Town Hall With MCZ – Developer of Wing Hoe Lot

A Community Town Hall Meeting was held in the Party Room on Monday April 2nd, with representatives from the developer, MCZ, who is planning to demolish the ‘Wing Hoe’ mansion and build a 50 Unit rental building. They presented their current plans and renderings of the project, shared some specific details and answered questions from the audience.

Present representing MCZ was their Zoning Attorney, the lead project Architect and two of their development managers. (Learn more about this developer at www.mczdevelopment.com)

Here are the highlights:

• Regarding zoning, the proposed change is to go from a B3 to a B23 level. The only difference is that B3 requires retail on the first floor. The present zoning would allow the proposed development, it just requires commercial space which they do not want to include in the new building.
• As the plans are now, the development will include 50 units and 21 parking spaces.
• The development is expected to be pet friendly, including dogs, however weight and breed restrictions are anticipated.
• MCZ is the developer, and will also be the managing agent. They typically self-manager their developments.
• They will not allow short term rentals or ‘AirBnB’ style occupancy. They anticipate 1 year minimum leases and may allow 2 year leases.
• They intend to employee eco-friendly materials and process as a part of the construction effort, however they do not know whether it will be LEED certified.
• The construction has not yet been bid out to contractors, and that would not happen until at least after approval of the zoning change.
• Any road closures of Balmoral or Sheridan are not presently planned, and are not foreseen at this time. It is their intent to compartmentalize the work and construction to the lot itself.
• There will be 4 ground level units along Balmoral, with small private landscaped courtyards.
• They do expect to put in greenery along the parkways where possible.
• There will be a roof deck, but they are not presently planning green space of much significance on the roof.
• Wing Hoe has 2 years left on their lease, and as of right now they will be closing once the lease is up. They have offered some help for them to identify a space to move to, but there has not yet been much effort in that regard. A solution for them to remain open at another location is not yet being considered.
• They are not kicking Wing Hoe out. They can not, nor would they, evict Wing Hoe, or cancel their lease prior to it’s end. But they WILL NOT be renewing the lease.
• The mansion does not qualify for landmark status, due to all the alterations and interior changes made over the years.
• MCZ has owned the lot for a LONG time – more than 10 years at least.
• They believe due to the present housing and rental market, now is the time to develop the lot, and they believe their development plans represent a best use of the property for MCZ and the neighborhood.
• The tax bill for one commercial space on the lot, is much less then it will be once the new development is built. They expect this will bring a much higher tax assessment, and cash into the district.

• They have not considered looking into use of any of Park Tower’s facilities for their residents, such as the health club or parking.
• They strongly feel their will be little demand for parking spaces. They’ve seen this with other recent developments. They believe the 21 spots being planned will not be completely filled by the renters living in the building.
• There will be no curb cuts on Balmoral or Sheridan – parkers will enter through the alley.
• The main entrance will be on Sheridan road, though residents of the 4 units along Balmoral will also have private entrances through their mini-courtyards.
• There will not be door staff or security guards. There will be 24/7 maintenance provided by MCZ’s management team.
• They will be installing a 21st century security system with state of the art cameras and key fobbed doors at every access point, and common area doors throughout the building.

Questions about the development and the process for the zoning change should be directed to the office of Alderman Osterman. You can email Jerry Goodman at jerry@48thward.org.