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HomeMy WebLinkAboutLetter to ApplicantCITY OF COLLEGE STATION 14 August 2007 Dale O'Reilly Meridian Resource Corporation 1401 Enclave Parkway Suite 300 Houston, TX 77077 Sent Via Fax Copy to: 281-558-8118 RE: The Factory Project in Northgate Dear Mr. O'Reilly: Thanks for meeting with City staff members last Thursday to discuss the details related to a partial Certificate of Occupancy (CO) for The Factory. We are pleased to have The Factory in College Station and, as demonstrated by our willingness to issue permits on a phased basis, want to accommodate your construction schedule, while retaining adherence to applicable rules and regulations. Based on the discussion, we understand that you would like to obtain a CO for the south wing of the primary building (including approximately 50 residential units and the office area) by the first week of October 2007. The remainder of the primary building and the parking garage is currently scheduled to be complete six to eight weeks later. At the meeting a number of points associated with the accelerated construction schedule were discussed. A summary of these points and related information are provided as follows: Fire Protection All fire protection equipment and systems must be complete and accepted by the Fire Marshal's office before a CO can be issued. If the drywall is not completely installed in all areas of the building, a two-hour rated fire partition is required to separate the occupied portion of the building from the unoccupied portion. If the two-hour separation is necessary, a construction detail indicating the proposed location of said separation is required. Staff acknowledges that the fire sprinkler and/or alarm system may be disabled periodically as construction is completed on the unoccupied portion of the building, however, interruptions should be kept to a minimum and the Fire Marshal's office shall be notified at 979-764-3705 and Fire Dispatch at 979-:764-3700 prior to disabling. the heart of the Research Valley P.O . BOX 9960 1101 TEXAS AVENUE COLLEGE STATION· TEXAS • 77842 979.764.3510 www.cstx.gov The Factory -Pg. 2 Landscaping The landscaping will not be completely installed by the desired partial CO date. However, the Unified Development Ordinance allows for a financial guarantee (i.e. bond, cash or letter of credit) in lieu of landscaping. The financial guarantee is valid for up to four months and must be in an amount equal to 150% of the landscape bid as well as any required irrigation for the project. Once the landscaping is installed and accepted by the City, the financial guarantee will be released. Should you choose this option, staff can work with you on the details. Parking The on-site parking garage will not be complete by the desired partial CO date and you proposed providing the required parking spaces via a shared parking agreement or leased spaces in the City's parking garage. Either alternative is acceptable with the following conditions: • The number of parking spaces provided corresponds to the number of units included in the partial CO, as determined by the Unified Development Ordinance. Based on statements made at the meeting a minimum of 69 parking spaces is required. • A minimum of two accessible parking spaces are provided on site. One of these spaces will need to be van accessible. • An accessible route is required from the accessible parking spaces to the building entrance. Storm Water Detention Staff has been working with your engineer to develop an off-site storm water detention area. As soon as the final design is complete, the plans will be submitted to the City for review and approval. Based on statements made at the meeting, work on the detention area will be complete and ready for acceptance by the City prior to the issuance of the partial CO. Hardscape The site plan calls for benches along the perimeter, however, staff agreed to make the installation of the benches a condition of the final CO. Also, any sidewalk pavers not associated with the accessible route can be deferred until the issuance of the final CO . The Factory -Pg. 3 Again, this letter is intended to highlight the major discussion points at our meeting last Thursday. It is understood that items not specifically addressed in this letter will be completed and must be accepted by the City prior to the issuance of any type of CO. I trust this information accurately reflects our discussion and we look forward in continuing our cooperation with you in making the CO process go as smoothly as possible. Please feel free to contact me at 979.764.3570 should you have questions or need additional information. Since?~ Lance Simms, CBO Assistant Director of Planning and Development Services Cc: Terry Childers, Deputy City Manager Bob Cowell, Director of Planning and Development Services David Gwin, Director of Economic & Community Development Chris Haver, Building Official Eric Hurt, Fire Marshal Alan Gibbs, Sr. Assistant City Engineer