By Bill Short
The Millington Planning Commission has unanimously approved the blend of materials for the apartment building exteriors in the Millington Farms Mixed-Use Planned Development.
Commission members took the action during their Nov. 28 meeting on a motion offered by Terry Jones and seconded by Leanna Dagen.
The MUPD will be located on 103.74 acres east of the Shoppes of Millington Farms and Lowe’s Home Improvement Warehouse. It will include retail, office and hotel components, as well as multi-family housing facilities.
An Outline Plan that the commission approved for the MUPD includes a Site Plan and a Phasing Plan, with Phases 1 and 2 consisting of apartment units.
At its Sept. 19 meeting, the commission unanimously approved a subdivision for Phase 1, which will consist of two lots.
Assistant City Planner Nathaniel McHaffie said Lot 1 will be located on the east side of a “collector” road to be constructed behind Lowe’s that will exit onto Veterans Parkway. The collector will also have a “roundabout” on the south end connecting Glencoe Way.
He noted that the first lot will have 23.087 acres, and the second one will be .71 of an acre.
The commission approved the Site Plan for Phase 1 at its Oct. 17 meeting.
McHaffie presented the applicants’ proposal to initially construct 360 apartment units on 24 acres, which is the maximum allowable for an MUPD at 15 units per acre.
He said the apartment facades, which were proposed to consist of 60-percent brick and stone veneer, comply with the Millington Design Guidelines. The remainder of the exteriors are expected to be cement siding in two tones of gray.
Jim Schumpert of The Reaves Firm in Memphis acknowledged that the submitted building elevations showed a material blend of 60-percent stone and brick veneer and 40-percent other materials.
But he said the applicants desired to revise the blend to 40-percent stone and brick veneer and 60-percent other materials.
“If we can’t consider a 40-60,” he noted, “maybe a 50-50.”
When commission Vice Chairman Brett Morgan said he would like to see the “difference” before voting on it, Schumpert acknowledged that he did not have anything available to show what the difference would look like.
As one of the conditions for approving the Site Plan for Phase 1, the commission required the applicants to submit “samples” at its next meeting that showed the difference in the proposed material blends for the building elevations.
Charles Goforth, planning consultant for the city, acknowledged at the Nov. 28 meeting that either the 40-60 or the 50-50 blend would be “adequate.”
In response to an “option” he presented, the commission voted to approve the 50-50 blend for the three external apartment buildings that will be adjacent to the street and the 40-60 for the 12 internal buildings.
