By BEX Staff for AZBEX
The Lake Havasu Planning and Zoning Commission is set to review a proposal by property owner PF Capital Partners/The Shops at Lake Havasu and development partner COME-TOGETHER to construct a 102-unit apartment community at the retail center.
Located just south of the existing Walmart, the 4.5-acre site is currently zoned General Commercial/Planned Development (C-2/PD) District. The developers are requesting plan development amendments that will allow for multifamily residential uses, increasing the maximum building height from 25 feet to 32 feet, and a covered parking exemption from the City’s multifamily requirements.
The Today’s News Herald outlet reported the location is part of the original The Center mall development plan approved in 1997. Parts of the original 205-acre site and development plan have been changed multiple times over the years, most recently in 2019.
According to The Shops’ letter of intent provided to in advance of a public meeting on the project, “Our commitment in conjunction with our development partner COME-TOGETHER, is to develop a high-quality community that meets City standards, complies with The Shops’ CCRs, and provides well-designed, energy efficient homes at below-market rents. This project will utilize infrastructure that was built for higher usage, but much of the available space has become low usage such as storage, which creates a great opportunity to surplus capacity to house residents. Utilities will be included in monthly rent, and the project is intended for long-term ownership as an apartment community-not condominiums.”
The plan calls for six buildings with three floors apiece. There will be 54 640SF one-bedroom and 48 960SF two-bedroom units. City regulations call for 206 parking spaces, but the plan requests an allowance for 176 spaces in total, given the existing parking available at The Shops.
COME-TOGETHER is planning this development as a launch for its alternative community offering. The developer plans to offer high-quality apartments with open floor plans with all utilities included at below-market rent. The company website says the development at The Shops will be Lake Havasu’s first large apartment complex in the last 20 years.
In a September meeting, representatives said rental rates should be finalized “in the next 60 days” and are expected to align with local guidelines set by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Leasing priority will be given to current mall employees, school workers and City staff.
If built, the developers plan to use Renu Management as the property management firm. Renu was chosen through what the developers referred to as “an exhaustive RFP process.”
The Planning and Zoning Commission will review the requests during its Oct. 15 meeting.
