The preliminary site plan for the Center Grove Park Planned Unit Development to include commercial spaces, apartments and single-family rental homes.
Provided by the city of Greenwood
A previously rejected mixed-use development on Greenwood’s far southwest side has been revived and is on its way back to the city council.
Florida-based Advenir Oakley Capital LLC. Advenir, in partnership with Ellis Park, LLC by Lushin Investments, is requesting to rezone approximately 77 acres of land located at 3111 S. State Road 135 from commercial large and agricultural zoning for a mixed-use Planned Unit Development. The Greenwood Advisory Plan Commission gave a favorable recommendation Monday and forwarded it to the city council for further consideration. The vote was 8-0, with one member absent.
The project, dubbed Center Grove Park, would be located south of an apartment complex under construction near State Road 135 and Stones Crossing Road. PUDs give developers more flexibility with projects that may not fit all of the requirements for other types of zoning.
This is the second time the project has been before the city’s plan commission this year. It first came before the commission in February, where it also received a unanimous favorable recommendation. However, when it came before the city council later that month, council members rejected it with a 3-6 vote.
Normally, the city council would not hear the same proposal within the same year. However, the developer requested a waiver from this rule, and the plan commission granted it last month, said Andy Buroker, an attorney representing the developer.
The Center Grove Park PUD proposal that came before the commission on Monday was the exact same one they heard before, with some typos fixed, said Gabe Nelson, planning director. It will consist of three distinct areas: commercial mixed-use, apartments and single-family-rental homes to be developed in three phases, according to city documents.
The commercial area would have up to 150,000 square feet of space for commercial, office and retail uses. There would be up to 250 units of one to three-bedroom apartments and up to 325 single-family rental homes with one to three bedrooms. Both the apartments and the rental homes would have their own amenity areas, city documents say.
Everything for the development is planned to be vertically integrated, meaning Advenir would be responsible for developing, constructing and managing the units. Both Advenir and Lushin would plan to hold on to the project long-term, said Scott Weathers, Advenir Oakley Capital development and construction manager.
Construction for the development is expected to take place in phases, with the single-family homes starting off first in 2024. All of the construction is expected to be completed by 2030.
Developers say Center Grove Park would draw residents from various groups, with 36% of residents expected to be older adults considered “empty nesters,” mature singles or active adults. Young couples and graduates would occupy about 26% of residential spaces, while young families and single parents would make up 18%, Weathers said.
The developer has also done a tax study for the project, which could bring an extra $3.4 million in taxes into the city and various taxing units, Weathers said.
Later, plan commission members asked several questions about why the project was rejected by the city council. Plan Commission member David Lekse, who is also a city council member, said timing was a likely factor as the May primary elections were approaching.
Lekse was one of the three council members to originally vote for the project.
“To be honest with you, I think it was just timing near the primary elections. There was not much conversation when this came before council,” Lekse said.
There were also comments made at the time about public safety concerns and stressing resources. Since February, the developer has met with the city’s fire and police chiefs about the concerns and believes they have addressed them. The project, if developed, would provide a significant tax increase which could be, in part, used to hire more police officers and firefighters, Weathers said.
The developer has also met with city council members individually about the project, and believes they now have their support, Weathers said.
“That’s why we have brought it back before you all this evening and made the waiver request last month,” he said.
No members of the public spoke about the project during Monday’s plan commission hearing. It will now go to the city council for final consideration, which could take place at one of their August meetings.
