3 minute read
Two apartment projects proposed for Sylva
BY HOLLY KAYS STAFF WRITER
Apair of public hearings slated for April 1 will determine the fate of two proposed apartment developments in Sylva.
The projects would add a combined 274 bedrooms spread over 156 units to a community where a mounting housing shortage has led to higher prices and fewer choices for renters and homeowners alike.
During a March 9 meeting, the Sylva Planning Board considered the proposals — which both require a Conditional Use Permit to move forward — and voted unanimously to recommend them for approval by the Sylva Zoning Board of Adjustment. The board is composed of the town’s mayor and commissioners, along with a representative from the extra-territorial jurisdiction.
CANYON CHASE
Envisioned as a senior living development, Canyon Chase would include 84 units — 44 one-bedroom and 40 two-bedroom — in a single four-story building to be constructed on the north side of the Chipper Curve and Allens Branch Road intersection. The project would also include an indoor/outdoor sitting area, a multi-purpose room, an exercise room, a computer center and storage areas for the tenants.
The property, currently owned by various members of the Cogdill family, consists of two parcels. The larger one is a 4.5-acre parcel that sits in the corner of Chipper Curve and Allens Branch roads and contains a home whose current tax value is $38,450. The smaller parcel is vacant, borders the backside of the larger property and fronts Moody Childress Drive.
The proposed apartment building would be constructed entirely on the larger parcel, located within the town’s Professional Business District, where multi-family dwellings are allowed provided the town grants a CUP. The smaller parcel is part of the R1 district, where apartments are now allowed, and would be maintained as open space or as a private park for apartment residents. The proposal met with support from Sylva Planning Board members when it was presented during a March 9 meeting. “In the future we’re envisioning this Skyland corridor as a mixed-use corridor that would include some residential and business and government things,” said Planning Board Member Melissa Madrona, “so I think it would fit in pretty well with that and also help serve our future goal of creating a little bit more density for housing development.” The project is proposed by Clemmons-based KRP Investments LLC, whose manager is Karen Perry. This would be Perry’s second try at building an apartment complex in Sylva. In 2016, the town approved plans for a 54unit workforce housing project across U.S. 23 from Harris Regional Hospital, to be financed with tax credits from the N.C. Housing Finance Agency. The project was delayed due to issues with receiving the tax credits in the first round of application and came before the town once more in 2018 as a slightly larger, 60-unit project. Though Perry ultimately secured the tax credits, the project was never built.
“For various reasons beyond developer control, The Village Overlook will not move forward and credits were returned to NCHFA,” Perry said in an email.
Chase Canyon will also rely on tax credits to move forward. If the CUP is approved, Perry will apply for the round of awards to be announced in August of this year and hopes to start building in 2022.
Perry’s plans call for the 126 parking spaces required by county ordinance, but when presenting his staff report Jackson County Senior Planner John Jeleniewski said that the county is working to refine its rules on parking requirements. Because of the nature of the project, fewer residents are likely to have and use cars than would be the case with a typical workforce housing or multifamily housing project. The planning board approved the plan, but with five recommen- F
As proposed, The Bluffs would add 150 bedrooms in a threebuilding, 75-unit apartment complex on Savannah Drive.
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