MOUNT VERNON – The Municipal Planning Commission approved a lot split to enable financing for part of the Old Mulberry School multifamily development, and commissioners learned the new name for Cooper Progress Park.
The commissioners met Thursday afternoon and first dealt with the Old Mulberry School lot split at 301 N. Mulberry St. The applicant wanted to keep the old school in a 1.7-acre lot, and the remaining 2.46 acres would become a second lot.
Developer Joel Mazza plans to renovate the old school building to house 48 apartments. In addition, he would build a six-unit townhouse and two garden-unit apartment buildings for another 48 units on the second lot.
Safety Service Director Rick Dzik, a member of the Planning Commission, asked Craig Moncrief, an attorney representing the applicant, how access would be managed between the two properties after the split.
Moncrief said a declaration of access for a shared parking easement has been made.
Law Director Rob Broeren said there weren’t any zoning challenges with the application.
“Everything has been resolved at the Board of Zoning Appeals. Once this happens, I guess they’re going to get their financing done,” he said.
Some language will be cleared up with the easement, Broeren said.
The Planning Commission approved the lot split.
Name change for Cooper Progress Park
The commissioners also approved the final plat for the former Cooper Progress Park.
“You’ll notice the one exciting change is what we had planned on calling Cooper Progress Park was nixed at the last minute by the former owner of the Cooper property,” said Zach DiMarco, an attorney for the applicant with Critchfield Critchfield & Johnston in the firm’s Mount Vernon office. “So we were thrown a curveball. Mr. [Jeff] Goettke’s group came up with Heartland Commerce Park, which I think fits pretty well for Mount Vernon.”
DiMarco said Goettke, president of Knox Area Development and head of the Land Bank, also met with the city’s Tree Commission, which told him no plantings were necessary now but to check back with them as things start to happen at the site.
He said once the final plat is approved, the needed signatures will be collected, and then they will start deeding properties to buyers and get some employees working at the site.
DiMarco confirmed for Dzik that the existing buildings would become parcels, and the spaces between them will become shared common areas.
