Provo OKs Arbors on the Avenue

PROVO — The upscale walkable community at the north end of University Avenue is growing again, but this time the action is across the street from the Shops at Riverwoods.

The Provo City Council last week unanimously approved The Arbors on the Avenue, 112 condos and town homes with underground parking, a park, a clubhouse and easy access to the Provo River Trail and the restaurants, movie theaters and shops at the Riverwoods.

All that's missing is a grocery store, and that need may be filled soon, too. Preliminary talks have taken place between Riverwoods ownership and a grocer to build a small market just north of Borders.

The high number of units proposed for The Arbors on the Avenue caused some concern for members of the planning commission and City Council. The developers initially approached the city about building 96 units with 23,000 square feet of commercial retail space, but vacancies in the Riverwoods retail shops led them to instead ask for 136 units.

That proposal passed the planning commission by a 3-2 vote, then ran into opposition before the City Council from neighboring residents and developments. That led to an unusual situation where Arbors developer Bruce Cameron and partners Greg and Devin Bird of C&A Construction found it necessary to reach understandings in private meetings with competitors to feel certain they would secure the required 5-2 vote of the City Council for the zoning concessions they needed.

"That's the first time we've ever had to meet with competitors and the city," C&A's Devin Bird said.

The vote was unanimous, but City Council members said they would never again approve a project with such high density outside of the downtown area. The exact density of the project remained open to interpretation. C&A project manager Greg Bird calculated it at 20 units per acre based on the site's total of 5.6 acres. City officials reached a different, higher figure because they don't count about half of the property due to slopes too steep for use.

The $26 million project likely will compete for young married professionals and empty nesters with The Village at Riverwoods and Midtown Village on State Street in Orem. The developer of The Village at Riverwoods recently sold the last of 142 units; Midtown Village is in the early stages of construction.

More condo projects are underway on or near University Avenue. The Trellis on the Green, a set of luxury condos under construction adjacent to Riverside Country Club, is expected to be done in the spring.