know that there is a much lower ratio of use by tenants to actual parking in the
building. And so we believe that we're providing maybe not the number
necessary under I2 but more than ample parking and we believe that this
parking will even be open for leasing to the neighborhood. The loading refusal, you'll hear
more from our expert engineer, but essentially we have one serious loading bay for the Aldi
and their large trucks, which is on 22nd Street. They told us the size of the trucks that needed
to get in there. We declined to put in the additional loading bays that would be necessary
because that would significantly inhibit the walkability along the numbered streets.
And as CDR pointed out, that was a big push for CDR and the neighborhood was to maintain that
walkability and decrease the number of curb cuts. But we would have to significantly expand the curb
cut and the overall detriment to that walkability and bikeability of the neighborhood.
You know, moreover, we believe that since this is an I2 property on which all I2 uses are precluded by the overlay, you know, it would be odd for us to be held to the I2 standard for the loading bays when we can't actually use that number anyway.
so uh that concludes my early presentation um i'm happy to answer any questions or i'll i can
move right into uh calling my witness witnesses please unless any board members have any question
for mr whalen at this time seeing none let's go with the witnesses no all right uh i'm not sure
how to stop sharing. All right. So I stopped sharing my screen, but I'm happy to reshare
it if you have any questions about or want to see another image that I showed. All right.
Ms. Sanket, I'd like to call Ori Fibush, please.
Ori, if you're available, could you raise your hand?
Okay, Ori, you're available to speak.
All right.
Ori, if you could, state your name for the record and spell it.
You may be on mute.
well he's unmuted
Ori are you there
you just muted yourself back
stick the building
all right
a little levity helps
these days
it is an odd new normal
we're in
can you speak so we can know if you're here
you might be having audio problems
I will, in order to not prolong this any further, I will jump to Jose Hernandez from JKRP Architects.
Ms. Sunket, he should also be on the line.
Okay, he can unmute himself and speak.
Good afternoon, Jose Hernandez.
Jose Hernandez, will you please identify yourself in the records by your name for the stenographer?
Jose Hernandez, J-O-S-E-H-E-R-N-A-N-D-E-Z, Principal at JKRP Architects.
We're in a firm to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?
Thank you. Please proceed.
Mr. Hernandez, before we get into your own testimony, did you hear all of the testimony that I just provided?
I have.
And is it true and correct to the best of your knowledge?
It is.
Would you adopt it as your own?
I would.
Thank you very much. So, Mr. Hernandez, you designed the project?
Correct.
And in order to speed this along, I don't believe there's any objection. I'd like to present Mr. Hernandez as an expert architect.
I'll take that. Thank you.
And one heck of a nice guy.
Okay. Mr. Hernandez, would you describe the overall design concepts in line with what the board heard from the CDR meeting and how we addressed what CDR wanted in our overall design?
So, as I mentioned on last week's call, I'm actually a resident of the area, so I'm very familiar with the location and the parcels, both 2101 and 2201, which we were part of.
And from the very beginning, our thought process was to create a project that would integrate into the neighborhood and obviously enhance Washington Avenue for what it currently is,
Utilizing the IRMX standard, we basically created a project that would, as Sean mentioned, would kind of transition from the lower scale neighborhood to what would be perceived as larger buildings along Washington Avenue.
taking into account the architecture and a bit of the history of what Washington Avenue was as an
industrial corridor. The architecture that we presented mimics that appearance in both scale
and in materiality. One of the crucial items that we wanted to do was actually knowing that
we were subdividing the 2101 parcel between townhomes and this larger development, it
was crucial for us to develop what we're calling the common walkway in between the projects.
In the presentation, and I'm not sure if you've looked at it, we actually retained a landscape
architect, Salt Design, who also designed the outdoor space for Chester A. Arthur, which
is in the neighborhood they created a beautiful concept in which integrates
walkable surfaces with green areas both at the lower level and at the upper
level and mr. Hernandez just let me because I'm going to give the screen
share back to the board you're describing all those league walk what
what I've just put on for the landscape architecture
and the upper balconies.
Sorry, go ahead and proceed.
I just wanted to give the image to the board
so that they could see what you were describing.
So yeah, so again, our goal was to make sure
that this project would have enough and ample space
in between to create a viable and vibrant walkway
to connect the two the two projects with regard scale is also very important for us to sort of
scale the building back so the the one story wall you see is obviously the back of some of the
commercial areas but then with the outdoor space above and then the volume of the apartment building
actually is about another um about another 20 some odd feet back from that location so that it would
create uh create an issue where would not create issue with any shadows or um
seemed like it was imposing over the townhomes.
seem like it was imposing over the townhomes
All right. Thank you, Mr. Hernandez. And would you, did you need,
did you think anything should be added with regard to the parking that I
already spoke to?
No, just as basically using, and so everyone understands,
we are actually building a parking garage larger than the footprint of our
building above and there was an image that showed a dotted line of what our building is so we're
actually maximizing underground parking to basically the extent of the building so you'll
see sort of the outline of the building our parking structure actually goes past that
we're in a process of coordinating some civil and civil information the parking again as Sean
mentioned, our thought was the number that we, the 120 number is the average of both the IRMX
requirement and the I2 requirement, which we think is more than sufficient for the project.
All right. And Mr. Hernandez, you designed the project. So what could we have, is this project
maxed out along what would have been allowed if we had tried to build the largest structure we
could with the most number of units no i right now we are at the both i2
irmx and cmx3 allowed a 500 far we're about um i believe we're 350 or 60 i
need to check the numbers exactly uh we're three we're 358 so we would
actually have allowable far um and if this was
uh irmx with the parking required we could actually maximize we can increase
our unit count and increase our building volume. Okay, thank you. And you also, did you have
anything to add with regard to the loading spaces and the Aldi bay that I described?
No, other than we've been working hand in hand with Aldi to understand their requirements. And
from the very beginning, their loading dock has been integral to our plan. Having it on the side
that it is would allow it to enter into the building, their space, and actually come out
with our exiting ramp. So it's tied together. It works well with their plan. And with regards to
the overall loading, it's the only requirement. So the one loading dock that we chose was based
off of their need. Okay. And are you familiar with the loading needs of CVS? CVS does not
utilize a loading dock. They are pallet driven, so they will drop towards on 22nd Street. One
thing to point out also that was brought up, 22nd Street from, I'm not sure where it starts,
but has been repaved and similar to the plan that is being presented for
reduction in lane and bicycle lanes on Washington Avenue occurs on 22nd Street.
The bicycle lane has been shifted from what would be the east side of 22nd Street to now to the west
side of 22nd Street. So that bike path is uninterrupted and actually has a parking buffer
in between uh so parking uh riding a bike along north along 22nd will not be impeded by any of
the loading or ramps that are on for this building but perfect meeting the cdr requirement that we
uh we look at that right right okay um and how about are you familiar with and how did you design
any kind of loading or moving in or moving out for the the apartment use so
the plan you're looking at illustrates three elevators so as you and as you
ramp down the height of the the height of the part the garage area would
accommodate a small moving van so you would be able to pull in to a
designated loading area and then actually access one of the central elevators to get up into the
unit. The way that the Aldi space works is the elevator on the right is dedicated solely for
underground parking to the first level of the Aldi only. So if you park in one of their spaces,
you can have direct access from the parking garage to the Aldi. And then again, the elevator
is large enough to accommodate carts. So you can actually bring your groceries up and down
from parking level into the Audi okay that's all I have for you mr. Hernandez
That's all I have for you, Mr. Hernandez, unless there was any final comments that you wanted to make.
unless there was any final comments that you wanted to make
That's it.
I have a question or a couple questions, actually.
And if you don't know the answer, it's fine.
Mr. Hernandez, are you familiar with the parking garage that is located within the footprint of the apartment buildings that were built up Broad and Washington Avenue that has the retail spaces for Sprouts?
uh target there's a liquor store chase bank and uh pet pet supplies or something are you familiar
with that if you're linking lincoln square the it's an above above grade parking structure
yes do you are you familiar with the number of spaces they have uh i am not familiar it's a
it's a multi-level um parking space um i'm not familiar with the overall count and i am familiar
with with the project okay i just the reason i asked i'm just trying to see if it's apples to
apples here. I mean, they have more retail, obviously, than this project has, and fewer
residential units. If I recall correctly, Lincoln Square, I think, has a little over 300 residential
units, in addition to the other retail establishments that I just mentioned. Okay, you don't have
it. It's fine. I just was curious.
clarification that this project has 247 residential units so it's it's a bit smaller
than lincoln square if those are the i recognize that yes okay yep all right thank you very much
mr hernandez um all right now i believe miss sunk pet that uh mr fey bush is ready he jumped on just
using the phone number. So the last four digits should be 1651.
Hey, good evening, everyone. Ori Feibusch. Sorry about that. I can hear you, but
please identify yourself for the record. Spell your name, please.
Sure. Ori Feibusch, first name O-R-I, last name Eifson Frank, E-I-B-U-S-H, and my office address
is 1936 Washington Avenue.
Fybush, do you swear and affirm that the testimony you give
is true to the best of your ability?
Thank you.
All right.
Mr. Fybush, if we can start, you're here on behalf of the owner
and also in a dual role on behalf of OCF Realty.
Is that correct?
That is correct.
And unless there are any objections,
I'm happy to walk Mr. Fybush through his qualifications,
but I would offer him as an expert in real estate development.
I personally don't have any problems stipulating to that unless anyone on the
board does. I mean, Mr. Fybush is no stranger to this board.
No problem.
Okay. In that case, I would so present him.
and Mr. Feibusch just before you know last preliminary did you hear all of the testimony
that I provided? I did. And would you adopt it as your own? Yes I would. Thank you very much.
So Mr. Feibusch I guess if we could just quickly we'll address the chairman's question first.
Are you familiar with the Lincoln Square project?
As a customer, no direct involvement, but certainly have shopped and visited many times.
Do you have any knowledge, and it's obviously fine if you don't, about the number of parking spaces at Lincoln Square?
I don't.
One other question.
Aldi's, in terms of square footage, how does that compare to Sprouts?
i believe they're similar i can speak that aldi is about 22 000 square feet and uh that the
sprout seems to be of a similar footprint the target is substantially larger than than both
but i do believe we're comparable in size to the sprouts okay thank you all right yeah now mr
feibusch kind of going back to the beginning here um you know i defined uh this project as
kind of the culmination of not only the city's vision, but really of your personal vision. Would
that be fair? Absolutely. Every developer, myself included, presents each and every one of our
projects as, you know, the groundbreaking, revolutionary, you know, an opportunity to
transform a neighborhood. This is truly the first project that my organization has ever had an
opportunity to participate in that really will transform Washington Avenue, the Graduate Hospital
neighborhood to the north and Point Breeze to the south in just a profound and positive way.
All right. And, you know, how would you describe the overall
And how would you describe the overall design and walkability and focus on Washington Avenue?
So we focus this entire project on the pedestrian and customer experience here.
So unlike Lincoln Square, which is a great project but has quite a few differences to this project here, all of our parking is below grade.
The entirety of our first floor is committed to retail, commercial space.
and public green space in the rear with all of our apartments above.
It was very important for us to really engage the streetscape on 21st, on 22nd, and on Washington Avenue.
And kudos to our architectural design team.
We gave them a very complicated project, and they've really pulled through in accomplishing the requests,
the desires, and the hopes of the neighborhood groups and the immediate neighbors, and certainly my own as well.