A residential neighborhood of 40 single-family homes is on track for development in Richardson after the City Plan Commission recommended approval for a rezoning request April 21.

The development would replace the closed Cottonwood Creek Healthcare Community, a nursing home that was decommissioned in December. The commission recommended approval of the rezoning with modified development standards in a 6-1 vote.

The overview

Developer Caldwell Residential plans to raze the nursing home building and construct Greenwood Park, a development of 40 single-family homes around a centrally located neighborhood park.

“I believe that this site, the highest and best use of that today, is a high quality, thoughtfully designed, boutique infill residential community,” developer Ben Caldwell said.

Caldwell also developed Mimosa Place in Richardson and is currently developing Greenwood Square, a similar residential neighborhood across the street from the site.

The proposed layout is a compact neighborhood with lots that may be smaller than a traditional single-family lot, senior planner Derica Peters said. Peters said the development’s compact density is “more akin to a townhome-style development,” although all of the units are detached.

“I think it’s a substantial improvement over a typical townhome. The fact that we can have the density, but everybody has their own individual units and four walls—I think there’s demand for housing like this,” Commissioner Kristen Schascheck said.

The details

The neighborhood will include 22 houses with front-facing garages and 18 houses with rear-entry garages accessible from alleys, Peters said. All houses will be two stories with a maximum height of 40 feet.

The houses were approved with a minimum of 1,100 square feet, although Caldwell said they will likely be around 3,000 square feet. Based on current plans, Caldwell said the homes could cost around $800,000-$1 million.

The development will include a large central park as well as an additional open space on the southern end of the development. Peters said the spaces could include benches, shade structures, canopy trees, a playground or a dog park.

“When you’re building a more compact style, we want to have communal assets that draw people out to connect with their neighbors and to be able to enjoy something,” Caldwell said. “The development needed a heartbeat at the center of it, and having a meaningful communal green space is what we came to.”

The development will also include new public streets throughout the neighborhood, with two access points from West Shore Drive. Peters said the existing public alley will also be extended in order to provide alley access for the rear-entry garages.

The rezoning includes modified development standards that reflect the constraints of the compact property, including reduced lot areas and building setbacks as well as increased lot coverage.

Also of note

Many of the homes will not have full-length driveways in order to maximize the livable area on the ground floor, Peters said. This largely restricts parking to the two-car garages.

To address further parking needs, the development will also include 52 parking spaces located throughout the neighborhood, including parallel on-street parking and parking spaces around the perimeter of the center park.

What they’re saying

Chair Bryan Marsh, as well as two residents in a nearby neighborhood, voiced concerns about traffic during and after construction.

Caldwell said that construction traffic shouldn’t disrupt neighborhood streets, and the finished neighborhood is not expected to significantly impact traffic in the area.

“Having worked in communities that have larger-scale, single-family residential developments under construction, [traffic] is a common occurrence,” director of development services Tina Firgens said. “Once construction is complete, then you have less of that issue. It’s a matter of just normal daily traffic.”

Vice chair Jeremy Thomason said developments like Greenwood Park that bring housing density to Richardson provide an opportunity for the city to grow its tax base.

“We can incrementally grow our tax base by bringing housing in in a dense way that’s thoughtfully done [and] fits the essence of Richardson and the neighborhood,” Thomason said. “I think we need more of these projects.”

What’s next

Caldwell said the project has not partnered with a builder yet, so although renderings were provided, there are no set plans for architectural look or design yet. Commissioner Rebecca Poynter said she was not comfortable approving the project without firm renderings for the planned design of the neighborhood.

The commission voted 6-1 to recommend approval of the rezoning, which City Council will consider at a later date.

Pending the rezoning, Caldwell said the existing building will likely be demolished this fall while civil engineering plans are finalized. Development of the homes will be driven by the market, he said, but could begin next year.