Campana apartment project opponents' campaign grows

Opponents of a plan to convert the Campana building in Batavia to mostly apartments have picked up the pace of protest, distributing handbills Saturday to houses in Batavia.

The flyers reiterate what's posted on notocampana.com.

Among the points:

• That the developer is asking for a waiver from the number of parking spaces required.

• That 10 of 16 current business tenants will be evicted.

• That the intersection of Fabyan Parkway and Route 31 can't safely handle additional traffic from residents. The group says there have been more than 70 accidents at the intersection since January 2014, but it does not cite a source.

The flyer and the website also urge people to contact aldermen in Batavia and Geneva. The building is in the city of Batavia on the Geneva-Batavia border.

The building opened in 1936. It housed the Campana Co., which made cosmetics. It was remodeled in 1999 to house offices. Additions hold a mattress shop and a golf instruction business. The building is on the National Register of Historic Places because of its Art Deco and Bauhaus architecture.

Evergreen Real Estate Group wants to put 80 apartments in the building. At least 64 would be designated "affordable." The business has received federal Low-Income Housing Tax Credits to finance the plan.

The tax credits are for projects that serve low-income households, defined as those making no more than 60 percent of the median household income for the area. The median for a four-person household is $79,000, meaning the rent charged would have to be affordable to a family making $47,400 or less.

City code would require the building to have 153 parking spaces for residents, and 148 for businesses. The developer wants to have 104 for residents and 38 for businesses. It would establish a "land bank" where another 302 spaces could be built, if needed, according to a parking study it submitted to the city.

The application, traffic study, parking study and more can be found on the city's website under "Project Update Links."

Representatives from "No to Campana" could not be reached for comment Monday. There are no names on the website.

Evergreen has established a "Yes to Campana" website.

The city has not set a date for the plan commission/zoning board of appeals to review the application.