A proposed mixed-use building that could add 44 new apartments to Main Avenue is in the early design stages.
The Design Review Board gave the architect and developer feedback Wednesday on the building that is proposed to fill four lots on the 1100 block of Main Avenue.
The board was not asked to vote on the project, but members lauded the proposed attainable housing.
“This is exactly the kind of thing we need,” board member Tom Berry said.
The buildings that are home to X-Rock 105.3 and Fast Signs on Main Avenue, and the JITA Contracting building on Narrow Gauge Avenue may be torn down to make way for the project.
The large new building is planned to have retail and office space on the first floor. It would mainly be a residential building, however, with a mix of studio and one- and two-bedroom apartments.
The housing would be on all four floors, and it is expected some would be owner-occupied and others would be rentals, developer Joel Aguilar, owner of JITA Contracting, said in an interview.
To accommodate tenants and visitors, the underground parking garage is expected to have 56 parking spaces. The project may require a variance for eight parking spaces, Aguilar said.
The developer also is expecting to request a height variance.
The maximum height for buildings in the central business district is 55 feet, and at its highest point, the proposed building is 59 feet, city documents said.
The top two floors are stepped back away from the outer wall of the bottom two floors to help hide the tallest part of the building from pedestrians.
The Design Review Board asked the developer to consider stepping back the top two floors even more to diminish their presence. But overall, the board seemed open to the need for variances.
The board did offer critiques to several other parts of the design.
Members asked for some modulation on the south and west sides of the building to help break up the rows of windows and balconies.
“The way it is right now, it doesn’t feel like it is a comfortable fit downtown. I think it could be with some modulation,” Berry said.
The board also suggested changing the brick so that it doesn’t match the color of the Bank of Colorado, and replacing a large decorative sign along the front of the building with a window to provide additional light for those working inside.
The members asked the developer to substitute the rusty corrugated metal planned for the towers with a different material because it would not be a good fit along Main Avenue.
Rock from the JITA Contracting building may be used on the outside corner of the building, in some of the apartments and patios.
The board suggested using some of the stone on a tower near the rear of the building.
mshinn@durangoherald.com
