A vacant property in Portsmouth’s Cavalier Manor neighborhood will become the site of a 280-unit apartment complex.
The development at 4358 Greenwood Drive will consist of seven four-story apartment buildings and a clubhouse with a coffee shop. Concept renderings of the complex, marketed as A4 Acres at Greenwood, show green gathering space in the center and a pool.
The property was once the Bonnevilla Apartments, which were built in 1960. By 2010, when the apartments only had a handful of tenants, they were declared derelict. They were demolished in 2013.
When they voted Tuesday to approve a permit for the development, City Council members said the apartments could attract younger professionals to Portsmouth and make use of vacant land. Councilwoman Lisa Lucas-Burke said the apartments could support staffing at the upcoming Rivers Casino less than two miles away.
Alvin Keels Jr., a member of the development group, said he wants the apartments to enhance Cavalier Manor and be a special project in the city.
But not all officials were on board.
The Planning Commission recommended denying the permit, saying the proposal was similar to an apartment project at the same site that the City Council denied in 2016. Additionally, the property is zoned for multi-family development — like the apartments it used to contain and the ones developers now plan. But longer-term plans say the land should be used for less dense single-family homes.
The commission said the land use category was changed at the request of the United Civic League of Cavalier Manor. Ray Smith Sr., the league’s president, said the group is opposed to the apartments.
“It’s just too dense, too many things going on on Greenwood Drive as it is. It’s just a big project,” he said.
Most of the neighborhood consists of single-family houses, and there are two-story apartment buildings near the development site. Smith noted much of the neighborhood is 55 and older.
Keels said his team reached out to residents and the civic league to discuss the development and garnered 500 signatures of support.
Multiple council members said they heard both positive and negative input from residents about the project, but Mayor Shannon Glover was the only person to vote against it. Councilman Mark Whitaker recused himself from the vote, citing a legal issue.
Keels said a one-bedroom unit is expected to cost $1,075 per month, two bedrooms would be $1,400 and three bedrooms would be up to $1,600. He said the units are intended to be market rate.
Keels said he’s seeking a management company to operate the property once it is built. Construction is slated to begin in early 2022 and be complete in the spring of 2023.
Councilman Bill Moody noted this was not the first apartment development the council has considered. In February, the council voted 4-3 against a proposed second phase of the Harbor Vista Apartments in a vacant lot downtown.
Moody said there’s a need for apartments in the city and hoped the council would keep that in mind moving forward.
Josh Reyes, 757-247-4692, joreyes@dailypress.com
