Developer proposing another big Downtown housing project

In the latest addition to a relentless Downtown housing boom, developer Les Orosz is proposing a roughly $21 million, 12-story apartment building southeast of Capitol Square.

Orosz is seeking to demolish buildings at 425, 431 and 435 W. Johnson St. for the project, which will offer 148 apartments with four levels of underground parking. The development team is also exploring the possibility of mechanical valet parking, in which cars would be mechanically taken to storage spaces in a garage that would require less room than a standard garage.

The developer has been trying to assemble the site for more than a decade and is moving ahead now due to demand and low interests rates and construction costs, said architect John Sutton, who is working with architect Doug Kozel on the project.

The site is especially attractive because the new zoning code permits 12 stories there, Sutton said. That places a real value on the land, he said. Not all locations can go that tall.

The building, which would have a glass, metal and masonry exterior, fits the new Downtown Plan and Zoning Code, Sutton said.

The project, which would be geared to young professionals, would have a mix of one- and two-bedroom units with wood floors, high ceilings and decks, Sutton said.

The properties to be demolished include a two-story brick commercial building and two three-story wood frame structures used for student housing. The existing structures have no historic value, Sutton said.

Davy Mayer, president of Capitol Neighborhoods, Inc., said he has not seen detailed plans but isnt surprised to see another big housing project proposed.

The Downtown is a good place to live, he said. We want people to come here to live. When projects are within zoning, we welcome that.

Of the demolitions and the loss of lower-cost housing, Mayer said, Its always hard to lose this housing, even if its not historically significant. But more housing can ease the citys low apartment vacancy rate, he said.

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Developer proposing another big Downtown housing project