Recent city work session about downtown apartment complex causes fervor among community

According to city documents, a Notice of City Council Work Session was published once in the April 24 edition of the Boomerang, and the council hosted the meeting at 6 o’clock that evening.

Work session

The City Council work session was to discuss terminating the existing Landmark Square Parking agreement, which covered the property located behind Coal Creek and TAP at 309 S. 1st St. A final vote to terminate the agreement is scheduled for as soon as next Tuesday’s regular City Council meeting.

The parking lot, recently named Trout Lot, is currently owned by two local private property owners, Jodi and John Guerin (owners of Coal Creek), and out-of-state owner Ryan Bolton, and it has been leased to the city for public use since 1994.

According to a memorandum prepared by city planner Philipp Gabathuler, also dated April 24, “the parking lot agreement was amended in 1997 and 2008 to revise the amount of public/private parking and for the establishment of First Street Plaza.”

Terminating the parking agreement would allow for new development of the property. According to the memorandum, the lot “currently comprises 76 stalls, with 35 of these potentially convertible to rented spaces, with signage marking only six of these spaces as private for rent, with the remainder available for public use.”

In February, the city’s Planning Division invited developer Nathan Stencil, CEO of the Stencil Group Inc., based in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, to explore Laramie for potential development opportunities. Following his visit, it was determined that the downtown free parking lot was a prime location.

“In order to optimize this parking lot, a development of this nature would fit with other changes to the downtown landscape, especially parking wise,” Gabathuler said during the work session. “It is outlined in one of our recommendations in the Thrive Laramie plan, to identify those infill opportunities that diversify housing options in the downtown.”

The Planning Division’s memorandum also states: “It is crucial to acknowledge that terminating the Landmark Square Parking agreement represents just the initial step in the comprehensive approval process for the 88-unit multi-family project proposed by the Stencil Group.

“The developer has expressed intentions to seek TIF (Tax Increment Financing), which, if granted, could significantly advance the project. However, there are inherent uncertainties, notably (the) capacity to secure a proportion of the affordable housing units within this funding framework, which will be reviewed and addressed through the city’s newly formed Urban Renewal Authority.”

The conceptual plans and design for the apartment complex, preliminarily called “Bolton Apartments,” states that it will feature a five-story building to fully occupy the current footprint of the lot, with a ground floor being a parking garage for 60 stalls for tenants to rent — making the building actually six stories tall. The plan would also retain First Street Plaza as an open park space.

The memorandum adds, “the 88 residential units significantly contributes to the city’s housing stock, addressing both market rate and potentially affordable housing needs. The project is expected to stimulate local economies through construction and long-term property management jobs while increasing the city’s tax base. Additionally, it is well known that downtown housing is a major support to business within a downtown and improves the quality of a downtown when people live in it.”

The complex would include units with studio, single- and double-bedroom options, and is predicted to bring 150-160 new residents to the downtown area. Stencil noted that in similar builds, it was common for residents to be 55-plus years of age, and he predicted that this new complex will be no different.

“There are some negatives and positives to a project like this, in this case being parking,” Stencil said during the work session. “We understand that there is some concern about parking in the downtown zone. Our goal is to get to a point where we can move forward and look into other options of how we can create additional parking in the downtown zone to offset the parking that we are going to be utilizing for the building itself.”

City Manager Janine Jordan and Assistant City Manager Todd Feezer have conceptual plans in the works for potential parking expansion on First Street that could add 40 to 50 new stalls. Jordan also is in the process of developing a transit program, all to alleviate parking issues and make Laramie more accessible.

“We have secured a grant from USDOT and Wyoming DOT for $160,000, with a $440,000 match for a project manager,” Jordan said. “We secured that in the fall, and we have onboarded our project manager. At this point, we are just waiting for the county to put the final touches to appointing members to the Albany County Transportation Authority, and we will start the project in earnest within the next three or four weeks, when ACTA becomes fully established.”

City Council also is asking for a good-faith agreement with the Stencil Group that will require the developers to find new parking for the downtown area following the approval and construction of the building.

Laramie Main Street Alliance

Laramie Main Street Alliance also provided a Draft Letter of Support, authored by Director Trey Sherwood and Board Chair Chaz Avila, to present at the work session.

The letter is divided into four parts: the benefits of multi-family housing in downtown Laramie; need for housing downtown; a strategic priority; and impact on parking.

Some of the main takeaways from the letter supporting the project include how “Laramie’s Housing Study 2030 calls out the need and market demand for additional housing units downtown, stating ‘a total of 92 units, consisting of 18 owner and 74 rental housing units, should be created in downtown Laramie by 2020. By 2030, a total of 2010 units, consisting of 38 owner and 172 rental housing units, should be created.’ …

“There are currently 95 housing units downtown, ranging from studio, 1-2 bedroom with few upper floor lofts. The Bolton project proposes to add another 88 units downtown, bringing the total to 183, still below the suggested 210 units call out in the housing plan.”

Additionally, “Laramie Main Street embraces the need for additional housing downtown; a priority that appears in the Downtown Development Plan and in our work plans.” The development plan calls for “the support for development that increases walkability, offering a variety of housing types, promoting infill options and increasing population and employment in the downtown area.”

Some of the economic impact figures LMSA used in the letter were calculated using shopping for necessities, and living in the downtown area. For each housing unit using $750-per-month rent would be an additional $8,200 spent per year downtown. For 88 new units, it would be a total of $718,170. Using a higher-end rent model of $1,000-per-month would be an additional $29,000 per year spent downtown and $2,556,570 total for 88 new units.

For more information, city documents relating to the recent work session and the preliminary design plans, visit tinyurl.com/nyw9t8ew, and click on the appropriate links at the bottom of the agenda.