A rezoning request denied previously by the city of Tuscaloosa is returning this week, but this time with a larger and more diverse plan than initially pitched.
Andy Turner is seeking to construct a new office park for property management company, Spaces Management, while adding a small retail component for a coffee shop, specialty food market and workout space.
“I live out there,” Turner said, “so I’m looking at it from a homeowner (perspective) as well.”
Turner is asking to convert the 2.75-acre tract just north of 7415 New Watermelon Road, across from the Harbor Ridge neighborhood, to neighborhood commercial (BN) with a planned unit development (PUD) designation.
A planned unit development, or PUD, would require Turner to return to the Planning and Zoning Commission and City Council for approval before constructing the building or making any additions to the site.
“It’s pretty different this time ... ,” Turner said. “And we’ve put all the parking in the back.”
The rezoning request is set to go before the Tuscaloosa Planning and Zoning Commission on Wednesday. Its vote will then go to the Tuscaloosa City Council as a non-binding recommendation.
Should this rezoning ultimately gain final City Council approval, Turner estimates it will take about two years to complete phase one, consisting of a 12,000-square-foot office building and 8,200-square-foot shared retail space.
The investment for this phase is estimated at $5.5 million, Turner said, and he already has firm to semi-firm commitments for the specialty market and the coffee shop and café.
He is still in talks for an occupant of the gym site.
A second phase, consisting of a 12,000-square-foot office space only, is expected to be another $3.5 million.
“Pending this approval, we’ll finalize the process and negotiations with those (businesses) to go on-site, ideally,” Turner said.
Last year, Turner was seeking a rezoning for the 12,000-square-foot office building only.
That request was rejected in June by the Tuscaloosa City Council on 4-1 vote. Councilman Matt Calderone cast the lone vote in support, and Councilwoman Phyllis W. Odom abstained.
Councilman Eddie Pugh was not in attendance.
The council’s vote came in spite of the Planning and Zoning Commission’s recommendation to approve the rezoning.
But some who attended the City Council meeting to speak out against the project questioned the Planning and Zoning Commission’s decision to recommend to the City Council a different zoning than what Turner originally requested.
Turner’s rezoning process began with him seeking to convert the tract from R-1, or single family residential, to BN, or neighborhood commercial.
Commissioners, however, voted to recommend the City Council rezone the lot as BGO, or general business-office, with the requirement that the project be constructed as a planned unit development.
This time, Turner said he’s heard little in terms of negative feedback or criticism from north Tuscaloosa residents.
A website, commonspacestuscaloosa.com, he’s had created to show off the proposed plans has received nine total comments for its feedback session. Of those, two were negative and two came from residents who said they were opposed to any kind of development on the currently vacant lot.
Turner also hosted a community feedback meeting Dec. 28 at NorthRiver Yacht Club.
No one attended, he said.
He is, however, aware of a neighborhood meeting this weekend where some expressed concerns about the development. But as of Monday afternoon, he had heard none of their complaints.
“They have not reached out to me,” he said.
Turner is hopeful that the projected $54.5 million expansion of McWright’s Ferry Road will tamp down some of the concerns as residents come to understand that new development, whether by him or someone else, is imminent.
The McWright’s Ferry Road work is expected to start in early 2019 and extend this roadway into north Tuscaloosa, providing an alternative route to crossing the Lake Tuscaloosa dam.
“I think people understand now that, with the road, there is going to be development,” Turner said.
Reach Jason Morton at jason.morton@tuscaloosanews.com or 205-722-0200.