500 apartments on tap for downtown Salisbury

Imagine downtown Salisbury as a vibrant place where people can live, work and shop and where parking lots are redeveloped with multistory buildings offering apartments above retail spaces.

It’s the Salisbury that city officials hope to see over the next two decades as they work with developers and try to marry the old historic downtown with the new, using similar materials but different architecture.

“It will look more cosmopolitan, more urban,” said Mayor Jake Day. “But I think you’ll see something not too dissimilar than what you see today.”

Apartments will figure prominently in new downtown developments because multifamily housing is “where the market is,” Day said.

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People who years ago would have been pursuing homeownership are now opting to become tenants, and most Salisbury apartment complexes are either fully occupied or have a low number of vacancies, he said.

“Even retirees are choosing to rent,” Day said. “It’s the same story everywhere you go.”

Currently, the city is working with developers on four multi-use projects that will add more than 500 apartments to the downtown and marina areas in an effort to attract people who work in Salisbury but live elsewhere and keep existing residents in town.

“The more people you can get, the better off you are,” Day said.

The redevelopment in downtown and at the marina are part of the city’s 20-year master plan that delineates seven districts, with numerous public and private projects in each.

Of the four projects, only one will offer an affordable workforce housing option.

In the heart of downtown

Two city parking lots behind the Downtown Plaza will be redeveloped by Devreco, the developer responsible for other downtown projects including Headquarters Live, with a multiuse plan including a mix of retail, apartments, park areas and parking.

In a deal approved by the City Council in October 2015, Devreco will pay $225,000 for Lots 1 and 11 bordered by Camden, Division, West Market streets and Circle Avenue. The sale has not yet been finalized because of title issues with the property, but those are expected to be resolved soon, Day said.

BACKGROUND: Salisbury Council OKs sale of two downtown parking lots

Devreco is now working on plans to submit to the Planning and Zoning Commission, Day said. Preliminary designs for the project shows multistory buildings with 200 apartments above ground level retail and restaurant spaces.

In the meantime, the city is continuing to use the parking lots and collect fees until Devreco is ready to begin construction.

The contractor will be required to replace all the existing parking spaces as part of the new design.

Apartments and a public market

Another city parking lot on Route 50 next to the drawbridge will be developed with up to 80 affordable apartment units above a public market hall and restaurant.

Green Street Housing will pay $10,000 for Lot 30 in a deal approved by the City Council in April.

Day said the developer is awaiting approval of state tax credits that will allow them to offer rents in some units below market rate.

The project “must be iconic and function as a signature landmark for downtown Salisbury,” according to the contract. The development is expected to serve as a link between downtown and the marina.

Riverfront living

Two waterfront parcels at the Port of Salisbury Marina will soon be developed with a mix of commercial and 50 residential units, and it could be the first of the projects to get underway.

“They’re probably months away from starting construction,” Day said.

City Council members last July approved a deal to sell one of the lots at the city-owned marina for $1 and to lease the second for $1 per year over a 50-year term to Salisbury Development Group LLC.

The development will include a multistory building facing the marina, with apartments above the first-level commercial spaces, said Keith Fisher, the architect for the project. The outdoor area will include a large-screen television and a stage area that would likely be used for movie nights, viewing sports events or New Year’s ball drops.

BACKGROUND: Salisbury City Council inks marina development deal

The developer also has agreed to build a boathouse on the leased portion of the land which is near the Rivers Edge apartment complex. The city will continue to own the land at the boathouse and marina, but Salisbury Development Group also will take over day-to-day operations of the marina, including maintenance.

Fisher said the developer already has letters of intent for more than 50 percent of the commercial spaces, including “interactive river” tenants for the boathouse.

“It looks like the market is receiving that project very well,” he said.

There has been no active marketing on the apartments so far, but no problems are anticipated with renting them once they are available, he said

The developer will submit plans to the city in February and will seek building permits in March or April, Fisher said.

At the crossroads

Salisbury Development Group also was selected by the city in November to develop Parking Lot 10 at the intersection of Routes 13 and 50 adjacent to the state office building and the site of a weekend flea market.

In its request for proposals, the city said it was seeking a “highly aesthetic, quality mixed-use project” on Lot 10 that meets certain goals for housing, jobs, business, eateries and institutional uses.

The project will include about 200 apartments as well as commercial spaces that could include a hotel, grocery store, restaurants, retail stores and offices in multiple towers connected by ground floor spaces, Fisher said.

“We’re trying to create a development that’s truly mixed use,” he said.

BACKGROUND: City OKs contract to develop downtown parking lot

The marina and Lot 10 are the first projects in the Salisbury area for David Perlmutter, a principal with the Salisbury Development Group, but he has development experience in Prince Georges County and in nearby Seaford where he is building the Residences at River Place along the Nanticoke River.

On Twitter @LizHolland5