Developer modifies plans for 15-story Edge District towers

Belpointe is bumping up the number of residential units in the two 15-story towers its planning to build in the Edge District. 

The Greenwich, Connecticut-based developer has submitted plans to the city to build the two identical towers at the southwest corner of 1st Avenue North and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Street. 

An earlier conceptual rendering of the Belpointe towers, as seen from Baum Avenue. 

The new plans include the increase in the number of residential units from 254 to 269, and the reconfiguration of the frontage on Balm Avenue. The project also includes 27,028 square feet of commercial space and a 355-space parking garage.  

The $70 million-plus project will go before city council, meeting as the CRA (Community Redevelopment Agency), during the Dec. 15 meeting to determine if the project aligns with the Intown West Redevelopment Plan. 

Belpointe’s redesigned proposed towers.

The base of the new building would consist of four floors. The first floor of the building would include commercial space, residential lobbies, a leasing office, back of house facilities and parking.

The second through fourth floors would include parking. The fifth through the 15th floor of each tower would house the residential units. The 15th floor will also incorporate rooftop amenities.

The two towers are mirror images of each other, consisting of floor-to-ceiling windows, balconies and a colonnade deign feature at the amenity deck and roof.

The project will be built around 1000 1st Ave. N.  

The property had multiple structures, which were demolished. 

Although the number of residential units is increasing, the project will retain its previously approved FAR (floor area ratio).

The applicant would also use materials of the former Shirley Ann Hotel, which once stood at 936 1st Ave. N. 

A vacant site where the former Shirley Ann Hotel operated. GoogleMaps.

Belpointe is also planning to build a pocket park on Baum Avenue, near the corner of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Street.

Belpointe paid $12 million to acquire the parcels in 2020 from Jonathan Daou, a major property owner in the Edge District.

The Edge Business District Association submitted a letter of support for the development as it’s been a proponent of the project since 2021. In the letter, the association lists several ways the project will align with its goals and is a fit for the community, including:

• The relocation of the Baum Avenue parking garage ingress/egress to 1st Avenue North will considerably free up Baum Avenue for our streetscape beautification plans and plans for festival space and other non-vehicular use of the avenue.
• The reconfiguration of the ground floor commercial spaces to create a wider variety of layouts with frontage on Baum Avenue, as well as 1st Avenue North, which in turn may increase the diversity of tenants as well as increase the connectivity from Baum Avenue to 1st Avenue North. 

“These features, combined with those carried over from the previous plan (e.g., ample parking inventory, two pedestrian corridors connecting Baum and 1st Avenue North, and the community pocket park on the east end of the site), continue to reflect a community-sensitive plan that supports the district’s vibrancy and long-term sustainability,” EBDA Executive Director Barabra Voglewede wrote.