Revisioning Tennyson Terrace

Developer's proposal presents opportunity and challenges

By The Northside News

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An effort is underway to turn a key Northside property into an economic development opportunity. Neighboring residents, however, are concerned that the potential opportunity may present more challenges than benefits.

Tucked away on Tennyson Lane between Lakeview Elementary and Packers Avenue is a 19-acre property with several low-slung buildings once used as an animal research facility and now serving as warehouse space. While the somewhat dilapidated buildings present an eyesore, the open greenspace on the eastern part of the property and the property’s many mature trees have long been appreciated by nearby residents of the Berkley Oaks neighborhood.

Local developer Tom Keller, whose Tennyson Terrace company purchased the property in 2006, is proposing to remove the existing buildings on the site and to construct a series of “commercial bungalows” or business condominiums. Keller envisions these units as being purchased and used by hobbyists, car collectors and small business people who desire to own an affordable, clean and pleasant space that is governed by strict covenants and condominium bylaws.

Keller’s initial concept plan, presented in a neighborhood meeting on January 30 convened by District 12 Alder Satya Rhodes-Conway, proposed the construction of approximately 63 buildings consisting of 126 units of commercial condominium space. Each individual unit would be about 1,250 square feet in size. The average sale price for these units would likely be less than $100,000, depending on the level of finish. In addition, Keller’s proposal sets aside a 1.4 acre portion of the property on the corner of Tennyson Lane and Packers Avenue for future neighborhood commercial use.

Keller states in his proposal that the proposed use is consistent with the City’s 1994 Northport-Warner Park neighborhood plan, “providing affordable space for small businesses, which would complement the wide-range of affordable housing options in the neighborhood.”. In addition, the proposal notes that the Plan places a high priority on the goals of “new business development” and ‘creating employment opportunities within a close proximity to residents’ homes,” which are key features of Keller’s proposal.

Neighborhood and City response to Keller’s initial proposal has been mixed, at best. The initial concept plan showed rows of identical buildings along private drives, with little landscaping indicated on the plan. The proposed use presents a rather stark contrast to neighbors accustomed to the current open space on the property.

As neighborhood resident and author Tom Doherty put it poetically in a recent letter to the Northside News:

“For decades, neighborhood dog walkers, sky gazers, and seekers of solitude have cherished the oak grove and grassy field that occupy most of the land on the north side of Tennyson Lane. Curtained from city life by oaks to the west and dense rows of ash trees on the south and east, those 19 acres open up the tightly packed Berkeley Oaks neighborhood to views of distant hills, woodlands and wide-open sky… Residents value that green space and they are worried about traffic and safety issues. Their sentiment is: if change is coming, it should benefit the whole neighborhood, not just the developer.”

Doherty further reports that after the January 30 meeting, the Berkley Oaks Neighborhood Association (BONA) went house to house gathering reactions, and BONA vice president Lydia Maurer used the results of the survey as the basis for a letter she sent to Keller and other interested parties, which extensively details the residents’ objections to the Keller proposal, and suggests alternatives that might be looked upon more favorably by the neighborhood. The aesthetic impact of the Keller plan ranks high on the list of BONA’s concerns, as do traffic and safety, especially for pedestrians like the neighborhood school children.

If change is inevitable, BONA recommends that the parcel be rezoned for residential development, which it believes is a more appropriate use of land adjacent to an elementary school. There is also much support for an earlier plan for the property, which would have provided senior housing, assisted living and nursing home facilities.

District 12 Alder Satya Rhodes-Conway, whose district includes the Tennyson property, echoed a number of neighborhood concerns in her own letter to Keller. While Rhodes-Conway’s letter stated her interest in “ways to grow small businesses and bring jobs and economic activity to the Northside,” the concerns she cited included consistency with current City plans (which call for low to medium density residential use for this property), lack of connectivity to potential development of the property to the north, traffic and safety concerns, proximity to Lakeview School, and aesthetics of the proposed development.

Since the January 30 neighborhood meeting, and subsequent meetings with the Northside Planning Council and City officials, Keller is developing an alternative concept plan that attempts to address some of the concerns and questions raised by Berkley Oaks residents and Northside alders Rhodes-Conway and Michael Schumaker. Keller and his attorney, Northside resident Michael Christopher of DeWitt, Ross, & Stevens, will be meeting in the near future with the two Northside alders and with representatives of NPC and BONA, to present his alternative plan and to respond to neighborhood and City concerns.

It is important to note that Keller’s proposed “commercial condominiums” are a permitted use under the current zoning of the property (M-1, or light manufacturing). Keller has applied for a demolition permit to remove the existing buildings to facilitate future development or sale of the property, but he could choose to proceed with his basic proposal once the plans have met City standards for stormwater retention, street and sidewalk connections, etc.

Fortunately, according to the proposal narrative, Keller sees the requested demolition permit not just as a City requirement, but as a way to “begin the process of turning this site into an attractive and convenient neighborhood asset.”

The demolition permit application for 1902 Tennyson Lane is currently scheduled to be reviewed by the City Plan Commission on May 5. See the accompanying NPC Action Alert for more details.