordable housing units than market-rate units, with county councilors Chris Robinson and Roger Armstrong previously stating that they didn’t think the proposal provided enough community benefits to outweigh the impact the project would have on the Snyderville Basin.

Craig Elliott, an architect working on the project, said he and the Singerman development team took councilors’ feedback to heart, adjusting the proposal so it would include fewer residential units while also increasing the affordable housing offerings.

“We spent quite a bit of time … trying to come up with what we felt like was going to be the best solution,” Elliott said. “My experience in working with (Singerman) has been very professional and diligent, and that’s not always the case when you’re working with a development team. When we’re presenting these items, it shows. It’s real, and it’s doable. That’s what we’ve been trying to get to.”

The new site plan details 370 residential units on the property, a 14% decrease from the original proposal. Of those units, 220 would be classified as deed-restricted affordable housing, while the other 150 would be rented or sold at market rates.

Overall, 60% of the redeveloped neighborhood would be dedicated to affordable housing.

“We think that’s a good balance,” Elliott said. “We’ve come up with a good solution to make it work financially for the project.”

The development team also added more three-bedroom offerings after county councilors said they wanted options for residents with families. Approximately 110 market-rate units were removed to accommodate the construction of more townhomes, some of which will be for sale at “attainable” rates, likely between the 100% and 120% area median income mark, or AMI.

The redevelopment, if approved, would reduce the property’s amount of commercial space by more than 56,000 square feet. Developers said they intend to create a walkable, mixed-use neighborhood instead of maintaining the outlet mall’s current layout, which relies on cars and is occasionally dangerous for pedestrians.

The County Council seemed appreciative of the development team’s efforts to adjust the proposal based on feedback from previous meetings, with County Councilor Megan McKenna saying there is already a difference in how Junction Commons looks today compared to how it looked when she was in high school.

“I have to tell you, I was pleasantly surprised when I opened this packet and read through it,” added County Councilor Tonja Hanson. “I went, ‘Wow, they really did listen to us, and they took our feedback.’”

The County Council did not take any action on the Junction Commons proposal on Wednesday. County planner Amir Caus said he will compile a comprehensive staff report on the project and present it at a later date. At that point, the County Council may hold a public hearing or take further action.

The proposal is not expected to appear before the Snyderville Basin Planning Commission again because planning commissioners already forwarded the project to the County Council with a positive recommendation in February.

The post Developers downsize Junction Commons proposal, increase affordable housing options appeared first on Park Record.

The team behind the proposed redevelopment of Junction Commons said it’s listening to the Summit County Council’s feedback regarding the outlet mall’s conversion to a mixed-use residential development, but county councilors are pushing for more affordable housing units and details on traffic impacts before they feel comfortable putting the project to a final vote.

Singerman Real Estate, the company that purchased Junction Commons in 2018, originally proposed redeveloping the property to include a mix of commercial space and residential units, with 205 of the 433 units earmarked for affordable housing.

However, developers told the County Council last week that they’d listened to concerns about the number of affordable units included in the project compared to market rate units. They said they’d adjusted the development’s layout so they could build 233 affordable units and only 226 market rate units, which would mean 51% of the project is dedicated to affordable housing.

They said they’d also added a handful of three-bedroom units to accommodate families, which had been a concern of the County Council’s at a previous meeting, and committed to building affordable units at the start of each construction phase instead of prioritizing market rate units.

The proposed redevelopment also encompasses a more than 55,000-square-foot reduction in commercial space, with developers emphasizing their commitment to creating a walkable, people-oriented, mixed-use community. They estimated the project would take at least eight years to complete.

The County Council seemed appreciative of developers’ decision to add more affordable housing units, but county councilors Chris Robinson and Roger Armstrong said they didn’t think the proposal provided enough community benefits to outweigh the traffic impacts it would likely have on the area. They pointed out Junction Commons is one of many projects coming to Kimball Junction in the next few years, with a specific nod to developments at the Utah Olympic Park and Altus Park City, formerly known as the Dakota Pacific project.

“The fundamental question I keep having is, ‘Why do we want another couple hundred units of market rate housing?’” Robinson asked. “What’s the justification for wanting to do that?”

The developers said the market rate units were important to the project financially to offset the costs of including so many affordable units, but they also urged the County Council not to set a precedent of denying new proposals just because the proposal is in an area where other companies have existing entitlements.

The team reiterated their willingness to collaborate with the county government and engage in the development process transparently, saying it wasn’t fair to punish developers with a good project simply because other companies pursued other routes, seemingly referring to Six Ridges’ decision to approach the state Legislature to receive approval for Altus Park City.

“You guys have come up with a terrific plan that under different circumstances would fly through,” Armstrong responded. “I respect what you’re saying, but it’s not a blank slate. You’ve got to take it with what comes, with what preceded you. That’s always going to affect your development and what you want to plug in and where you want to plug it in.”

Armstrong said the project’s traffic impacts may be easier to stomach if all 459 residential units were affordable. Otherwise, the community benefits will be outweighed by the congestion and added density.

“Every one of those market rates and all that new commercial generates a need for more affordable, and we’re constantly chasing our tail,” he said. “That’s the challenge.”

County Council Chair Canice Harte said he was similarly struggling with the proposal. He said he liked the emphasis on affordable housing, but he was worried the targeted 80% area median income, or AMI, number for the affordable units was too low and suggested a target range between 40% and 60% instead.

“The rest of the project will fall into line for me when I feel like there’s enough affordable because that is the currency that drives the largest community benefit for me,” Robinson agreed.

The development team said they would be willing to research whether they could lower the AMIs any further, but they cautioned the County Council about wanting to lower rates too much, saying it’s easy to accidentally set a number so low that it prices out married couples with combined incomes.

County Councilor Megan McKenna said she still supported the project in its current form because of the changes it would bring to the Kimball Junction area.

“I keep going back to what is currently there and what this can be,” she said. “It’s such an improvement that I really hope we can get to a place where it is this model for the eastern side of Kimball Junction and these giant parking lots and commercial (spaces). I think that is a huge community benefit.”

The County Council plans to speak with the Junction Commons developers in-depth about a traffic study on the property in June, as well as participate in a site visit.

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Snyderville Basin residents and the Summit County Council have expressed concerns about the proposed redevelopment of Junction Commons into a mixed-use neighborhood because of the potential for increased traffic in Kimball Junction, but the county’s transportation planning director said the project likely wouldn’t cause major issues in the area.

Summit County Transportation Planning Director Carl Miller and the development team behind the Junction Commons project presented information on a traffic study to the County Council on Wednesday. The conversation was part of an ongoing dialogue between councilors and developers as the two parties work on the details of the redevelopment, which has not yet been approved.

Hales Engineering, a Lehi-based consultant specializing in transportation planning, spearheaded the traffic study and noted two areas of concern if the development were approved: the entrances to Walmart and Whole Foods on Landmark Drive.

Miller said the traffic study showed there had been 38 crashes across those two intersections over the last five years. However, none of those crashes involved serious injuries.

“These are already background or existing conditions,” Miller said. “Obviously, while additional traffic won’t help the matter, they’re conditions that we’re dealing with already at that location.”

Miller said the reduction in commercial space on the property, combined with the addition of residential housing, would help spread trips throughout the day so the amount of traffic is less noticeable. He also said the study indicated the road wouldn’t “fail” as long as the county implements a few mitigating factors, including a right turn only lane near Walmart and an expanded roundabout near Whole Foods.

The Summit County government declared Landmark Drive a problematic area when it developed its long-range transportation plan in 2022. But Miller said the previously identified solution may no longer fix the issue, considering the major projects proposed in Kimball Junction, which is why he recommended the specific mitigating measures instead.

“When we developed the long-range plan in 2022, we identified that (solution) as a widening from three lanes to four lanes,” Miller said. “I think with all the other dynamic pieces that are going on, we should look at this, but I’m not totally sure that solution of four lanes is the right answer. I think it needs additional analysis.”

Miller said the traffic study showed the area around Junction Commons receives 87 trips each morning and 402 trips each afternoon on average. With the redevelopment project, those numbers are expected to increase to 242 morning trips and 578 afternoon trips.

However, County Councilor Roger Armstrong said he wasn’t convinced the redevelopment would only generate 30% to 40% more traffic, especially when including the Utah Olympic Park’s future hotel and housing units in Kimball Junction in addition to the development previously known as the Dakota Pacific project, now called Altus Park City.

Miller said the Junction Commons redevelopment would change the amount of traffic on the road, but he said it wouldn’t necessarily make the road more congested or difficult to use. The developers echoed Miller’s statements, saying their goal was to make Junction Commons a destination for locals, not shoppers traveling on Interstate 80.

The traffic study additionally indicated that most of the increased traffic would be outbound cars from Junction Commons in the morning, as the commuters who live in the residential units would likely be leaving the complex for work.

The study touched on parking at Junction Commons, too. The current iteration of Junction Commons has 1,274 parking spaces, but Miller said the developers are proposing a total of 1,504 parking stalls as part of the redevelopment.

The parking stalls would largely be split in half, with 720 spaces included in a surface parking lot and another 700 available in a parking garage. Townhomes that are proposed as part of the project in the northwest corner would have an additional 84 spots via attached garages.

“I think they’ve threaded the needle as far as getting the amount slightly more than the demand calls for, but not so much that it pulls away from other objectives in that community,” Miller said.

Miller also said the parking lots would not be how they are today — a sea of concrete in the midst of commercial buildings. Instead, the center of the development would have buildings and green space, which would be encircled by parking spaces.

The developers plan to install at least nine electric vehicle charging stations throughout the property, as well as create two transit hubs on the north and south sides of the development to encourage residents and visitors to use public transportation.

The County Council did not take any action on the Junction Commons proposal this week, but the development team is expected to return in the next few weeks with an additional presentation on how the redevelopment will tackle affordable housing.

Singerman Real Estate purchased Junction Commons in 2018 and has invested more than $20 million into the property so far, with an end goal of converting the shopping outlet into a neighborhood and community center. Specifically, the developers have proposed 433 residential units, with 228 to be sold or rented at a market rate while the other 205 will be earmarked for affordable housing.

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The architectural team spearheading the redevelopment of Junction Commons into a mixed-use neighborhood appeared before the Summit County Council this week to share more details on the project’s timeline and affordable housing plans.

Singerman Real Estate purchased Junction Commons in 2018 and has invested more than $20 million into the property so far, with an end goal of converting the shopping outlet into a neighborhood and community center.

The County Council first heard the real estate company’s proposal for Junction Commons last month, but councilors had lingering questions about how affordable housing would be integrated into the project, as well as concerns about the traffic impacts in Kimball Junction.

Representatives from Singerman Real Estate and Elliott Workgroup, the architecture firm hired to design the project, returned to the County Council on Wednesday to present information on its affordable housing plan. Specifically, the development team said that of the 433 units included in the project, 228 will be rented or sold at a market rate while the other 205 will be earmarked for affordable housing.

The redevelopment proposal outlined the breakdown of unit types, too. The new vision for Junction Commons includes 86 studio apartments, 173 one-bedroom units, 113 two-bedroom units and 61 three-bedroom units.

All 86 studio apartments are planned to be affordable housing units, as well as 101 one-bedroom apartments and 18 two-bedroom apartments.

County Councilor Tonja Hanson said she was concerned about the lack of three-bedroom units included in the project’s affordable housing breakdown because of working families who may benefit from reduced costs but would need more space. 

However, the development team and Housing Authority Executive Director Maddy McDonough said the demand for smaller units is much higher than the demand for units with three or more bedrooms. That’s why the developers focused on offering affordable studio and one-bedroom apartments instead of townhomes or units with larger floor plans.

Hanson also expressed nervousness about the two buildings designated for affordable housing being separate from the market rate buildings. She said she was nervous that the residents living in the affordable housing units would feel ostracized by being relegated to another building, which made her “extremely uncomfortable.”

But the developers said they intended to integrate the affordable housing buildings into the rest of the neighborhood by clustering the structures around a shared common space. They said state and federal funding is necessary for the project to be economically viable, but the federal funding prohibits placing market rate and affordable units in the same building because of regulations from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

McDonough said Singerman Real Estate is also considering a “waterfall provision” for its affordable housing units, which means that certain groups of people would be given priority over others. 

Under the current proposal, the first group would be households that meet the income limit requirements and have at least one person employed at a business within the Junction Commons development. Second and third priorities would be given to households with workers employed in the Snyderville Basin, while the fourth group would be relegated to households with at least one person who is employed in Summit County at large.

County Councilor Megan McKenna said she supported the waterfall provision, but she suggested adding another category for recently retired residents who worked in Summit County to help retain the area’s aging population. County Council Vice Chair Roger Armstrong similarly said he hoped to target essential workers, like teachers, police officers and firefighters, if possible.

The developers estimated each of the project’s seven phases would take at least two to three years to complete, meaning the redevelopment would not be finished for the next 10 to 15 years.

County Council Chair Canice Harte said he wasn’t necessarily opposed to the proposal, but he thought the targeted 80% area median income, or AMI, for the affordable housing units was too low. In Summit County, the 80% AMI mark for a family of four is an annual income of $134,880.

Harte said he would be more comfortable with the redevelopment if it were targeting the 40% to 60% range.

Armstrong also had concerns about the project, saying there were already too many proposed developments slated for the Kimball Junction area. He said the County Council needed to follow provisions in the Snyderville Basin General Plan that say councilors shouldn’t approve new entitlements until all existing entitlements are “significantly exhausted” unless there is a “compelling countervailing public interest.”

In the case of Junction Commons, Armstrong said there hasn’t been enough information presented to show the development would benefit the public other than its inclusion of affordable housing. He said there are already more than 1,500 residential units predicted to come online in the Kimball Junction area over the next decade or so, but there still isn’t a solution for traffic.

Armstrong said he was hesitant to support the Junction Commons project, despite liking the redevelopment philosophy in theory, because of outstanding entitlements with other developers and the perceived lack of public benefits.

However, McKenna disagreed with Armstrong and said she thought affordable housing in and of itself was enough of a benefit for the Summit County community.

“Affordable housing is compelling,” McKenna said. “It is a community benefit that we need, and I think most of our community actually agrees with that, especially with a redevelopment project like this. I would hate to see us penalize a great example of the kind of responsible development that our community is looking for because there are other examples of sprawl or large developments that we don’t want to see.”

She said she was “surprised” by her fellow councilors’ hesitation to support the project, calling the redevelopment “different” from the typical proposals brought to the County Council.

“We have an existing commercial development that is essentially a fortress around a giant parking lot, and we’re bringing connections and trails and community gathering spaces and housing,” McKenna said.

County Councilor Chris Robinson shared similar concerns to Armstrong and Harte, but he said the Junction Commons development is worth pursuing, especially if the developers and the county can work together to create more community benefits.

The County Council did not take any action on the Junction Commons proposal this week, but a work session to further discuss the redevelopment is tentatively scheduled for April 15.

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The redevelopment of Junction Commons into a mixed-use residential and commercial area is one step closer to reality now that the project is set to appear before the Summit County Council for final approval.

The Snyderville Basin Planning Commission forwarded a positive recommendation to the County Council on Tuesday after more than a year of discussion between commissioners and the development team. The project aims to revamp the existing shopping outlet to have housing units on the northwest corner, with commercial and retail spaces slated for the central area of the property.

Some residential units would also be located above the commercial storefronts, and the developers stressed their desire to create a walkable, pedestrian-friendly area in addition to installing bus stops for an expanded High Valley Transit route.

Overall, the redevelopment would have 19 mixed-use buildings and 433 residential units, of which 205 would be designated as affordable housing. Around 40 of the residential units would be for-sale townhomes, with three specifically earmarked as attainable housing to be sold around the 120% area median income mark.

The project also reduces the amount of commercial space on the property by approximately 100,000 square feet.

“I want to emphasize the complexity of undertaking the redevelopment while operating an open, active shopping center,” said Adam Greenebaum, senior vice president of Singerman Real Estate, the company that owns the property. “We’ve been surgically working on this for years in terms of how we’ve handled leasing and other aspects of the shopping center. We are positioned to start this redevelopment.”

Greenebaum said his company has invested more than $20 million into the Junction Commons transformation so far through its rebranding efforts, facility upgrades and attempts to attract family-friendly businesses and restaurants. The goal, he said, is to tweak the property into a hub for locals rather than focusing on its previous use as a “highway outlet center.”

Planning commissioners on Tuesday were mostly in favor of the project, but there were lingering concerns about the redevelopment’s effect on traffic congestion in Kimball Junction.

Specifically, Planning Commissioner Eric Sagerman said he was nervous that developers and the county were only considering Junction Commons, the Dakota Pacific Real Estate development and the Utah Olympic Park expansion as standalone applications rather than three major builds hoping to come online at the same time.

“I think that’s a failed way of looking at it,” Sagerman said. “You have to look at it in conjunction with the others. That’s the reality of it. … Otherwise, we’ll continue with the same issue, and we’ll continue with the same answers, which will be a failed state.”

The development team said they didn’t envision the project adding a significant amount of traffic beyond what already exists because the shopping outlet is already functioning as a commercial area. Summit County planners agreed, according to information included in a staff report.

“As with all development in Summit County, traffic impacts are always a concern,” the staff report said. “This is true during construction phases, after occupancy and into the future. The applicant’s traffic study demonstrates that its proposal will not increase the failure of any intersection in the area beyond background failures occurring as a result of existing conditions.”

Planning Commissioner Matthew Nagie said he didn’t want to focus too much on how the Junction Commons redevelopment would affect traffic in Kimball Junction because it’s something that needs to be viewed holistically, not put on the shoulders of one developer.

“I do think that there is a palpable discomfort that I have and others have with how much is being loaded onto this area before we have a plan,” added Planning Commissioner Heather Peteroy. “I’m not saying that’s on you guys. I am saying that if we don’t put pressure on (the County Council) to make it a priority, whether that’s the partnership with UDOT or with our own resources on the roads that we own, then I don’t think it’s going to get prioritized.”

The Planning Commission ultimately couldn’t impose any conditions of approval related to Kimball Junction at large because they had to stay within the scope of the developers’ application. However, they mandated a traffic mitigation plan to be included and followed for each phase of construction.

Commissioners voted 6-1 to forward a positive recommendation on the proposed rezoning and master plan development to the County Council, with Tim Jeffery as the lone dissenting voice. 

Jeffery said he voted against because he was uncomfortable with the size of the project and its potential effect on traffic congestion in the Snyderville Basin.

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A proposed mixed-use residential housing development in Kimball Junction inches closer to reality following a second workshop with the Snyderville Basin Planning Commission.

Park City architecture firm Elliott Workgroup has been spearheading the design of the significant Junction Commons redevelopment project, which transforms the outlet mall into a mix of retail stores and housing including townhomes, apartments and affordable units.

The proposal posits a total of 402 residential units in addition to a clubhouse and changes to the area’s walkability, all on the existing Junction Commons site.

Craig Elliott, one of Elliott Workgroup’s managing partners, explained in February that his firm is trying to help the property mesh with the Kimball Junction Neighborhood Plan, which the Summit County Council unanimously adopted in 2019 as a way to create a coherent walkable and bikeable neighborhood with community gathering spaces and less vehicle traffic.

The development will eventually require permit approvals and a zoning change, but as of now discussions are still preliminary. 

As part of the collaboration between the Planning Commission and Elliot Workgroup, though, representatives of the architecture firm presented updated traffic and parking plans this week.

“There’s opportunities for (a new transit path). There have been discussions with High Valley (Transit), and we plan on having a significant bus station at this location, which is in-between the mixes of use, in-between the residential and in-between the commercial,” Elliott explained. “We think it’ll actually help drive people from Liberty Peak and others who use that space to really become an easier connection point for them.”

The plans also include a two-way bike lane, multi-modal trails and sidewalks, bike racks and an e-bike station.

Overall, the development would have 1,493 parking stalls after construction is completed. Most would be first-come, first-served.

Townhome residents would have their own designated parking spots via an attached garage, but the other stalls would be available for both the residential and commercial developments. However, Elliott emphasized the firm has analyzed traffic and parking patterns, including peak times of day and weekends, to ensure a sufficient number of stalls and meet code requirements.

To mitigate issues with parking during construction, especially since the process is expected to take multiple years, developers plan to make changes in phases, Elliott said. By adding new stalls in sections before demolishing other surface lots, the firm hopes to cause as little disruption to businesses and visitors as much as possible.

Additionally, the architecture firm shared a new estimate of the project’s timeline, which is broken into seven phases. The first phase, comprising facade improvements, has already been completed.

Demolition and infrastructure and connectivity improvements are slated for phase two in early 2026; the construction of affordable and market-rate apartments is planned for phase three in mid-2028; the construction of townhomes and more apartments is slated for phase four in mid-2029; and phases five, six and seven, all of which involve more retail and apartment construction, are expected to be completed around the 2034 Olympic Games.

The Planning Commission did not take any action on the proposal Tuesday since the presentation was part of a work session, but Elliott said he foresees his firm approaching the planning panel again at its next meeting with more updates.

There is not a timeline yet regarding permitting approvals or zoning changes to officially green light the project.

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