Apartment developers failed Tuesday to get permission from the city council to build an apartment complex on five acres of property in the Glen Iris neighborhood. The property, which is adjacent to George Ward Park, once belonged to the Knights of Columbus but the city acquired the property in 2004.

During a public hearing that went on for more than two hours, developers Herschel Hamilton and Michael Carpenter of Formation Methods (FM) and their partner, Crowne Development, explained that they had originally proposed building 36 single-family homes on the $1.4 million property, which would have been allowed under the Glen Iris land-use plan.

The developers proposed that the plan be amended to allow their 107 “high-end” apartments to be built instead of the single-family homes.

“Our agreement with the city required us to build town-homes and some single family homes. This has become economically unfeasible,” said Alton Parker, an attorney representing the developers.

Many Glen Iris neighborhood residents attended the hearing and spoke against the complex. The Glen Iris delegation was well prepared – they came with large placards detailing their positions. One of the placards featured a statement from the initial FM proposal which stated that FM thought apartments would “negatively impact” the Glen Iris area.

Councilor William Bell suggested that the city look into purchasing the property back from the developers, but no action was taken on the agenda item. In the end, councilors recommended that the Mayor’s office take up negotiations with the developer.

— Madison Underwood