Key Points
• Core Spaces wants to transform the Cheetah Lounge strip club property at 887 Spring Street in Midtown into a 27-story student-focused high-rise.
• The Midtown Development Review Committee made numerous recommendations for the facade, landscaping, and bike storage areas.
The Midtown Development Review Committee (DRC) reviewed a redevelopment plan for a student high-rise proposed for the Cheetah Lounge property at its Oct. 14 meeting.
Developer Core Spaces wants to build the 27-story tower at 887 Spring St., which has been the home of the Cheetah Lounge strip club for nearly 40 years.
The student-focused tower would contain 532 units including 1,407 bedrooms and 6,527 square feet of ground-floor retail space. There would also be a 119-space parking deck and three rooms dedicated to bicycle parking.
Current plans show an entrance-only driveway on Spring Street and a two-way driveway along 8th Street for access to back-of-house services.
Much of the DRC’s feedback related to the building’s north-facing orientation along 8th Street, including power lines, street trees, fencing, and the façade.
The DRC recommended burying power lines along 8th to improve aesthetics and allow for the planting of Southern Sugar Maple trees. The DRC also said a planned fence on 8th was prohibited by code and recommended a simple grass lawn area with low evergreen hedges.
Another recommendation was to extend the Spring Street facade to 8th Street to increase visual interest, along with some type of large artwork.
The committee also suggested increasing the capacity of bike storage, including offering space to heavy e-bikes and wider tire bikes.
The development team said approximately 19,600 square feet of the north portion of the property would be reserved for a future development phase.