Council OKs Redevelopment of Old Tobacco Warehouse

Source from:  wataugademocrat.com By Frank Ruggiero  11/20/2007

It could be said the Boone Town Council has gone west. In actuality, the council has set its sights on the west end of downtown Boone, approving a zoning change to facilitate a mixed-use development and a water and sewer request for another. At its Thursday, Nov. 15, regular meeting, the council heard from Boone Development Services director John Spear on several zoning text amendments from this month's fall quarterly public hearing. One was a request from Joseph E. Coleman Jr. to rezone the old tobacco warehouse on West King Street from light industrial (M-1) to central business (B-1). The property consists of 2.2 acres located between West King Street and Poplar Grove Road, and the site is bisected by Kraut Creek but outside of the special flood hazard area. At the public hearing, real estate broker Rob Slack spoke on behalf of his client, Florida developer Oscar Longa, and Coleman, telling how Longa envisions two phases for the property, the first being 20 units of multi-family housing and the second office, retail and dining space. The residential section would face Poplar Grove, with the commercial section fronting King Street. Green space would form a courtyard between the two, incorporating the Kraut Creek into the design. Patrick Beville, representing the Kraut Creek Committee, spoke before the council at Thursday's meeting. "The Kraut Creek Committee has looked at this development plan and had a discussion about it at our last meeting, and the ideas presented are in alignment with the Kraut Creek restoration concepts," he said. "As long as the developer continues to pursue these ideas and they have an end product that generates green space and keeps Kraut Creek in as good condition as it is… then the Kraut Creek Committee would like to endorse the development as a whole." Council member Janet Pepin observed that the application seems in keeping with the council's vision for a revitalized downtown Boone. In keeping with the Boone Area Planning Commission's unanimous recommendation for approval, the Boone Town Council followed suit and unanimously approved the application. Toward the end of the meeting, the council heard a request from Anne Henning of Todd for water and sewer service to 1087 W. King St., better known as Austin's City Limits. The request for 795 gallons per day would see the former beauty salon transformed into a mixed-use complex. With the three existing one-bedroom apartments to remain, the new uses would include a 25-seat restaurant and a professional office. Project architect Bill Dixon presented the case. "The council, I know, has taken great steps in the last few years to promote mixed use," he said, noting that the building in question has had quite the variety of uses in the past. "To me, it's a no-brainer. It's a gateway to downtown from the west end … and it's sorely needed on that end of town," he said. Dixon added that the property is adjacent to the Coleman property, "so hopefully in the next few years, that end of town will have a whole new makeover." Council member Rennie Brantz asked what sort of time frame the town could expect, and Dixon said work would begin as soon as possible, as Henning should close on the property, currently owned by Betty Austin Enterprises, by the end of the month. Mason moved to approve the request, council member Dempsey Wilcox seconded, and the motion carried unanimously. Enditem