The Maple five-story project to change plan

By Grace Lovins

Developers of a five-story building, The Maple, set to be constructed at 35001 Woodward Avenue in Birmingham is looking to adjust the floor plan which was previewed by the city’s planning board during their Wednesday, August 13, meeting, with the developers planning to eliminate one of two underground parking levels.

Plans for a new five-story mixed use building, said planning director Nick Dupuis, were last discussed by the board back in June. Per Dupuis, the applicant is proposing to eliminate the second level of underground parking and shift some of the building usage. During the board’s review of the plans in June, they expressed concern over traffic relating to the new use.

Working with the city’s consultants, Fleis & Vanderbrink, Dupuis said the proposal actually eliminated some traffic. He added that the fast-food restaurant without a drive through use that was originally used to calculate that number had since been removed.

Dupuis also explained that even with the change to the parking structure, the building still meets the requirements laid out in the zoning ordinance. Given the use, the building is required to provide 36 off-street parking spaces, and the single level of underground parking holds 47 spaces.

The site, known throughout the city as the location of the Hunter House restaurant, has been through an arduous process due to conflicts between the property owner and owner of Hunter House. For several years, plans for a new development at the location had been blocked while the two parties sorted out the situation.

Planning board members collectively gave Dupuis the green light to handle the change administratively but did not take a formal vote as the item was a pre-application discussion.