A proposed redevelopment on West Walnut Street has generated a number of questions and criticisms from some residents of the Tree Streets neighborhood. As Press staff writer Nathan Baker reported earlier this month, leaders of the Southside Neighborhood Organization are not pleased with many of the details of a proposed 216-unit apartment project overseen by North Carolina-based Evolve Development LLC on the old General Mills and Mize Farm & Garden Supply properties.Some residents fear a rezoning for the project, which was approved by the Johnson City Regional Planning Commission on Jan. 14, will allow for fraternity and sorority houses in the area. Members of SNO also say the project will allow the units to be rented by the bedroom to college students, not to families as originally promised.Johnson City Chamber of Commerce Director Gary Mabrey had told SNO members and journalists many times that the target tenants for the new apartments would be families and young professionals.“There isn’t any question as to what this is,” Mabrey said in a November interview with the Press. “It’s multifamily housing. Multifamily is what makes sense for this property.”Mabrey continued to stress that point in December, when he drew a distinction between the Evolve development and the dedicated student housing buildings taking shape on the State of Franklin corridor.“One is student housing, and the other is intended for multifamily apartments,” he told Baker. “There’s a dog park and a children’s playground in this one, and I think that’s something that isn’t really aimed at students.”Tree Streets residents, however, said they heard a different description at an informational meeting earlier this month when Johnson City attorney Tom McKee, a former city commissioner who is now representing Evolve, said the company will allow tenants to rent by the bedroom, a common practice for student housing. McKee said Stephen Austin, an Evolve cofounder, told residents early in the development process that there was no intention to rent by the room, but current market conditions have caused that to change. That change has prompted the leaders of SNO to ask the city to conduct a corridor study along Walnut Street, from University Parkway to Roan Street. “The study should look at what is currently in place, sidewalk width, traffic flow, signage, aesthetics, property usage and drainage,” a statement from SNO officials that appeared in this paper Jan. 19 said. “This vital corridor connects East Tennessee State University and downtown — running parallel to State of Franklin Road. This could be a thriving, mixed-use area. Now is the time to create a blueprint for future development.”We want to hear from you. Should Johnson City commissioners look at a corridor study before approving a rezoning of the General Mills and Mize properties on Walnut Street?Send your comments to Mailbag, P.O. Box 1717, Johnson City, TN 37605-1717, or mailbag@johnsoncitypress.com. Please include your name, telephone number and address for verification. We will print your responses on the Opinion pages soon.
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