A revised concept plan for a senior housing development on Esterbook Avenue envisions 42 units instead of 60 units originally defined in a redevelopment plan.

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The Redevelopment Agency designated The Michaels Organization as redeveloper of the Esterbook Avenue site following a presentation of the concept at a special meeting on Wednesday night.

“All signs point to us being on the right path to get the project moving forward,” Redevelopment Agency Executive Director Landolfi said before the presentation to commissioners, with the next step being to designate a redeveloper. He said they’re going through final due diligence issues and expected to meet on site with the seller on Thursday to “work through those issues pretty quickly.” The transfer of title should take place in the next 30 to 60 days, according to Landolfi. There’s been some preliminary discussion with Union County for additional funding which are “going very well,” he added.

City Council this year authorized borrowing $2.6 million to acquire four properties for the project. Demolition of existing homes on the site took place several weeks ago.

The Michaels Organization has a portfolio of about 77,000 units in 37 states. Bruce Morgan, president of the Camden-based firm, was involved with developing The Willows on Central Avenue as a partner with The Ingerman Group.

Jessica O’Donnell and Josh Eckert of Urban Practice, a Camden-based architectural planning firm that’s separate from the Michaels Organization but exclusive to Michaels, presented details on the plans to commissioners at their meeting on Wednesday night.

The number of units was reduced partially due to financing and balancing of the building and site cost and rents, according to Eckert. “Upon walking the site, 42 seemed more appropriate than 60,” he said, adding that the neighborhood includes single-family homes and some offices and churches.

The 42 units would include 32 one-bedrooms and 6 two-bedrooms, which Eckert described as “pretty typical” of senior housing developments across the state. It also would include management units and fitness and community rooms. The primary entrance will be to the south about mid-block of Esterbrook.

Zoning requires 33 parking spaces on site and the plan proposes 35 spaces in a surface parking lot behind the building, with one entrance and one exit on the southern part of the site, closest to a neighboring church. It also meets requirements for a certain number of electric vehicle parking spaces.

“We are still in the conceptual phase, there are some things we need to still work out,” Eckert said, adding that recommendations and suggestions on style and other things could be incorporated into the building.

Some concepts used at The Willows will be used here, Eckert said, such as breaking up the building massing and facade and direct access units on the ground floor.

Materials were chosen to complement the existing neighborhood buildings, including a mansard roof, but a different color “so it’s not just copy and paste of what’s around corner,” O’Donnell said. The wood frame construction building will feature white brick with panels in a gray and white tone and a very dark roof and dark trim pieces at cornice. Some large window openings will provide natural daylight into units and Juliette balconies with large windows.

The main entrance is noticeably different from the rest of the building as a “visual cue to anyone walking on street,” O’Donnell said. A canopy provides an articulated place for a drop-off area, slated to be in front of the main entrance but no curb cut or deviation of the sidewalk. There is an opportunity to put the drop-off area in the back but it seemed like it might need a separate driveway to come back out, O’Donnell said, adding that they felt this was the better proposal to respect the neighborhood. A large tree that’s there now should be able to stay after construction.

The building will be energy efficient and use mini-splits but not PTAC (packaged terminal air conditioner) units like across the street, Morgan said, which he described as loud and expensive. Across the street is the 4-story, 51-unit Jack and Margaret Myers Senior Residence, which was first proposed to City Council in late 2007 and completed almost a decade ago.

The project would require some variances from the redevelopment plan, such as allowing for ground-floor units, a covered entrance that would extend beyond a 15-foot setback requirement, and parking not being visible from the street but located beneath the building. Financially, parking beneath the building would not work and most of the 33 spaces located behind the building are not visible from the street.

An application could come before the Planning Board before the end of the year, Eckert said after the meeting.

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