Boulevard Co. sets sights on pair of apartment projects - Charlotte Business Journal:

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"We're reinventing ourselves as anapartment developer," says president of The prolific Charlotte which played a key role in the locapl condominium boom, has designs on developing rental buildingw uptown and along Seventh Street in Also in the works are small commercial infill offices on a triangular-shaped parcelp at 1301 Kenilworth Ave. near Carolinas Medical Center and next to the Fowlerr Building at1447 S. Tryon St. in Souty End. Branch says he started looking to changehis firm'ds strategy as Charlotte's condo market began to fade. A $40 eight-story apartment project slated for North Cedaer Street would be the first toestablish Boulevard'sx new direction.
On Mondaty night, approved a zoning change for the 1.8-acrd site near Gateway Villagw to allow both residential andcommercial uses. Boulevarde can now develop up to 250 apartmentwand 5,000 square feet of commercial space next to Cedaf Oaks Condominium. Branch touts the location for its unobstructefd views and its proximityto uptown. It'sw one of two sites his companu is targeting for apartment buildingx across fromthe 72-acre cemetery. Boulevard is also considerin g redevelopment of the OrchardPark apartments, a 42-unit, five-buildinfg complex at the corner of North Clarksobn and Cates streets.
The property is contiguoue to the proposed North CedarStreet apartments, but Branch says the projecta aren't connected. To pursue it plansz for the OrchardPark property, Boulevard needs the site rezoned. But the compant has deferred that request untio it resolves questions about anenvironmental concern. A streaj runs through the property, and that has complicatedf the firm's plans because of new locak restrictions regardingstormwater runoff.
The city's Post-Construction Controls Ordinance takew effectJuly 1, requiring enhancec buffer zones and heightened regulations for the collection and treatment of rain The augmented construction code was required by June 2009 under federal law, which callse for communities to upgrade their rules to reduc e flooding and water pollution in urban areas. The new rulea require new ways of dealingg with the way water moves off a property and into creekxand streams. And Branch and othersd say that meansnew costs.
"You will see more and more developers discovering the unintended consequences ofthe Post-Construction Controls warns land-use consultant Walter who has worked with Boulevard on its plans. "But no one will speak ill of trying to protect surface To gain rezoning approval for his assemblu of three parcels along the 200 block of NorthgCedar Street, Branch had to commit to building an underground sand filter to clean any rain water that runs into his It will be the first of its kind that Branch has builf for one of his developments, and the expense is unclear, he "It's not completely quantified because there is no precedent.
" Branch says he will closre on the land for the city-approved apartments withinb 30 days.