Ohio University students might soon have the option of moving into a new apartment complex near South Green.
The Athens Planning Commission approved plans for the River Gate Apartment Complex on 264 S. Green Drive at their Dec. 18 meeting. The 3.5-story complex will house 232 beds and sit on a 2.38 acre property, John Paszke, Athens code enforcement director, said.
The $15 million complex will be developed by Homestead U, a Columbus-based company that also owns the Riverpark Towers and River’s Edge apartments on South Green. The company bought the land earlier this year for $1.7 million from the previous owners, the New Life Assembly of God Church, Paszke said.
The company has already received a demolition permit from the city and plans to demolish the church at the start of next year.
But before it can start building it still must obtain a building permit from the state and finalize agreements for shared utilities and right-of-ways between the complex and the university.
Homestead U has already come up against several hurdles in developing its new complex.
“(The project) has been ongoing for almost a year,” Paszke said.
When it first applied for a permit through the Board of Zoning Appeals in May, the plans for the building took up 82 percent of the total property. Athens City Code requires that a building of that kind take up no more than 60 percent of the total property in order to prevent stormwater runoff issues.
The company compromised at 77.5 percent lot coverage after B. Lafe Metz, the attorney for Summit at Coates Run Apartments, 363 Richland Ave., filed against the city in September.
Paszke specified at the Planning Commission meeting that the complex will meet the 60 percent requirement if they follow some of their plans to include permeable pavement that will allow for less stormwater runoff.
“I still counted it against them because there’s no guarantee that it’s going to be maintained that way,” he said at the meeting.
Paszke also said that since the roads joining up with the complex are owned by the university, the company is working with OU to agree on certain “easements” regarding the use of these roads. The complex will also share in the same electrical, sewer and water systems that the university uses.
Altogether, Paszke said there will probably be three or four easements to be negotiated.
These easements will ensure that if there is ever a change in the ownership of these properties, the new owners will still have access to these roads and utilities.
David Fisher, attorney for Homestead U, said at the meeting he is happy with the way negotiations between the company, university and the city have gone so far.
“The short answer is all requests made by city apartments and city officials we agree with,” he said.
Paszke said he didn’t have an estimate as to when construction will begin on the new complex or when the apartments will be open to tenants.
He added much of that will depend on how soon the state responds to their request for a building permit.
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