250 High, the 12-story mixed use building proposed for the southeast corner of Rich and High Streets downtown, was approved by the Downtown Commission today. Brett Kaufman of Kaufman Development and Bob White, Jr. of the Daimler Group spoke of their vision for the building, and Architect AJ Montero of NBBJ presented the latest plans and materials to the commission. Small changes to the design have been made since the project was first made public three weeks ago, but the scope of the project remains the same – ground floor retail with four floors of offices in the middle, seven floors of apartments above the office and a “rooftop amenity package” with both indoor and outdoor community space at the top of the building.
The Commission did request that the applicants come back with more detailed plans for the streetscape, exterior materials, and signage, while approving the overall project as it was presented. That will allow the developers to apply for building permits and start construction as soon as November. White explained that they have an interested office tenant who will be facing the termination of their current lease, so they have an incentive to get started as soon as possible on the project.
Both the applicants and the commissioners expressed their enthusiasm for the project.
Commissioner Bob Loversidge said that previous proposals for this site were all smaller in scale and overwhelmed by the garage.
“This is the first one where the garage looks like an addition to the building, not the other way around,” he said, adding that, “I’m happy that it’s not red brick. I love red brick, but we’re building a lot of it.”
Montero of NBBJ also contributed to the positive vibes of the meeting; “we’re very excited about the project – so much so, that we’re contemplating moving into the building ourselves.”
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Renderings via NBBJ.
