Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutProject Background And Description 09/01/2005L� _ DEPARTMENT OF PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT LITTLE ROCK { 723 West Markham Street HISTORIC Little Rock Arkansas 72201-1334 l !' DISTRICT Phone: (501) 371-4790 Fax: (501) 399-3435 11�0 COMMISSION STAFF REPORT ITEM NO. A. DATE: September 1, 2005 APPLICANT: City of Little Rock (Little Rock Police Department) Tim Heiple, Agent ADDRESS: Southeast corner of Cumberland Street and Capitol Avenue, Little Rock, AR 72202 COA REQUEST: Construction of a new 1500 square foot police substation. The applicant has requested a deferral to the October 6, 2005 Historic District Commission Hearing. Staff supports this request. HISTORIC DISTRICT COMMISSION ACTION: SEPTEMBER 1, 2005. Commissioner Serebrov made a motion to defer the item to the October 6, hearing. Commissioner Walls seconded. The motion carried 4 yes, 0 no, and 1 absent. PROJECT BACKGROUND AND DESCRIPTION: The subject property is located at the southeast corner of Cumberland Street and Capitol Avenue. The property's legal description is "the west 50' of lot 1 & the west 50' of the north 25' of lot 2, Block 40, Original City of Little Rock, Pulaski County, Arkansas." Since the building is of new construction it cannot be considered as a "Contributing Structure" to the MacArthur Park Historic District until it is at least 50 years old. The adjacent Paragon building is nearing that age. The property at Southeast corner of Cumberland Street and Capitol Ave. This application is also undergoing subdivision application to subdivide the lot and establish an access easement. The application will be heard at the September 29, Planning ITEM NO. A. (CONT.): Southeast corner of Cumberland Street and Capitol Avenue Commission hearing in order to subdivide the property and allow for setback variances. Additionally, the applicant has applied for the October 13, 2005 hearing to recognize the remainder of the site as a parking lot. The reason for the setback variance is because the UU zoning classification has specified setback requirements for this portion of Capitol Avenue be a minimum setback of 25 feet and no parking allowed in the 25 foot setback. The applicant has indicated a lesser setback and requested parking spaces in that setback. I:r►I:\ "%3 There are several criteria related .��, _ +• rk. u,,. f I to this case in the District's �RiverGiliesTravelCenler"f j Guidelines. The Design Guidelines for new construction of commercial buildings is similar to that of new residential ~`~� structures. New buildings Ghrisi Church '�S Cflf'Jrt3;. E" should maintain, not disrupt the � PROPOSED BULDmAl existing pattern of surrounding ' historic buildings. This calls for new construction to be compatible with existing historic LR MsiewaterUtil'd structures on the street block. - _ + U ! '' �' - •i ? + e�'"'�>: i •• � Vvhdlow,Apls � f Compatibility is calculated by ���.% �rf ; Voss Ap is evaluating shape; building scale; Paragon Building `f. I American Legion r�—�j ' E'~~ roof shape and pitch; orientation �~ �9F� .� },s•-__ to the street; location and fTj proportion of entrances, Surrounding properties. Properties norlh of Capitol and west of Cumberland windows, porches, and are not in the district. divisional bays; foundation height, floor -to -ceiling height; and porch height and depth. Exterior materials and material colors are looked at for compatibility as well. If the exterior to be used is brick and mortar, and color tones should be similar. New construction also requires a more in depth look at the exterior characteristics of the building. Details such as trim around windows, doors, eaves, eave depths, watercourses, corner boards, etc. should be similar to those of surrounding properties. The ultimate goal is to ensure that new constriction is compatible with the commercial neighborhood. This specific property is located at the northwestern edge of the district in an existing parking lot. In the immediate area there are no contributing structures to the historic district, although the Paragon building is less than ten years River Cities Travel Center. 2 a ITEM NO. A. (CONT.): Southeast corner of Cumberland Street and Capitol Avenue away from qualifying. Northeast of the application is the River Cities Travel Center which was constructed within the last five years. The proposed design will have a lightly sloped entrance located on the hard corner of Capitol and Cumberland and will be primarily glass. The remainder of the building's exterior will be a stone / brick combination with glass located higher up on the facade. Even though the window, rock, and brick arrangement may not be in character with most contributing structures in the neighborhood, it would compliment the River Cities Travel Center and emphasize its institutional use. The proposed The adjacent Paragon Baildii. roof design will have a clay tile material and will be similar in pitch as nearby pitched roofs (River Cities Travel Center). The building is next door to the Paragon building, which may soon be considered a contributing structure in the district and is an example of Modern architecture. The overall massing and size of the proposed building could compliment the existing Paragon Building because of its limited height and smaller scale. The new building construction should not detract from the Paragon building. If a larger or taller building were built on this site it could overshadow adjacent buildings in the district. The original application indicated a six foot high, 20-foot long wooden fence on the Cumberland Street side. The applicant has indicated that this fence will now be a wall matching the stone material of the building. The applicant has also indicated an extension of the wall will extend westward along Capitol Avenue screening part of the parking area. The applicant has proposed eight parking spaces on this site with a primary purpose of providing parking for police vehicles. Typically parking lots are to be located in the rear of buildings within the historic district. Since its orientation is on the hard corner the proposed parking area will use existing parking spaces, improvements could seem consistent with the guidelines. Furthermore, the proposed parking spaces are to be used by police officers and their visibility could have a positive influence on the surrounding neighborhood. A pole -mounted sign will be located on the corner of the building at the corner of Cumberland and Capitol. This pole -mounted sign may be illuminated at night and will identify its civic use. Since this project is located at the edge of the district and in an area of predominately modern construction, this sign should not have a negative affect on the district's character. NEIGHBORHOOD COMMENTS AND REACTION: At the time of distribution, there were no comments regarding this application. 3 ITEM NO. A. (CONT.): Southeast corner of Cumberland Street and Capitol Avenue STAFF RECOMMENDATION: Staff recommends approval of the application as filed pending approval by the Planning Commission on September 29, 2005 and October 13, 2005; and obtaining all necessary permits relevant to the placement of the sign. HISTORIC DISTRICT COMMISSION ACTION: October 6, 2005 Staff noted that the notices were compliant with requirements. Charles Bloom, HDC Staff, made a presentation to the commission. Tim Heiple, representing the applicant noted the different applications that are connected with the substation. He then made a presentation concerning the new substation. It will be a 1500 square foot building and will be manned for extended hours. The building is on the property line on the north and west side. A cut stone will be on the front of the building and the roof may be slate tile, instead of clay tile, based on cost. Commissioner Marshall Peters asked about screening of the property. Mr. Heiple noted that there would be a 6-foot tall wall on both sides to screen parking and storage areas. Commissioner Carolyn Newbern asked about the height of the wall at the Travel Center. Mr. Heiple responded that it was about 4-5 feet tall. Police Chief Stewart Thomas, of the Little Rock Police Department commented that he felt the design was positive. There were no persons present for public comment and no additional commissioner questions. A motion to approve as submitted with staff recommendations was made by Commissioner Marshall Peters. Commissioner Job Serebrov seconded and the motion passed with 5 ayes, 0 noes and 0 absent. Mr. Thomas commented that the substation would allow for more foot patrols for a larger area from I-30 to MacArthur Park. M ITEM NO. A. (CONT.): Southeast corner of Cumberland Street and Capitol Avenue STAFF RECOMMENDATION: Staff recommends approval of the application as filed pending approval by the Planning Commission on September 29, 2005 and October 13, 2005; and obtaining all necessary permits relevant to the placement of the sign.