Following approval from the Ketchum Planning and Zoning Commission of a new mixed-use building, there may soon be more people heading to the town's light industrial area, and not just to take part in welding or cabinetmaking.
At their meeting on Monday, April 14, commission members approved a conditional-use permit and design review applications for a proposed 38,442-square-foot building to be located at 660 Bell Dr., across from Houston Lumber and behind Sun Valley Cleaners.
The building would contain six industrial units on the ground floor, each with a garage-style door and attached mezzanine levels. The second and third floors would house 10 offices and 14 studio apartments.
Michael Blash, the architect representing developer Bell Drive LLC, said eight of the office and condominium units would be directly connected. However, a Ketchum zoning ordinance requires that the remainder of the residences must also be "tied" to either an office or industrial space. As a result, the commission added a condition to the conditional-use permit requiring a plat note to ensure that the building follows that requirement.
Also among the conditions set by the commission was a construction mitigation plan, limiting the impact of construction on the neighborhood, which the developers will need to provide to obtain a building permit.
At a previous public hearing in March, Jeff Smith, a Bell Drive LLC partner, said the small condominium units would be priced around $200,000 and the offices at $300,000. He said the total cost of constructing the building would be $12 million.
Blash said that if everything goes to plan, the developers would like to begin building by the end of summer.
