SANTA CRUZ — Developers for a 175-unit downtown apartment building unveiled a first look at their design plans with an audience of more than 50 attendees Monday night.

The Riverfront Apartments project, proposing to combine five separate parcels along Front Street, began gaining steam after officials approved downtown zoning changes allowing for taller building heights, and will aim to comply with the city’s vision of filling in and building up to the levee and city Riverwalk. Prior to beginning construction, the developer will need to seek numerous city and regional governance and permit approvals and is likely at least two to three years in the future, a representative said.

“The idea, by bringing more activity to the levee, is that it makes it a safer place for everybody,” developer Owen Lawlor said. “By more activity, more people, it becomes a place that’s attractive and people want to be in.”

Lawlor, whose SC RiverFront LLC owns the property at and around 428 Front St., said he is seeking the right to sell the project’s residential units as condominiums but is expecting for them to remain as rentals “into the foreseeable future.” Of the units, 20 will be rented at subsidized rates, including 15 set at 50% of the area’s median income level and five at 80% of the area median. The lower-cost rentals will be a mix of bedroom sizes, Lawlor said. He declined to speculate on rental rates for the remaining 155 market-rate units. The area median household income for a single person is $68,600 or $98,000 for a family of four, according to city Planning and Community Development Director Lee Butler.

One audience member attending the city-required community meeting asked Lawlor for whom he was building the apartments.

“It’s a really interesting cross-section of the community. All kinds of people,” Lawlor said. “We find younger people who like to live downtown, we find older people who like the not having to drive. One of the great things about the site is you can live here without having a car, and you can really live your life without a car. That’s attractive to a whole bunch of different kinds of people, but young people and older people.” Related Articles Santa Cruz downtown project financial details sought prior to contractor hiring

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The development will include 11,498 square feet of ground floor and levee-front commercial space, a main courtyard and fountain, outdoor seating and a visible site line through to the Riverwalk, among other amenities. The building’s height would range from one to seven stories tall. City planner Samantha Haschert said the project is still in its early stages, as the developer only had recently resubmitted its plans, which are in the process of being reviewed for completeness. She added that a full-scale environmental impact report will be needed for the proposed demolition of a historic building on site.

A speaker raised concerns about the nearby San Lorenzo River potentially spilling over the levee, a flooding concern the city’s downtown has faced to disastrous impact over its long history.

“Right now, we’ve got about 25,000 square feet of retail in the flood plain. So, when this is done, the residents will be 5 feet above the levee,” Lawlor said. “So, that means, if there is a flood, all those units will be out of the flood. And, I get it, there very well might be another flood in downtown Santa Cruz. But we’re improving that situation.”

Numerous supporters of The 418 Project spoke in support of its continuation in the downtown. The nonprofit community dance center has operated out of Front Street property now owned by the developer for the past 25 years. Lawlor said he has been working with The 418 Project’s leaders, including Executive Director Laura Bishop, on a way to include the group in the future development.

Food Not Bombs leader Keith McHenry and Downtown Santa Cruz Executive Director Chip requested the development make bathrooms and other amenities available to the public.