Design Review Board
Level 3: Construction of new building/structure
9-B-13-DT
Staff Recommendation
APPROVE Certificate 9-B-13-DT subject to the following considerations: 1) Determination by the board if a roof sign is appropriate for the location, and 2) If so, determination by the board the appropriate maximum size for the location.
Location 260 State St
Applicant Request
This project is proposed to be constructed on property currently owned by Knox County and on land that is being used as a parking lot and a downtown recycling center. Marble Alley Lofts LLC proposes the construction of a new five story multi-dwelling building which will have 249 ± units and will be wrapped around a five story, 370 ± space parking lot. The building will have residential units facing State Street, Commerce Street and South Central Street. The location of the club house amenity will be at the corner of State Street and Commerce Avenue, which will have a storefront design, though not accessible by the general public.
The propropal also includes concepts for street modifications and streetscape enhancements, including converting State Street from one-way to two-way, adding street trees in tree wells and bulbouts, adding on-street parking to State Street, Commerce Avenue and Central Street. The sidewalks are brushed contrete with 1-foot concrete banding, and stamped/textured concrete at the intersections and other locations as shown on the Site Layout Plan and Landscape Plan (sheets C1.1 and LP1.0). The proposed sidewalk widths vary from 8 feet to 20 feet, depending on the location, with a 5-foot clear zone maintained for areas constricted be combination of tree wells and stoops. The widths may increase depending on the off-site street and streetscape design. The proposed street light fixtures are shown on Sheet LS1.0, and are the same as those used in the Old City and Gay Street.
ALL OFFSITE STREET AND STREETSCAPE MODIFICATIONS/INSTALLATIONS, OR OTHERWISE INSTALLED BY THE CITY, WILL BE REVIEWED AS A SEPARATE APPLICATION. THE DESIGN OF THE STEETS, TREE WELLS, ON-STREET PARKING, AND STREET LIGHTS MAY CHANGE.
The three façades will have a combination of the following architectural elements (see the elevation sheets for more details): stairs and stoops with steel railings for the ground floor units; balconies with steel railings; steel canopies over several ground floor windows and doors; herringbone pattern brick masonry under many of the windows; and precast window head and sills.
The three façades will be clad with a combination of the following building materials (see the elevation sheets for more details): brick masonry typically on the first and second story, plus one story on the corner towers; stucco on the rest of the façade, including the cornice; the cornice brackets will be a Fypon product (molded, high-density rigid polyurethane) and will be painted; the walls of the recessed balconies will have cement board siding; the storefronts will be made of extruded aluminum; the doors are painted insulated steel with lite; and the residential windows will be aluminum.
The parking garage will be enclosed by the residential structure and will not be visible from the street. There will be an entrance to the garage on State Street and Central Street, both of which go through the building with residential units above. The garage will be used for the use of the residents and their guests, not open to the general public. The gates at both entrances will be set back to allow two vehicles to stack off the right-of-way. An off-street loading/unloading space for the residents is provided on the southern edge of the property along South Central Street, next to the KUB substation.
The gateway through the building shown on the Commerce Avenue elevation is pedestrian only and leads to a courtyard with landscaping and a pool.
The signage package includes the following: 1) Flush mounted sign on the steel walkway railing above the pedestrian gateway on the Commerce Avenue elevation (17 feet wide and 27 square feet). 2) Projecting signs on the towers at the corners of Commerce Avenue with State Street and Central Street, which will be a 24-foot tall and 2 feet 3 inches wide (57 square feet), and internally illuminated with LEDs. The cabinet will be extruded aluminum with aluminum faces that are routed for dimensional, push-thru graphics with raised acrylic lettering. 3) Roof sign on the South Central Street elevation are channel letters with polycarbonate faces (5 feet tall and 53 feet wide, 270 square feet). Each letter will be internally illuminated with LEDs (see the "Sign" sheet).
The exterior lighting of the façade includes wall mounted cylinder fixtures on the two towers at the corners of Commerce Avenue with State Street and Central Street, and smaller wall mounted fixtures distrubuted along all street facing façades, typically between the first and second story above ground level (see sheets LS1.0 and LS1.1).
----------------- January 2014 Meeting ----------------------------------
Install a foof sign above the South Central Street elevation that is 5 feet tall and approximately 53 feet wide (270 square feet). The sign will be made of individual channel letters with polycarbonate faces and they will be internally illuminated with LEDs.
Staff Comments
The site currently consists of multiple lots, easements and abandoned rights-of-way. In the process of making the site one lot the developer is requesting 3 variances that are listed on the Final Plat, which is provided for reference. These variances are to reduce the required public utility and drainage easements along perimeter boundaries, right-of-way dedication and corner radius requirements. There may also need to be a variance for aisle width in the parking garage.
There is one roof mounted sign proposed and they are allowed within the C-2 (Central Business) District, however, they are not a recommended sign in the "Traditional Grid District" (Section 2.B). In such instances the board can consider the request on a case-by-case basis and determine the appropriateness based on findings of fact. There are very few roof signs in the Downtown Design Overlay (D-1) District mounted on a standalone frame. Most are attached to the elevator towers of some of the taller buildings. The Downtown Gill and Brewery (424 S Gay Street) has a sign attached to the back of their building that faces James White Parkway, but it is below the roofline and not roof mounted. The Fidelity Building (500 S Gay Street) has a roof mounted sign facing James White Parkway but it is currently blank. Both of these signs were installed before the D-1 overlay was adopted. The guidelines were amended in 2008 to create The Promenade District, to legalize and give guidance for how sign should be attached to the City owned Promenade structure. The recommendation for these signs is that they be at the bottom edge of the metal roof structure, no taller than 5 feet and not over 60 square feet. The total square feet is limited because there is also a requirement that no sign be wider than the concrete structure supports that it sits between, which provides an equitable amount of space for most any business with a storefront along Gay Street for the buildings that are attached to the Promenade.
The developer is asking for approval of the on-site sidewalk and streetscape design as proposed (excluding what is on public right-of-way). The proposed property line is the curbline at the on-street parking stalls, which means the bulbouts (sidewalk and tree well extensions) would be the only part on public right-of-way. An agreement between the City and developer has not yet been reached for the texture of the sidewalks, street trees and lighting fixtures. If the board wishes to consider the on-site sidewalk and streetscape improvements as part of this application, it should be conditioned upon the design the City submits for the work to be completed on public property matching that of this proposal. If the two designs do not match then the on-site sidewalk and streetscapes design of this certificate of appropriateness will need to be revised to match that of the City design.
------------------- January 2014 meeting ------------------------------
There is one roof mounted sign proposed and they are allowed within the C-2 (Central Business) District, however, they are not a recommended sign in the "Traditional Grid District" (Section 2.B). In such instances the board can consider the request on a case-by-case basis and determine the appropriateness based on findings of fact. There are very few roof signs in the Downtown Design Overlay (D-1) District mounted on a standalone frame. Most are attached to the elevator towers of some of the taller buildings. The Downtown Gill and Brewery (424 S Gay Street) has a sign attached to the back of their building that faces James White Parkway, but it is below the roofline and not roof mounted. The Fidelity Building (500 S Gay Street) has a roof mounted sign facing James White Parkway but it is currently blank. Both of these signs were installed before the D-1 overlay was adopted. The guidelines were amended in 2008 to create The Promenade District, to legalize and give guidance for how sign should be attached to the City owned Promenade structure. The recommendation for these signs is that they be at the bottom edge of the metal roof structure, no taller than 5 feet and not over 60 square feet. The total square feet is limited because there is also a requirement that no sign be wider than the concrete structure supports that it sits between, which provides an equitable amount of space for most any business with a storefront along Gay Street for the buildings that are attached to the Promenade.
