UP Council to Vote on YMCA Site Plan
UPDATE: The site plan was given unanimous approval by the council at the Tuesday meeting after a brief discussion about potential traffic impact. The original post gives the details below.
Detailed plans for the facelift of the Park Cities YMCA will be up for approval tonight by the University Park City Council.
The council’s agenda for its 5 p.m. meeting includes consideration of the site plan for the facility at 6000 Preston Road. A year ago, UP officials gave the go-ahead for the YMCA to demolish its existing structure and rebuild with a below-grade parking garage.
The Y has been at its current location since 1951. Club officials have not said where they plan to relocate operations during construction. However, they expect the project to start this fall and be finished perhaps by late 2015.
You can find all the details here about the site plan, which was approved by the city’s planning and zoning commission in March. We’ll hit some of the highlights of the proposal after the jump.
- The two-story building must not be larger than 58,500 square feet, including activity and office space, with a maximum height of 35 feet.
- There must be a minimum of 284 parking spaces in the garage, along with seven street-level spaces on Preston Road. No street parking will be allowed adjacent to the property on Normandy, Connerly, or Shenandoah. For the sake of comparison, the current building is 30,041 feet and has 109 surface parking spaces.
- UP officials have stipulated that the Y must replace the traffic signal at the intersection of Preston and Normandy as part of the project.
- The Y also must install trees along Normandy, in full view of the homes across the street, prior to the opening of the parking garage.
- The garage can be used for events at the First Unitarian Church of Dallas during selected hours on the weekends and for special events.
- The Y must pay for a traffic study every three years using a consultant chosen by the city. The club also must pay for and future traffic control measures at the city’s discretion.
- During construction, the Y must provide a full-time liaison to respond to questions and complaints from nearby residents and property owners.
- No construction vehicles can be parked on city streets, and no streets can be used for continuous staging of construction work or materials.
- The only exterior lighting will be security lighting. No lights or loudspeakers are allowed on the outdoor playing fields.
