Dear Neighbors,
I attended the meeting tonight about the new development at the site of the Holiday Inn at I-75 and Howell Mill Road. I would like to share my summary of the neighborhood concerns.
If you would like to see the proposed development plans, please look at their website: http://www.carterusa.com/howell_west/ Please look at the plans, to form your own opinions and reflect on the project.
Many of us look at this development as an opportunity to exercise some of the ideas that were proposed in our neighborhood blueprints (2004). Here are some the neighborhood goals that could be addressed as this development takes place:
1. Improve Howell Mill streetscape 2. Improve pedestrian/bike accessibility 3. Actively prevent crime in our neighborhoods through smart design 4. Increase greenspace/prevent excessive paving/parking lots 5. Connect neighborhood destinations with pedestrian/bike paths to decrease vehicular traffic and promote healthy lifestyles
Here are some of the fears that were expressed at the meeting:
1. Increased vehicular traffic to/from the 960 proposed parking spaces will swamp the neighborhood. 2. Parking garage adjacent to Underwood Hills park and accessibility to UH from development will increase crime in the park and Underwood Hills Neighborhood 3. More pavement in Howell Mill street plan will not be pedestrian/bike-friendly 4. 6-Story Hotel and 9-Story Office Building might be unsightly
Good News:
1. The Holiday Inn billboard will disappear. 2. Howell Dragon and the house behind it will be demolished.
If you are planning to attend the next Berkeley Park neighborhood meeting, be prepared to discuss/comment on some of these concerns as the developers will (potentially) be there to make their presentation. They do need one (or more) variances or cooperation from the city to complete their plans, but do not need neighborhood approval—they seem very willing to incorporate neighborhood concerns into their plans at this point. Please look at their website so that our discussion can be most constructive.
http://www.carterusa.com/howell_west/
http://www.carterusa.com/howell_west