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Home My WebLink About2008-04-15 Discussion Phase II B Cj,�ifh Andover Planning Board RECEIVED �sY,:aa 4i :YP• „�.,„ww mwwre �a� ��mmrmrMw,ew.mwm APR I ?a�� ,�,I amam.auwam�- -,•mn.�,.,- �.».m m..r.rma�w,+.,�,..w.,awu+�+www.m -.v',,www N V k r i J l)V L.I t Oak PLANNING DEPARTMENT a RCG LLC 17 Ivaloo Street Suite 100 Somerville, MA 02143 April 15, 2008 T 617 625 7248 B Hand F 617 625€t345 —Y-- dsteinbergh@RCG-LLC.com www.RCG-LLC.com Planning Board Town of North Andover 1600 Osgood Street North Andover, Massachusetts 01845 RE: Update on East Mill and Discussion of Phase II B Property: 21 High Street Owner/Applicant: RCG North Andover Mills LLC Dear Members of the Board: On behalf of the Applicant, RCG North Andover Mills LLC, I respectfully request an opportunity to discuss future plans at East Mill with the Planning Board during its April 21, 2009 meeting. East Mill has been making progress in leasing the 19 residential units completed January 1, 2009 and plans to continue its permitting process to build a new building adjacent to the Mill Pond that would include 40 new residential units. We refer to this phase of development as Phase IIB, since it is the second subset of the Phase II development plan for which we received a Preliminary Planned Development District Special Permit on January 15, 2008. Review of Project Status The redevelopment of East Mill was originally conceived in two phases. Phase I included street improvements to High Street, the conversion of vacant office space to retail and restaurant space, and new residential units. This phase received final approvals on October 15, 2007 and is now substantially complete. Of the 20 residential units permitted in Phase 1, 19 have been built, and 9 of those leased to date. The High Street Grill and Stachey's Pizza both opened on site in October of 2008, and street improvements were completed in November that not only added street parking and traffic calming, but repaired the storm drainage systems in the street. Phase II included the conversion of more vacant office space into residential and retail uses, the construction of 137 new residential units in two new buildings, and the expansion of parking lots on site, Phase 11 has received preliminary approvals based on a Master Plan, fiscal study, traffic study, and other associated zoning, design and engineering considerations. Of Phase 11, only Phase 11A has received final approvals to date. Phase 11A included expansion of the parking areas and additional conversion of vacant office space to residential and other permitted uses, To date, we have completed most of the site improvements included in Phase 11A including over 100 new parking spaces on site and numerous storm water management improvements. The 1 conversion of additional vacant office space to other uses continues based on market forces. Phase IIA did not include any new buildings on site. Phase 1113 While pursuing Phases I and IIA of the redevelopment program, we have continued to develop plans for additional buildings on site. Based on feedback from the preliminary permitting of Phase 11, we have decided not to pursue the larger building proposed on top of the existing garage building at this time. Instead, we propose that Phase IIB include the smaller building identified in preliminary permitting as 39 one- and two- bedroom apartments facing the Mill Pond. Since that original permitting effort, we have worked with Opechee Construction to simplify the design of the building, make it consistent with the mill buildings on site, and ensure that it is engineered to be feasible in the new economic environment we face. The building we propose has a similar footprint on the site, but now includes 40 two-bedroom units in a four- story brick building. There are four attachments included with this letter that illustrate the design direction of the building, Attachment A, which is labeled "Site Plan", shows the footprint of the building in relation to the other buildings on site. Attachment B, which is labeled "Unit Layout", zooms in on the relationship of the proposed building to the pond and shows how the units lay out within the building. Attachments C and D show views of the proposed building from the parking lot and the pond. Permitting Process We are not seeking any formal approvals for Phase 1113 at this point. We merely hope to discuss the design direction of the building with the Planning Board prior to advancing Our concept any further. Based on this initial discussion, we hope to start working with different Town Departments and our federal and state historic reviewers on proceeding with the design and eventually preparing a formal application for Site Plan Review and a Definitive PDD Special Permit, We appreciate the opportunity to meet with you and are excited to continue with our development plans at East Mill. Sincerely, David Steinbergh Manager, RCG North Andover Mills LLC e i a �/ �� !� VI ��Illllllll��llllllllllllllllllllllllll��lu�u��i�i� 3 3 ma p f�dyer /O 1 � �9 cij/i i a/gyp' y Iry "IT�� ; :�„mod �� F x r � N;m J ��x�' J!� � ara..m � ^� rV xx,rJxts'rwi,:�: i a 0 o a m "z l /% A a a 6 / P IF gM NO ,ter y / r 4 ima/ m 7 i u ..p ✓f^#��'"�� /�of i /��//��Jam' , 4 Sy a 7 w N W (y r`at2 ao U > oc Z Z A77Ac �4MEN7 C. \\Ng \\\\\ Mal M RCG Andover Mills LLC Y P-,6 North Andover,MA November 11,2008 CONSTRVCTION CORPORATION k l 5 F L a wi 4 G a F / 2 � i ern 1, Iz 40 a- i ial