Laurel Planning Commission Okays Controversial Apartment Redevelopment

Plans to redevelop a 60-year-old apartment complex in Laurel pushed forward this week after the city’s Planning Commission recommended approval of the project.

The Laurel Leader reported that commissioners voted unanimously in favor of the project, which would see the existing 79-unit Laurel Gardens complex demolished and redeveloped as a 114-unit complex. The complex sits along Park Avenue, Ninth Street and Phillip Powers Drive.

Laurel Reality Co., the site’s owner, is proposing to spend about $10 million on the project, which would be done in phases.

Residents to have the development curtailed, citing that additional units would mean increased traffic that would overwhelm the roads around the development and reduce the community’s green space.

“We have concerns with the number of units in the space allowed,” said Grant Gross, a homeowner near the complex, to the Laurel Council on Monday. “I believe the number of units will cause traffic problems…. Our concern is that they’re trying to build a little too much.”

A second public hearing on the additional units will be held May 30 at the Laurel Municipal Building.