Preliminary Meeting Regarding Development on Farrell's block:     9/12/01

The land use committee and Doug Fick of Broadway Florist met with Alan Kravitz and Greg Miller of the Aiyana Group. Aiyana has an option to buy the Farrell's property and is negotiating with the other owner of property on the block. Fick has declined to sell his parcel, but will join Aiyana in making the streetscape improvements so that the entire block will be brought up to the planned improvements.

Kravitz, architect on the Avalon Hotel project and the recent Hawthorn project, is testing the neighborhood's interests before committing resources to this project.

The property is zoned CS (storefront commercial). As-of-right a development may have ground floor of commercial with housing above. The height limit is 45 feet. If a development provides housing, the code allows for a conditional, additional height. Kravitz is looking to go as high as 65' on a portion of the site and wants our response.

Kravitz is proposing to provide below-grade parking--an important--yet costly feature. The challenge here is to achieve a building design which both enhances this area of the neighborhood and pencils out economically.

Aiyana reacted positively to the idea of incorporating a neighborhood "gateway marker" at 16th and Weidler. Such an idea is in the Broadway Weidler Corridor report. This might very well take care of our need to site, design and erect such a marker (Marriott settlement).

We are remaining in contact with Doug Fick, will take this to NEBBA, and have alerted John Wolz of Irvington Community Association. There will be a pre-ap conference on October 3. We will keep you informed; meanwhile let us know your thoughts.