April 20, 2020

Some longtime farmland surrounded by development on East 57th Street likely will become a mix of apartments, retail and office space.

Lloyd Cos. is planning a project on 16 acres in the area of 57th Street and Bahnson Avenue, just east of the horse farm at the corner.

It would be developed in phases, beginning this summer on the southwest side of the property. Ultimately, the vision is for multiple apartment buildings, with three-story mixed-use buildings along 57th Street.

“We see this as a great location for apartments in a growing part of our community,” said Luke Jessen, Lloyd’s development director of hospitality and special projects.

“The southeast quadrant of our city has seen exponential home growth over the past several years, and we’re seeing commercial growth starting to take off as well – this area has been a popular location for suburban offices, and now with the addition of true retail spaces like The Barrel House, the new Flyboy Donuts, as well as the new Plains Commerce Bank branch and future Sanford clinic, this area will continue to boom.”

The apartments that start construction this year would be available to rent in the spring of 2021.

The project will feature a few different building types with various layouts and finishes. In the first phase, there are two three-story buildings proposed with 36 apartments each and two two-story buildings with 16 apartments each.

“We believe this fits this neighborhood well by providing for a broad range of families with many one- through three-bedroom apartment layouts,” Jessen said. “We would consider this a workforce-style project – it will feature some upscale finishes within each apartment and feature a very upscale community building.”

Amenities would include a fitness center, swimming pool, community room and dog park. Those are scheduled to be part of the first phase.

The development also would include an extension of Bahnson from 57th to the south into the Whispering Woods neighborhood.

The second phase is planned to have the same number of apartments as the first. Phases three and four would be along 57th Street. Those are envisioned as a three-story mixed-use building, with office or retail on the main level and apartments on the upper floors.

“Our plan would be to work across the southern half of the site first, then move forward with the additional phases toward 57th Street in the next 12 to 24 months,” Jessen said.

The 16-acre parcel was marketed as the Millette Trust Land. It’s adjacent to a 15-acre parcel that is still family-owned and where those driving by are used to seeing horses graze.

There was a lot of interest in the Millette land, including multiple offers, according to Michael Bender of Bender Commercial Real Estate Services, who had it listed.