On the heels of growing protests against a proposed
apartment complex at the edge of Cobbs Hill Park, Mayor Lovely Warren is asking
the developer to submit a new design.
Rochester Management had wanted to replace six one-story
senior housing apartment buildings at 645 Norris Drive with two four-story
buildings, each having 52 units.
Neighbors and environmental groups, as well as some
residents in the apartments, had strongly objected to the proposal, saying that
it is too large and conflicted with the park environment. At a press conference
this morning, representatives of the Upper Monroe Neighborhood Association and
several individuals spoke out against the change.
Shortly after that, Mayor Warren released a letter she has sent
to Upper Monroe President Chris Stevens saying that she shared the critics’
concerns and has instructed Neighborhood and Business Development Baye Muhammad to ask Rochester Management for a new
proposal.
Warren also wants Rochester Management to consult with
neighbors and other stakeholders.
645 Norris Drive LETTER 06 21 16 (003) (3) by jmouleatcity
This article appears in Jun 22-28, 2016.
This is a very rare opportunity to expand the footprint of the park. Senior homes can be placed almost anywhere. Expanding an urban park is almost impossible to achieve. Lets take advantage of this opportunity now. Move the senior home to one of the many vacant plots of land located throughout the city.
Expand the park? It’s private property located next to the park. Only certain people can live near the park? Where are these vacant lots you speak of?
It is contained WITHIN (not next to) the park, the original purpose being for POWs during WWII. This is private opportunism which threatens the very purpose of public parks.
“Unfortunately, they are all going to have to be displaced and find other living. Returning this to parkland would not change the effect on them,” said Chris Stevens from the Upper Monroe Neighborhood Association.
Why is this suddenly an option??? These apartments house the ELDERLY and have been here for almost 60 YEARS. Suddenly they want to throw the elderly away and knock down their home to make it more of a park? Are you kidding me? SHAME ON YOU!!!!!!!
Seriously? Someone can’t build a couple of 4 story buildings in the city? What a bunch of crybabies. Move to the suburbs.
Correct, TN City. The current apt buildings are most definitely contained WITHIN the park — surrounded by park land on all sides. Not “next to” the park.
The present buildings are not a bad fit for the location, considering their modest size, and especially taking into account their historical background.
Putting in two 4-story buildings with 104 total units, though, would be totally inconsistent with its location, and have very negative effects on the park (aesthetics and traffic in particular). Thumbs up to Mayor Warren for halting this project.
Let’s see….Tear down SIX old, inefficient buildings and replace them with TWO brand new energy efficient buildings sounds like a win-win to me.
@Lisa, @Johnny – I don’t understand some of the gripes here. First of all, nobody is kicking elderly people out!! That’s not what this article is about so I don’t understand the misinformation and hysteria. It is simply about an overwhelming amount of residents fighting to keep things from getting bigger in order to preserve cherished public space that WE ALL benefit from. In fact, the people “tearing down” the old buildings are actually the ones that would be kicking out tenants while the new buildings were to be built.