Residential Plan with $500K Townhouses Proposed for Columbus Park

By Kevin Collison

A corner of Columbus Park tucked near an interstate ramp is the proposed location of a 20-unit residential project that won approval for property tax incentives Tuesday from a city development agency.

The $7 million Columbus Park Apartment plan calls for 10, for-sale townhouses and 10 rental apartments in five duplexes to be built at a triangular site at approximately 1015 Pacific St.

A 1,200 square-foot commercial building is planned for the corner of Pacific and Troost.

Andrew Ganahl, who helped build the 44-unit 1914 Main apartment project in 2016, said the new project is intended to allow people who enjoy living downtown to move up from apartments into townhouses they can own.

“Renters want to buy in the area and it’s about introducing a new, infill urban product type that’s different from stacked apartments,” he said.

The Columbus Park Apartment site has been vacant at least 20 years. (Aerial view from LRCA presentation)

Ganahl is partnering with Diane Botwin and Kevin Klinkenberg in an entity called DAK Pacific LLC. Ganahl said Botwin developed a small apartment project in Columbus Park about seven years ago where her son is a resident.

“She likes the neighborhood a lot,” he said.

The development was approved for property tax reductions by the Land Clearance for Redevelopment Authority. The townhouse component received a 10-year, 75 percent abatement, the apartment component a 10-year, 100 percent abatement.

Ganahl said the abatement was needed in part because the site, which has been vacant for 20 years, was in bad shape because buildings located there previously had been demolished and the debris simply buried in place.

The property also is located in a distressed Census tract.

The project calls for 10 townhouses and 10 apartments located in five duplexes. (Site plan by Helix)

The townhouses will average 2,000 square feet and each have three bedrooms and three bathrooms along with a one- or two-car garage. The sales price is expected to be $500,000.

The one-bedroom apartments will be 750 square feet and rents will start at about $1,400 per month. There will be 10 surface parking spaces set aside for the apartments.

The Columbus Park Apartment plan still must be considered by the City Plan Commission on its rezoning request. The City Council will have the final say on the rezoning.

If the necessary approvals are obtained, construction would likely begin this fall with completion anticipated in early 2024.