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Commission approves special-use permit for student housing
The Planning and Zoning Commission on Tuesday took the final step to reverse a previous decision on a special-use permit for the construction of a student apartment complex on Charles Boulevard.
The commission was under court order to issue the permit. A Pitt County Superior Court ruled against the commission's previous denial, made during a May 17 meeting. The ruling nullified the commission’s decision that anticipated traffic hazards generated by the complex justified the permit’s denial.
Georgia-based LCD Acquisitions, also known as Landmark Development, challenged the commission’s decision during a hearing in Pitt County Superior Court on Jan. 22. Landmark wants to build a mixed-use development on an 85-acre farm just north of Fire Tower Road. The development plans call for single-family homes, offices and a 656-bedroom student apartment complex called The Retreat. The special-use permit requested from the commission allows for four-bedroom units.
Judge Kent Harrell issued the ruling earlier this month, following a settlement agreement between the city and Landmark. Harrell’s judgment said the commission’s decision was not supported by “substantial and competent evidence,” and ordered it to issue the special-use permit by its next meeting.
City Attorney Emanuel McGirt gave a brief presentation at the meeting, during which he recommended the commission follow the court’s order. The commission voted unanimously to issue the permit.
After the meeting, Mark Jensen, vice president of development for Landmark, said the company still plans to build the 656 bed complex, called The Retreat and hopes to begin construction on the land sometime this summer. Plans call for 16-two bedroom units, 40 three-bedroom units and 130 four-bedroom units on 26 acres across from The Landing, a student apartment complex on the west side of Charles, and Tara Condominiums.
At the end of the meeting, the commission members present said they regretted their decision was overturned because they are still concerned about the development, especially about the over-saturation of the student housing market. Commissioner Hap Maxwell said that since the commission denied the initial request another student apartment complex has been approved in the city, adding to an already-existing concern.
“There's been a whole lot of development in the last two years, there’s a whole lot still being built,” he said. “We arlready have too many beds and now we’ve got all these new beds being built.”
Commissioner Margaret Reid said she wished the commission had been in possession of the housing study that was presented to the City Council in January. The study demonstrated an overabundance of student housing. She said having the study during the hearing would have constituted evidence for the denial of the request.
Commissioner Kenneth Wilson added he was unhappy with how the city handled the lawsuit.
“I’d like to add my two cents agreeing to all of that, and adding my sadness that the city didn’t stand up for the commission and our decision, but decided to arrive at a consent agreement,” he said. “We have to follow the court decisions, and so that’s what we did, but its sad to me how it worked out.
Also at Tuesday night’s meeting:
• The commission unanimously voted to continue a request from Michael Bryan Roberson to rezone 4.289 acres between North Memorial Drive and Briley Road and west of Brookhaven Acres Subdivision from RA20 (Residential-Agricultural) to IU (Unoffensive Industrial). City staff has advised the request is not in compliance with Horizons 2026: Greenville’s Community Plan and Future Land Use plans. The decision to continue was made due to several adjacent homeowners coming forward and saying they wanted more communication with the developer.
• The commission unanimously approved Kate Vincent Kittrell’s request to rezone 12.048 acres located along the eastern right-of-way of Dickinson Avenue and adjacent to Cross Creek Apartments and Townhomes from RA20 (Residential-Agricultural) to OR (Office-Residential).
• The commission approved 4-1 an ordinance requested by Arlington Crossing LLC to rezone 5.498 acres located along the northern right-of-way of West Arlington Boulevard and adjacent to the Norfolk Southern Railroad from MO (Medical-Office) to MCG (Medical-General Commercial). City staff has advised the request is not in compliance with Horizons 2026: Greenville’s Community Plan and Future Land Use plans.
Are there any statistics on how many student housing units are both under construction or approved here in Pitt County?
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Currently under construction, Campus Edge, University Edge, and GatherUptown will have approximately 1344 beds, not including the approx. 60 market rate apts. at University Edge or the new complex on EastTenth at the former College View apts. which are not exclusively for students. Two proposals for complexes approved recently for Charles/14 St. and Charles/Firetower area will have 1460 beds. This is just the major projects in Greenville. The recently built Boundary has 550 bedrooms.
Currently under construction, Campus Edge, University Edge, and GatherUptown will have approximately 1344 beds, not including the approx. 60 market rate apts. at University Edge or the new complex on EastTenth at the former College View apts. which are not exclusively for students. Two proposals for complexes approved recently for Charles/14 St. and Charles/Firetower area will have 1460 beds. This is just the major projects in Greenville. The recently built Boundary has 550 bedrooms.
It should be noted that population growth in Greenville continues at a rapid pace. Its somewhere between 7 and 10 percent. There are some single family neighborhoods being constructed but I cant think of any large scale apartment complexes being built outside of the ones mentioned.
Point is, there is not some separate stat of "student apartments"...although it is somewhat of a category. Students live all over Greenville in non "student apartments", like it was pointed out that the Eastern on 10th technically is. Former student apartments may gradually turn into non student apartments...the market will decide. But adding 3-4K beds to a City about to be 100K in a County closing in on 200K is not a problem. In terms of the Landmark complex, the only apartments will be the student complex, the rest is single family and offices. A non student complex would have built a similar number.
Finally, remember the tax base value these complexes are adding. In the downtown complexes, you are taking property valued at $1 mill and changing it to like $40 mill. In a City that has so much property that is State owned and untaxable, that is a major thing. Same thing with that farm on Charles Blvd. These are no brainer decisions that every city would love to have. Old Greenville guard needs to get out of the way while Greenville changes and becomes a huge economic engine, a more viable place to live (for out of towners) and property values go up (which needs to gradually happen).
Finally, remember the tax base value these complexes are adding. In the downtown complexes, you are taking property valued at $1 mill and changing it to like $40 mill. In a City that has so much property that is State owned and untaxable, that is a major thing. Same thing with that farm on Charles Blvd. These are no brainer decisions that every city would love to have. Old Greenville guard needs to get out of the way while Greenville changes and becomes a huge economic engine, a more viable place to live (for out of towners) and property values go up (which needs to gradually happen).
^ THIS!!!! seems to be so often over looked by so many.
Members of Pitt Community College Board of Trustees and the county Board of Commissioners discussed the successes of the school’s current programs and what is needed to expand on that success during a facilities tour and luncheon on Wednesday.
The discussion included a review of future construction needs and programming the school should implement.
“It was important for us to get out here and see what they do,” said Glen Webb, vice chairman of the Board of Commissioners. “It’s one thing to see it in a presentation in the boardroom, it’s a whole other thing to see it out here, look at the facility, see what the taxpayers’ money is doing, see the return on the investment the taxpayers are getting.”
PCC President Dennis Massey showed exactly how much return the community was receiving.
A PCC student enrolled in a career or technical area of study will see their average salary grow from $24,692 to $33,049, according to data from the school’s recently released report on the economic value of PCC.
The study found that for every $1 spent by PCC students, they received $4.40 in gained lifetime earnings, a rate of return of 20 percent, Massey said. Taxpayers received a 12 percent rate of return.
The meeting started with a campus bus tour that departed from the Craig F. Goess Student Center. Massey pointed to the cars traveling along nearby Reedy Branch Road.
“We get a lot of traffic coming through here, not just Pitt traffic,” Massey said. People use Reedy Branch and a street and parking lot through the campus to reach Sam’s Club, he said.
The school is still in discussions with the N.C. Department of Transportation about erecting a four-way stop near Reedy Branch’s intersection with Warren Drive as an attempt to control traffic.
“The reality is the center of campus is the Goess Center,” Massey said. That means a growing number of students have to cross Reedy Branch to reach classes and there is only one pedestrian crossing. Requests for additional pedestrian crossings at different locations have been denied, said Rick Owens, PCC vice president of administrative services.
The group also talked briefly with Tony Gallardo, curriculum coordinator with the school’s industrial systems technology program, which teaches people to service, maintain, repair, or install equipment for a wide range of industries.
Gallardo met the group at Walter and Marie Williams Building, which houses the school’s science programs and the industrial systems technology laboratory. The bulk of a $19.9 million bond approved by voters in 2013 was spent on the Williams building construction, Massey said.
“It’s amazing to know my students are employed right after graduation,” Gallardo said. One recent graduate works for Georgia-Pacific in Duplin County. Her starting salary is $26 an hour and once she passes her 90-day probationary period she will receive a $1 an hour raise for every month, eventually resulting in a $43-an-hour salary.
Gallardo wants to establish a cooperative education program with local industries so students can get actual work experience and a head start in the job search.
“I am very proud of what I do,” Gallardo said.
“I think it’s really great for (the commissioners) to see not just a line item on a budget sheet but to actually see the buildings … hear about the success of the students, see the passion of the faculty and the staff. I think we accomplished that today,” said Peter Kragel, Board of Trustees chairman.
During lunch the commissioners and trustees talked about how people liked to eat, and if a culinary institute, offered either through continuing education or a certificate program, might be needed. There also was discussion about the need for training in food processing and food manufacturing.
Massey also reminded the commissioners of the school’s plan to build a 52,600-square-foot design and workforce technology building with an estimated close of $15 million.
The facility will house existing programs such as advertising and graphic design, criminal justice labs and pharmaceuticals training lab spaces and emerging courses of study such as drone technologies and cyber security. PCC has not formally requested funding for the project, however Massey said in a later interview that officials would like to start planning for it in fiscal year 2018-19, which begins on July 1.
A lot of factors will come into play once a funding request is presented to the Board of Commissioners, Webb said. The county must look at what, if any, revenue is available from the quarter-cent sales tax that funds public school and community college construction projects and what the school system’s funding needs will be.
“We’re definitely supportive of it, it’s just a matter of how we get from A to B,” Webb said.
“I think for all (building projects) we have to consider how they are going to be funded, where that funding is going to come from,” Kragel said. “We are trying to be a little more innovative as we seek funding and split funding sources as much as we can. I think it’s going to be a community effort to fund these buildings.”
Farmville officials endorsed a project to create a greenway throughout the town at a Board of Commissioners retreat this week.
For the past year, Farmville commissioner Jamin Dixon, Farmville Parks and Recreation director Matt Johnston, Farmville Public Library director David Miller and avid cyclist Steven Hardy-Braz have been working on the project to "connect Farmville and beyond."
In 2014, the town of Farmville created a pedestrian master plan, a road map to create healthy environments and recreation choices through accessibility to greenways, sidewalks and more.
Within the master plan is a recommended three-mile greenway that would start behind Farmville schools and run along May Boulevard to the Food Lion shopping center and Planter's Walk subdivision. Pitt County also has a master plan that includes a greenway that stretches around the town, connecting to neighborhoods, parks and the schools.
The four men researched hiring a consulting firm to create a design plan for the greenway, which would then be used to apply for grant funds. Hiring a firm was estimated to cost $30,000, according to Miller.
The men reached out to East Carolina University's urban planning department and public administration department. Students within each area of study, with the guidance of a professor, are willing to assist with the plan's development at no cost to the town, Miller said.
The project will provide real world-experience for the students, he said.
The greenway can created in phases, said Dan Hemme, a student at East Carolina University. The team believes starting with a one-mile greenway from Farmville Central High School's softball field to the pond at Oliver Murphrey Park would be ideal. Phase II would extend the greenway to the Food Lion shopping center and remaining phases could complete the loop around the town, Hemme said.
The team believes starting the greenway near the schools is essential to tap into Safe Routes to Schools funding opportunities, Hemme said.
Farmville Parks and Recreation can benefit greatly from a greenway, Johnston said. The greenway will connect the town's parks and provide an opportunity to offer non-traditional recreation programs, like a running club, he said.
The greenways also will provide accessibility, especially to the approximately 15 percent of residents who do not own a vehicle, Hardy-Braz said.
"The town has a pedestrian and bike plan. We want to keep it alive, and make sure our town is accessible. We have a moral responsibility to make sure (accessibility) is safe," he said.
The East Carolina University students will develop the master greenway plan, along with designs and cost estimates. They will also conduct several public input sessions to get feedback from residents.
A professional engineer will need to assist to develop the feasibility and environmental study, so the team requested a $7,500 allocation to cover this cost.
"This provides an educational opportunity for the students and is less expensive to the town. The professional engineer will provide details like cement depth and how to cut around sewer easements," Hardy-Braz said, adding this approach is estimated to save the town $25,000.
The students anticipate creating the master plan within six months.
Commissioner John Moore supports the project, but requested approval of the $7,500 be delayed until the March 5 commissioners meeting to allow him time to talk to county, state and Vidant representatives.
"I want to hear we have support from other resources first," Moore said.
Dixon said, “I’m comfortable waiting until March. I have been apart of this project for awhile. I encourage you to talk to the students. We are getting a great bargain with an above-average group of kids."
Dixon made a motion to approve a partnership between the town and East Carolina University to create the greenway plan, which passed unanimously.
Commissioners will further discuss funding allocations next month.
Last edited by michealbond; 02-23-2018 at 06:38 AM..
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