All right. Number five, MI 2024
006169, 1900
hundred South Broad Street. Eric Bodson is the attorney for the owner.
There also is a letter of unanimous support from the South Broad Street
Neighborhood Association with unenforceable provisos.
Council, Bodson.
We've been promoted to panelist. They should be rejoining shortly, Mr.
Chair. Sure. Thank you.
good afternoon mr chair good afternoon members of the board good afternoon council could you
please state your name and spell for the stenographer yes my name is eric e-r-i-c
last name bodzin b-o-d-z-i-n a blank room do you swear or affirm to tell the truth the whole truth
and nothing but the truth yes i do do you identify your client the relationship to this property
yes my client uh hold up if you give me a second i'll pull up our slides can you all see that
yeah yes wonderful um so my my client is uh 1900 south broad street owner llc which does business
as maestro development and owns the subject property of 1900 south broad street uh with me
here this afternoon is Max Silverstein from Ownership, as well as Eli Storch from LARK
Architecture. Our vice chair has a few questions, sir. Good afternoon, counsel. Do you agree to waive
the reading of the refusal or stipulate to its accuracy? Yes, I do. Have you emailed in all the
required documents and exhibits that's needed to proceed with this case five days in advance of
this hearing? Yes, I have. Thank you, counsel. Please proceed. Thank you. And Mr. Vice Chair
members of the board. Welcome back. With me, as I mentioned, is Max Silverstein from Ownership and
Eli Storch of LRK. I understand we may also have a representative from SBSNA, the South Broad Street
Neighborhood Association, in attendance with us here today. SBSNA is the coordinating RCO in this
matter. And as mentioned, we are pleased to share that we have submitted in our exhibit package
a letter of unanimous support from SBSNA for this redevelopment.
a letter of unanimous support from SBSNA for this redevelopment of a 10,000 square foot site
at the corner of Broad and Mifflin Streets in front of the 150,000 square foot Constitution
Health Plaza that fills the rest of this entire city block. You may recall that the board recently
approved redevelopment plans at this site. That was on July 27th of 2022, also with extensive
community support. This application today is to update those redevelopment plans from medical
offices to mixed use, but to preserve ground floor commercial, to preserve the same height
as previously approved by this board, which, as you can see, matches the adjacent rear property
on Mifflin Street. And also, today's application maintains the same neighborhood agreement,
which I'll pull up in a moment, with the same provisions for ample additional parking,
limited loading zone hours, maximal landscaping, and community-approved limitations on ground
floor use. Given this history, I will aim to be very brief with your time this afternoon and focus
on what's new to the redevelopment plan, particularly the 41 residences that SBS&A
worked with the owner this past year to design well before submitting this permit application
and to design them specifically to suit long-term family-oriented living in this amenity-rich
neighborhood. As you'll see in the floor plans, these units are notably fewer and larger than
originally proposed, and then what you've typically seen in the area, about half two bedrooms of about
1,000 square feet and about half one bedrooms of about 800 square feet with no studios.
I'll pull up some context. As you can see here from the zoning map, the issue that brings us
here today is also the same as it was in 2022. That is that this jagged looking 10,000 square
foot parcel remains in the single-family residential district RSA 5 despite the mixed zoning,
commercial mixed zoning on the rest of the block at Pass Station Health Plaza,
on the surrounding Broad Street and Pass Young Avenue corridors as you can see,
and even on the other corner properties here on Mifflin Street.
It's also zoned at RSA 5, despite the longstanding commercial use of this building you see here in the upper right corner, that has lived well along its functional life, and the neighbors and owner are eager to move forward with redevelopment plans.
Here is a map of local amenities in the vicinity. You can see several schools, health care, and transit lines. You have the broad street line and four buses within minutes of the redevelopment site.
again, supportive of the commercial and mixed use suitability of this parcel. And we understand
that the Planning Commission is waiting on that, or waiting on that back in 2022, and
we'll do so later this afternoon. Here is the refusal, again, highlighting the RSA 5
district's restriction on non-residential, multiple and or accessory parking uses.
And here are the variants from the code's dimensional standards for lower density residential
districts, which are minimally modified for the rear yard and occupied area facing the interior
of the campus. And for height, as I mentioned, consistent with this board's prior approval,
all designed in a non-adverse and, in fact, beneficial manner to reactivate this important
corner of the neighborhood and its main corridors. I'll quickly run through the plans. This is the
ground floor at grade with a bright and light design, thanks to our architect, Eli, really
designed to reactivate this underutilized corridor. In red, you'll see the Broad Street commercial
entrance, which leads into 2,500 square feet, fitted flexibly for one or two tenant occupancy
for use as office, retail, and or medical practitioner space. All is limited by those
All is limited by those community-approved uses I mentioned, which are memorialized in an executed agreement with SBS&A, along with provisions for on-site janitorial, private commercial trash pickup at least three times a week from the interior and out of public view, and detailed landscaping, lighting, and security features.
community-approved uses I mentioned, which are...
In blue, you'll see the Mifflin Street residential entrance located near the corner.
It leads into a bike room, a package room.
There's a lobby area.
It's a bit small, but again, bright, light, and open.
Next, the elevators is a direct entrance to parking that is enclosed for 15 vehicles,
accessible by a roll-up security door on Mifflin Street.
street. And there are also 32 additional spaces directly next door, secured by a long-term lease,
as well as the neighborhood agreement. Here's a typical upper floor plan. As I mentioned,
the unit mix is a near even split, 22 one-bedrooms in green, 19 two-bedrooms in yellow. Again,
larger than what you typically see per Max's goal and SPSNA's goal alike of larger units that are
well-suited for long-term family-oriented living in an amenity-rich neighborhood.
And here's the top floor plan. Another piece of feedback that the community provided to Max and
his team before submitting the permit application last spring was to add some amenity space to
encourage longer-term tenancy. And here you see a roof deck as well as an amenity lounge.
Deck is set back five feet from both Broad and Mifflin streets, not only as a buffer,
but also to reduce the felt mass from Broad Street. So the building actually feels or will
feel smaller than uh the originally proposed redevelopment act in 2022 um yeah i'm good
oh break hello yeah quick yeah quick break thank you yeah of course
there you go
take it
oh sure that's okay
Wait, I can't hear.
Okay. Councilor, proceed.
Proceed?
yeah please thank you Mr. Chair so I'll conclude in a moment but here are the renderings
from the from South Broad Street and here are the elevations from South Broad Street
you'll see a simple window grid subtle inset lighting at the base here you see the renderings
from Mifflin Street and again the elevation plans with a step down in scale with the brick
moving to a lower elevation. Here's a rendering from the evening. As the CDR committee noted,
you know, these base interior lighting, these tasteful sconces amplify the red brick pattern
that I know our design team really spent a lot of time to contextualize from the neighborhood.
This, speaking of the design team, this is a recent collaboration between the owner
and the architect, Max and Eli, at the corner of York and Jasper,
recently obtained a certificate of occupancy.
As you can see, it's near complete.
And, you know, it is most certainly a testament to the attention to detail
and facades and streetscapes that serve the community in Max and Eli's work.
here is the CDR completion letter dated December 6, 2024. As noted here, the committee was
complimentary on the project's design, scale, density, and unit mix, as well as the incorporation
of detailed community input regarding everything from the building mass, the placement of street
trees on the sidewalk. Here is the unanimous letter of support from the South Broad Street
Neighbors Association following their November 19th meeting. As I mentioned, Max and his team
As I mentioned, Max and his team further met with SPSNA earlier in the year to present
further met with SPSNA earlier in the year to present.
and make changes to the initial proposal before submitting for this permit.
Here are highlights from that executed neighborhood agreement I mentioned regarding not only parking,
but street trees, loading zones, private trash pickup, additional use restrictions,
including community approval of all new uses.
And here is the vote count, which was 14 to 0 in support of this variance with the conditions I mentioned.
And as a last note, I would be remiss not to add a final note here that Max lives in the neighborhood.
So hopefully he's posted this letter of unanimous support on his refrigerator.
In conclusion, and for all these reasons and further upon the additional plans and photographs and filings,
YOU'LL FIND IN THE FULL SET OF EXHIBITS WE'VE SUBMITTED.
WE ASK THAT WHILE THE GRANT OF THIS RELIEF FOR MIXED USE DEVELOPMENT OF PREVIOUSLY APPROVED
HEIGHT WITH MINIMAL DIMENSIONAL VARIANCE HAS NOT CONFIRMED WITH THE RESIDENTIAL SINGLE
FAMILY ZONING DISTRICT, THIS REQUESTED RELIEF IS CONSISTENT WITH THE BOARD'S PRIOR APPROVALS.
It represents the minimum variance that will afford relief and the least possible modification of the regulation at issue, and it will certainly not alter neighborhood character, increase congestion, endanger health or safety, endure or impair adjacent properties, burden public facilities, or create environmental issues, all as per the code.
To the contrary, as I mentioned, the proposed use will substantially improve and reactivate this gateway corner of Broad and Mifflin in a manner that is not only compatible, but complementary with and beneficial to this amenity-rich neighborhood as underscored by the coordinating RCO's unanimous support for this application.
For all these reasons, we respectfully ask that you join in support of this application,
and we are pleased to answer any questions from the board.
Mr. Chairman, this concludes my presentation.
Max Silverstein, the owner, is here with me to adopt my testimony
and can also answer any questions you may have.
Mr. Silverstein.
Mr. Silverstein, if you're in the virtual audience, please raise your hand.
And he's been allowed to speak, Chair.
Silverstein, could you please state your name and spell for the stenographer?
Mr. Silverstein?
Hi, how are you?
you hear me yes i can thank you could you please state your name and spell for the stenographer
my name is max silverstein m-a-x-s-i-l-v-e-r-s-t-e-i-n you swear or affirm to tell the
truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth yes i do please proceed counsel thank you sir
thank you mr chair max uh good afternoon good to see eric max have you heard my testimony this
afternoon? Yes, I have. Is it true and accurate to the best of your knowledge? Yes, it is. And would
you adopt and affirm that testimony as your own? Yes, I do. Thank you very much. Thank you.
Thank you. Questions from the board. Yes, I have a few questions. So understanding that this is
residential single family, but you're surrounded by CMX properties and the sort of scale and massing
the building would match that of cmx i was wondering um what has the hardship that required
this to be at the 98 percent of the maximum occupied area as well as going up to 72 feet
if it had been like the other commercial properties they would have had a much lower
height maximum at 55 and just wanted to understand the justification around the 41 units
Sure. And I should mention our design professional, Eli Storch, is also available with us today to answer any specific questions about the design of this property.
But as I mentioned, the previously approved height was designed to be contextual to a directly adjacent building, which I think is still pulled up on the screen of 72 feet in height, given the institutional longstanding use of this property.
long-standing use of this property as medical office building, the use of the entire block
commercial and institutional peace uses dating back to the St. Francis Hospital,
and the use of both of these commercial corridors. Back in 2022, the Planning Commission
mentioned that the comprehensive plan recommended this lot for CMX3 zoning and certainly to
redevelop property of this scale. We submit that the height is befitting and the design
was very narrowly tailored to minimize the relief we're seeking here. Those two other
dimensional issues are, we are facing, actually face the interior of the Constitution Health
Plaza. So I can understand an aesthetic justification and I also can support that
as an argument, but just wondering what is the actual hardship that required the additional
units and the height increase? Sure. So the hardship is that the ability to develop this
project other than for commercial use, for this type of mixed use is something that the owner
thoroughly explored. And when we came before the board two years ago to present a medical office
proposal, a lot of marketing and diligence followed from the owner for the development
of this property. It's just simply not something that, as a matter of practicality, can redevelop
as an RSA-5 property.
And so, you know, with the commercial dimensional standards in mind, this property was developed
back then in 2022 and is being updated now to fit those more reasonable commercial dimensional
requirements of the code.
And then, so my last question is, given that you are asking for the increased maximum allowable
area. Has there been any consideration at the site for any type of income restricted or subsidized
units? No, there is not. Okay. I have no further questions. Council, what's that behind you?
Behind me? No, no, no, no, no. That's pretty funny. I got it. The building right behind there.
The building to the rear on Mifflin Street right here. This is one of the buildings that comprise
the Constitution Health Clause. I believe I can pull up an additional exhibit. We have
an aerial. Here you can see the buildings that comprise this 150,000 square foot complex
that takes up the
rest of the block here.
Okay. All right. Other questions
from the board?
Questions or comments from our attorney,
Hillary Emerson?
Not at this time, Mr. Chair.
Questions or comments from the audience?
Questions or comments from the virtual audience?
Chair, I have a hand up from
a Catherine Norris. I have
allowed them to speak.
Hi, could you please state your name?
It's spelled for the stenographer.
Yes, it's Catherine Norris.
K-A-T-H-E-R-I-N-E
N-O-R-I-S.
Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth,
the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?
Please proceed. Are you a neighbor?
I am a neighbor, yes.
Okay, please proceed.
I live just on South Rosewood there, and I was wondering if someone could speak about the alignment of the driveway.
I am wondering about cut-throughs, drivers proceeding straight if the driveway is aligned with Rosewood and taking it as cut-through to turn west.
Council?
If I may, bring up our design professional, Eli Storch.