GAINESVILLE – Two parcels at opposite ends of the massive Mundy Mill mixed use development likely will be exchanging zoning designations after receiving a unanimous recommendation for approval Tuesday evening from the Gainesville Planning and Appeals Board.
The 605-acre development along Mundy Mill Road was originally approved in 2004 for 1148 single-family homes, 1235 condominiums, townhomes and apartments, over 800,000-square feet of office/warehouse space, 885,000-square feet of commercial/retail space and an elementary school.
Developer Scott Stringer has applied with the City of Gainesville for rezoning that would allow him to construct three hundred multi-family apartments currently approved for Pod E (a 17.25-acre tract at the most eastern edge of the complex), on a 17-plus acre site on the western edge of the complex (Pod I). Both pods are owned by Butler Property, LLC.
The second part of the rezoning application submitted by the developer would allow for 170,000-square feet of Office /Warehouse space originally approved for Pod I to be moved to Pod E, filling the void left by the departing multi-family apartment complex.
While this sounds complicated, it really isn’t according to real estate broker Billy Powell of Gainesville who presented applicant Stringer’s and owner Butler Property’s zoning amendment request before the Planning and Appeals Board. “We are not asking for any additional units. That’s the main point,” Powell said.
Gainesville Community and Economic Deputy Director Matt Tate agreed, saying, “There is no additional square footage of non-residential space and there’s no additional multi-family units, it’s just simply relocating that space within the mixed use development.”
Powell said that the idea to move the apartments from the east side of the development to the Mundy Mill Road side of the development was strictly to increase marketability.
“Visibility,” Powell would reiterate after the meeting adjourned about the reason behind the decision to relocate the apartment units. “It’s hard for people to know that you have a real nice product when it’s in the back of the development.”
There will also be retail space (already zoned for such) with the apartment units according to Powell if the relocation is approved by the Gainesville City Council when it meets on February 2nd.
Powell said longtime Atlanta builder Carter USA would be the construction firm building the apartment complex. “Carter (USA) is a six-decade old, very professional company…and they have built thousands of apartments units and they build a very (high) quality product.” Ten buildings are shown in the site plan submitted by the applicant.
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