Apartments to be rebuilt where fatal fire occurred

Iconic Village Apartments and Vintage Pads will be “grandfathered in” to nonconforming density and parking conditions when owners rebuild the structures damaged in the deadly 2018 fire, but current fire safety and building codes will be met.

At its meeting Thursday, the city’s Zoning Board of Adjustments and Appeals voted to reinstate “certain non-conforming aspects of the properties” that had been in effect before the fire. According to the request made to the zoning board, the proposed project will result in a total density of 28 units per acre, which was the density in place before the fire but exceeds the base density of 24 units per acre. Prior to the fire there last summer, the property had a Planning Development District overlay that allows density of up to 30 units per acre. The site had 128 units with 226 bedrooms before the fire; the proposed rebuild would have 128 units with 266 bedrooms.

The parking area, which was not up to the city’s present requirements or design and landscaping standards before the fire, will be allowed to have 94 percent of the 276 parking spaces that the city’s current code requires. Previously, the parking lot had about 93 percent of the number of spaces required by the current code. Moreover, the new construction will be allowed to reflect “improved, but not full, compliance with the current multi-family design standards” including building placement, street frontages and specific architectural requirements.

However, the request states that new buildings will be up to current standards in several areas, including building and fire safety codes. Some improvements will extend to existing buildings, according to the request.

“Existing buildings in the plan will be refitted with interconnected smoke alarm systems, fire extinguishers in each apartment unit, and building alterations to slow down the spread of fire to improve their fire safety to bring the structures into greater conformance with current codes,” the request states. “The ownership is also committed to working with the Fire Marshal and other city staff to explore additional retrofit options.”

New sidewalks will be included, storm water quality and control facilities will be worked into the reconstruction project, and impervious cover will be reduced from current percentages. Other proposed changes will bring the complex closer to compliance with current multifamily development standards, such as parking locations, putting buildings closer to the street and other requirements.

Five people died and many were injured, some critically, when fire swept through Building 5 of Iconic Village and spilled over onto Vintage Pads before dawn on July 20. Investigators have ruled the fire “incendiary” and have put out a reward of $10,000 for information leading to the arrest of the person or persons responsible.