Smaller unit sizes for Richardson apartment redevelopment recommended for approval

The conversion of a former hotel into an apartment complex in Richardson is progressing after an amendment to a planned development got the green light.

The Richardson City Plan Commission recommended approval of a planned development amendment to change the minimum unit size during its Jan. 16 meeting. The approval will allow developer Blue Ocean Real Estate to more easily convert hotel rooms inside the former Trellis extended-stay hotel, located between North Collins Boulevard and US 75, into studio and one-bedroom apartments.

Two-minute impact

The crux of the case before the commission was lowering the minimum area for units, based on square feet. According to city documents, studio apartments usually have a minimum area requirement of 450 square feet while a one-bedroom apartment has at least 500 square feet.

Assistant Director of Planning Chris Shacklett said the applicant was requesting a minimum size of 350 square feet for studio apartments and 400 square feet for the one-bedroom units because the existing hotel rooms do not have uniform sizes.

The apartment complex will have units spread across four buildings with a main clubhouse area, based on plans included in city documents.

The context

Richardson City Council previously approved the planned development ordinance to convert the former extended-stay hotel into an apartment complex in February 2023.

Prior to the recent request, the applicant did not have access to the existing buildings on the former Trellis campus, so exact measurements of the potential units were unknown until building permits were filed, Shacklett said.

What’s next?

Richardson City Council will consider final approval of the rezoning request at a future meeting. Based on city documents, consideration will not take place earlier than the Feb. 12 meeting.