Virginia-Highland, NPU-F residents to vote on density, design
October 20, 2008 at 1:32 pm by Thomas Wheatley in News
As Virginia-Highland attracts more residents, barflies, and Sunday afternoon pedestrians, it’ll also — for better or worse — catch the eye of developers who want to capitalize on that appeal. And for residents and property owners who want a voice in how their bustling neighborhood evolves, tonight’s their chance.
Members of Neighborhood Planning Unit F, whose boundaries include Virginia-Highland will vote tonight whether its members want Virginia-Highland rezoned as “Neighborhood Commercial.” The designation focuses on three busy “nodes” along North Highland Avenue where it intersects Briarcliff Place, Virginia Avenue and Amsterdam Avenue. The designation could potentially affect The Mix at 841 (above right) — an ambitious mixed-use development proposed across the street from the long strip of bars that includes Blind Willie’s and Diesel — that’s irked some residents for its size and scope.
According to the Virginia-Highland Civic Association, current zoning allows commercial buildings as high as 11 stories in some areas. If ultimately approved by the Atlanta City Council, the rezoning would limit the height of buildings to three stories and encourage such smart-growth concepts as mixed-use design and shared parking. It would prohibit “suburban-style” buildings such as the CVS Pharmacy and encourage developers to take the neighborhood’s architecture into account. (For the association’s documents related to the rezoning proposal, click here.)
The meeting takes place at 7 p.m. tonight at the Hillside facility between Courtenay Dr and Monroe Dr. According to the NPU-F website, “access is available from 1301 Monroe Dr., opposite the CSO facility on Monroe. Parking is available at the rear of the building off Monroe Drive.” The public is welcome, but keep in mind that you have to live or own commercial property in the district if you want to vote.
UPDATE: Christa at Pecanne Log is none-too-pleased with The Mix.
(Apologies for the screenshot. The Mix website appears to be incomplete.)
October 20th, 2008 at 3:04 pm
“The Mix at 841″ is not a great example of what the future of Highland Ave could look like. It should be understood that it is primarily a proposal to build a new multistory for-profit parking deck in Va-Hi, with minimal retail and residential components tacked on so that it can nominally be called “mixed-use.”
The proposal calls for 218 parking spaces — easily double what would be necessary if they were only providing spaces for the modest retail (25k sq ft) and residential (12 units) components. And that’s assuming no shared parking (which would further reduce the need).
I am all for higher density along Highland Ave, but I can’t blame the neighbors for being opposed to this mess of a development.
October 20th, 2008 at 3:39 pm
We lived very near this proposed ViHi development for a few years before moving to a different part of Midtown last year. Though I miss a lot about this area, the main thing I’m happy to get away from is the often terrible weekday traffic on North Highland Ave.
I’m very much a proponent of urban density, but I think it would be a mistake to develop this area further without making any concessions for road traffic by expanding transit routes/options. The main traffic routes in ViHi are backed up regularly even with the current level of development.
October 20th, 2008 at 4:43 pm
[...] Considers Commercial Rezoning 20 10 2008 Over at Fresh Loaf, Wheatley writes about an interesting vote by Va-Hi commercial property owners this evening involving the rezoning [...]
October 20th, 2008 at 9:46 pm
The Mix is worse than an eyesore. It is the excrement of a developer who is hated throughout the area.
Tonight, residents passed Neighborhood Commercial zoning which (if approved by the city) will prevent future such developments in VaHi.
Unfortunately, The Mix may still be built and will desecrate this special spot in the city. We can thank Anne Fauver for siding with developers here.