Hyde Park, Oakley neighbors revolt against 'too big' luxury apartment tower in their neighborhood

A 51-unit luxury apartment complex planned in Hyde Park has upset some local residents who feel they've been shut out of the planning process.

Sycamore Township-based PLK Communities plans to build a four-story apartment building on top of a two-story, 108-car parking garage at 3660 Michigan Ave. - the site of the former Hyde Park Floral Coffee Garden Café.

The project is along busy Wasson Road and the Wasson Way Trail, which runs from Marburg Ave. in Hyde Park to Montgomery Road at the edge of Xavier University's campus.

PLK, the developer behind the Factory 52 mixed-use development in Norwood, obtained zoning approval under existing guidelines and did not seek financial incentives that would have required public hearings or community engagement.

But a group of residents from Hyde Park and Oakley has launched a website and formed an advocacy group, Stop Wasson Tower, to oppose the project.

They have criticized PLK for moving ahead with site preparation without community input on the yet-to-be-named apartment tower.

Demolition is expected to begin any day.

"We're not against this concept, we're just concerned about the size of it,'' said Lynn Hailey, a longtime Oakley resident who lives near the site, which borders Oakley and Hyde Park.

PLK officials could not be reached for comment Tuesday afternoon.

Hailey said her biggest concern is that the new apartments will increase traffic congestion along major thoroughfares in the area to the point where thet might cause safety issues.

"We just think that the project is too big for the space,'' she said. "If it was scaled back a little bit, I think we'd be more comfortable with it.''

To that end, the advocacy group has requested a public meeting with PLK officials to discuss limiting the size and scope of the project, as well as a traffic study to address safety concerns.

Hailey said the group hopes to preempt any problems "so that we somehow don't have to fix problems in the future.''

She lamented what she described as PLK's lack of transparency.

"There were no public meetings, no notices sent out,'' Hailey said. "We just kind of found out about it accidentally, and it's moving fast.

"They (PLK) say on their website that they value community engagement, but that certainly hasn't been our experience,'' she added. "We just would like the developer to be more transparent about their plans and what's going to happen and when.''

The citizens' group has gathered more than 2,000 signatures opposing the development, and hundreds of signs popped up in the Hyde Park and Oakley area over this past weekend calling for a stop to it, organizers said.

The Hyde Park Neighborhood Council is scheduled to take up the matter at its regular meeting at 7 p.m. Tuesday at the Hyde Park Community United Methodist Church at 1345 Grace Ave.