An apartment complex proposal near Powell Community Center in downtown Mission is moving forward.
The Mission Planning Commission on Monday voted 7-0 to recommend the Mission City Council approve the preliminary development plan for Mission Beverly, an apartment complex project proposed by Indianapolis-based developer Milhaus. Commissioners Kelsey Brown and Wayne Snyder were absent.
Monday’s vote comes after the city approved a 75% tax abatement request from Milhaus in February, according to city documents. Councilmember Debbie Kring cast the lone dissenting vote on that issue.
The tax abatement approval came in exchange for the developer’s agreement to increase payment to the city for acquiring Beverly Park — which the developer plans to build on top of as part of the plan — from $300,000 to $500,000.
Two apartment buildings are coming to both sides of Martway
Milhaus wants to build a more than 300,000-square-foot apartment building on the north side of Martway Street with four stories, 204 residential units and a 1,500-square-foot retail space.
The second building, at nearly 53,500 square feet, is planned for the south side of Martway Street with three stories and 57 residential units.
In exchange for building on top of Beverly Park, the developer is giving the city $500,000, which the city is considering as a source of funding for a transformed Rock Creek Trail.
That plan to revamp Rock Creek Trail near downtown may ultimately include a permanent Mission Market pavilion and additional green space along the trail route.
What will rent be at the new apartments?
Developers anticipate rents at the Beverly Park apartments to range from nearly $1,400 for a 525-square-foot studio apartment to $2,300 for a 1,082-square-foot, two-bedroom apartment.
Amenities at the two-building complex are slated to include:
- a central courtyard with a pool and lounge areas,
- a fitness room and a dog wash station,
- the continuation of the Rock Creek Trail along the project
- sidewalks around each building
- park benches and bike racks
The city still owns the park as of now
- Deputy City Administrator Brian Scott said the city, per state statute, published notice of intent to sell the park over the winter.
- Still, Scott said the city has yet to actually sell the Beverly Park site to Milhaus.
- Scott said the city will refrain from selling the park until the project is more concrete, including Milhaus closing on the sales of all the properties it wants to build on.
- “We don’t want to sell Beverly Park to [Milhaus] and find out the project doesn’t go through for some reason,” Scott said.
There is no clear timeline on green space replacement
- On Monday, commissioners Robin Dukelow and Megan Cullinane shared concerns about ensuring current Beverly Park patrons have a place to go to once apartment construction begins.
- The city of Mission plans to replace the half acre of green space that is Beverly Park with about 1.35 acres of land — that the city already owns — along the Rock Creek Trail.
- Scott said that he has had discussions with City Administrator Laura Smith about placing some funds in the 2025 city budget to potentially start removing asphalt and planting grass seed to turn the lots into open green space.
- City officials have also discussed improving some green space on the east side of Powell Community Center to be a temporary solution while the city works on replacing the green space, Scott said.
- City Planner Karie Kneller said the green space to the east of Powell Community Center is smaller than Beverly Park.
Next steps:
- The city council will consider the planning commission’s recommendation to approve the preliminary development plan at its June 26 meeting.
- A final development plan will come before the planning commission for final approval at a later date.
- Although three vacant office buildings on the south side of Martway Street are being demolished as part of this project, construction of the apartments is not expected to begin until this coming winter, Scott said.
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