Parking rule changed to pave way for Savoy Theatre restoration
Studio apartments now require one space each instead of 1.5
Restoration of the Savoy Theatre is one step closer to completion thanks to an ordinance passed by the city council on Nov. 19.
The ordinance has two purposes — to increase the allowed height at the building’s site and to decrease the parking requirement for studio apartments.
The Savoy is located inside the Kinmonth Building at 701 Mattison Ave. Developer Carter Sackman is seeking to renovate the 1oo-year-old, 800-seat theatre and install 64 studio apartments in the building’s upper floors.
Sackman has proposed the city lower the parking requirement to enable him to develop the space. Members of the planning board and council have expressed interest in facilitating redevelopment because of the historic significance of the building and former Vaudeville theatre.
Previously, the city’s central business district [CBD] redevelopment plan required 1.5 parking spaces be made available for each new residential unit in the downtown, or that $11,000 per space be paid into the city’s parking fund. For the Kinmonth project, this translated into 96 spaces or a $1 million payment to the city parking fund. Sackman said at planning board meetings that neither option was economically feasible.
Reactivating the theatre itself would not require the addition of any parking spots because the theatre is an allowed use for the building, according to the CBD plan.
The amendment to the ordinance decreases the parking requirement from 1.5 to one space per studio apartment, and applies to the entire central business district. This is “not out of line with other parking requirements in the city,” city manager Terence Reidy said, pointing to planning rules on Springwood Avenue as an example.
The ordinance was also amended to increase the permitted building height at the Kinmonth site. Currently, the CBD plan limits height there to 45 feet, but the building already exceeds that, city manager Terence Reidy said. Sackman plans to reconstruct the missing southwest corner of that building, and wants it to be the same height as the rest of the building.
The amendments were approved unanimously by council members John Loffredo, Sue Henderson and James Bruno. Mayor Ed Johnson and Councilman Kevin Sanders were absent.
The Kinmonth Building’s restoration will not come to fruition until after Sackman presents a site plan to the city’s planning board. This will likely take place at the next board meeting, which is scheduled for Monday, Dec. 10, at 7 p.m. in council chambers at City Hall, according to assistant planning and zoning officer Barbara Van Wagner. Sackman could not be reached for comment.
