Apartment and townhome developers looking to rezone two tracts of land on the east side of Lakeview Drive received unanimous recommendation for approval on Tuesday by the Gainesville Planning and Appeals Board.
The 69.18-acre mixed-use development project was initially tabled in April and returned with some changes.
The first tract will utilize 57.44 acres for 316 apartment units, which differs from the 252 multi-family apartments that Brand Properties originally proposed.
“In order to accommodate this, the apartment buildings within track one will include a four to five-story split,” community and economic development deputy director Matt Tate said. “It will be one story taller than what was originally predicted in that configuration. So that'll help with the additional density that's needed.”
This alteration shifted 64 units from tract two, which will be reserved solely for townhomes. Tract two, which was not a part of the original zoning plan, will house 76 townhomes on 11.74 acres.
Another change was the elimination of 35,000 square feet of commercial space, which would have required an occupancy permit for more than 100 units.
“We do have different developers involved for different aspects of the project,” Brand Properties representative Bo Webber said. “Some developers specialize in different areas. And so we were concerned about putting the cart before the horse and holding up one development.”
Tate said the condition was put in place to ensure the property does not serve as just a residential development.
No one spoke in opposition to the rezoning request. It will move to the Gainesville City Council for final approval.
