Second DeSales phase seeking City approval

After his notwithstanding ordinance application was rejected by the City, Keith Glaser of Excalibur Development/DeSales Properties, LLC is now seeking a rezoning for the second phase of DeSales Plaza in East Walnut Hills.

Next Tuesday, Cincinnati City Council's Economic Development Committee changing the zoning of the site from CC-M Commercial Community-Mixed District and RMX Residential Mixed District to PD Planned Development District (PD-56) to allow for a multi-family project of up to 85 apartments on 2.45 acres along Woodburn Avenue, Chapel Street, and Lincoln Avenue.

The properties to be rezoned include the vacant and cleared sites at:

• 2901, 2911, 2913, 2921, 2925, 2927 and 2933 Woodburn Avenue
• 1524, 1528, 1530, 1532 and 1536 Chapel Street
• 1529 Lincoln Avenue

Designed by Cole + Russell Architects, the apartments would be built in three three-story buildings, with 80 percent being one-bedroom units and the remainder two-bedroom units.

Two buildings would be oriented toward Woodburn Avenue (12,600 square feet and 7,340 square feet), and the other along Chapel Street (7,340 square feet), with setbacks of 7 to 10 feet from the rights-of-way.

A pedestrian entrance would be located at the corner of Woodburn Avenue and Chapel Street, and a gated surface parking lot for 96 vehicles, including dedicated fuel-efficient spaces, would be available from Chapel Street and Lincoln Avenue.

All units would contain either enclosed patios or balconies, and the façade would be a mix of masonry and painted cement fiber board siding.

The project will be submitted for LEED certification.

According to the concept plan, groundbreaking is tentatively scheduled for this fall with completion in the fall of 2009.

The project has received a vote of support from the East Walnut Hills Assembly, and there has been no vocal neighborhood opposition.

"The Planned Development District zoning designation will not negatively impact the existing character of the area," director of the Department of City Planning Charles C. Graves III says in a communication to the Economic Development Committee. "Instead it will allow for new investment in the East Walnut Hills neighborhood through the construction of a high-quality, multi-family residential development with buildings oriented to Woodburn Avenue and Chapel Street."


The City Planning Commission approved of the rezoning on September 5.

In May, Glaser, hoping to shorten the zoning change process, applied for a notwithstanding ordinance that would have given him a variance to build a surface parking lot in an RMX district, and ground-floor residential with no transparency and a lot-line setback in a CC-M district.

City staff recommended that Glaser consolidate his parcels, rezone them all to RM-1.2 Residential Multi-Family District, and then subdivide the lot for what was then a four-building, 75-unit proposal.

Previous reading on BC:
Glaser seeking ordinance for 75-unit DeSales addition (6/12/08)