Redeveloping an Annapolis Neighborhood
Background:
Following Hyatt & Weber’s assistance to Pennrose Properties, LLC and the Housing Authority of the City of Annapolis (HACA) to further their joint efforts in redeveloping the College Creek Terrace and Obery Court public housing communities, Pennrose and HACA again sought the firm’s assistance as they partnered to redevelop the aging Newtowne Twenty public housing neighborhood in Annapolis under a residential planned development framework.
Approach:
During the site planning process, which aimed to achieve a one-for-one unit rebuild that would also meet the city’s enhanced stormwater management and forest conservation requirements, the firm identified a height restriction that would jeopardize the project’s density. Hyatt & Weber attorneys worked with the alderpersons of the Annapolis City Council to help craft a legislative solution for the clients, and a narrowly tailored ordinance was adopted into the Annapolis City Code to facilitate the project’s progress.
Hyatt & Weber also assisted the clients in holding community meetings on the proposed project and in garnering neighborhood support in advance of the required public hearings before the City of Annapolis Planning Commission. At the same time, the firm worked on a parallel track to expedite public rights-of-way legislation before the Annapolis City Council to maintain the project’s momentum through the administrative system.
Results:
Given the support that the firm helped build among the members of the Annapolis City Council and Department of Planning and Zoning staff, when the Newtowne Twenty redevelopment proposal and its associated preliminary subdivision plat went before the Planning Commission for formal consideration, the residential planned development received unanimous approval. The Newtowne Twenty neighborhood revitalization project is scheduled to move ahead with demolitions and permits for reconstruction in late 2020.
