Apartment Complex Owner Has Expansion Plans on Loomis Road

An apartment property management firm wants to build two large apartment buildings to replace The Chocolate House, which closed about a year ago.

Metropolitan Associates has an accepted offer to purchase The Chocolate House, 4121 S. 35th St., and the adjacent The Georgia Nut Company, 3645 W. Loomis Rd., a combined total of just over two acres.

The apartment management company, which owns the adjacent Loomis Hills, 4057 S. 35th St., would tear down both buildings and build two three-story, 30-unit market-rate apartment buildings.

The two buildings would be connected by a single-story community or business center. Both buildings would have underground and surface parking.

The purchased parcels would have to be rezoned from light manufacturing to multi-family residential or residential for the project to move forward. A land-use change also is required.

The combined 2012 assessed values of the two properties for sale is $833,600. Loomis Hills, a 90-unit, six-building complex built in 1966, was assessed at roughly $3.2 million in 2012.

The city estimates the two complexes combined would have 27.5 apartment units per acre.

Greenfield Police Chief Brad Wentlandt told city staff in an email the department opposes additional high-density housing because of the strain it puts on police and that “Greenfield is currently saturated with rental” properties.

“As for this specific development, we have concerns about the management of the adjacent property (Loomis Hills) due to an excessively high call volume,” Wentlandt said in his email. “The number of weapon, drug and disturbance calls here are greater than other similar rentals.

“This is an opportunity to facilitate change at Loomis Hills.”

The Chocolate House closed last February.

The apartment firm will present its conceptual project review to the Planning Commission at its meeting at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 11, at City Hall.