Bellevue Project Back At Design Commission – Again

After an earlier meeting was postponed, the Design Commission now plans to review on Sept. 22 staff’s previous approval of an application for Consolidated Design Review of a proposed three story, seven unit multi-family residential development with grade-level parking on a currently vacant project site at 272 W. Bellevue Drive.

The project was previously reviewed by the Design Commission in 2018.

The meeting will begin at 3 p.m. and can be viewed at https://us02web.zoom.us/j/88609765943

At that meeting, the Design Commission continued the item in order to allow the applicant additional time to address issues with the fenestration and architectural design.

The applicant returned to staff at the beginning of this year seeking to move forward with their revised project design. The Design Commission will be reviewing the latest design at its Sept. 8 meeting.

“At the June 26, 2018 meeting, the Design Commission determined the height, site design, massing and parking configuration were acceptable, but were unable to approve the project due to concerns about the fenestration, exterior cladding, garden programming and general architectural design and decided to continue the review,” according to a staff report.

Although a formal review of the project was not conducted at the design commission meeting in 2018, several of the commission members made general comments indicating their reasoning and support for calling the staff decision for review, including a suggestion to reorient some of the third story balconies toward the east, and further explain the design evolution and choices which led to the selection of the dual driveway configuration.

“The project was next considered at the September 11, 2018 meeting, at which time the Design Commission again decided to continue the item in order to allow the applicant additional time to continue to revise the design and address issues with the fenestration and architectural design, with the assistance of a sub-committee,” the staff report read.

After the developer made minor modifications to the plans, staff did not hear back from the applicant team for some time and informed them that the project would be administratively withdrawn due to inactivity in November 2019.

The applicant informed the city they wanted to continue with the project and subsequently met with staff several times to review the project and has requested that the Design Commission consider the project, as revised.

According to a staff report, “The applicant has simplified the overall design.”