Three months after community backlash torpedoed plans to demolish the Ted’s Frostop to make way for student housing, developers have revised their plans for an apartment building on the South Claiborne Avenue site.
The Robert family, which owns the Frostop building and surrounding properties, is now proposing to preserve the midcentury diner and construct a scaled-down complex that they say addresses concerns around parking, preservation, density and traffic.
The plan, which is still preliminary, envisions keeping the diner and its parking lot intact, while erecting a three-story apartment building beside it, camelback-style, on the site of a former drive-thru bank and pizza shop, with 26 units instead of the 39 originally proposed.
“The current version of the revised site plan centers around the existing Ted’s Frostop building with newly built dining space for the diner and premium multi-family construction set behind the diner,” Matthieu Robert, principal of the family’s real estate company, said in a statement. “This site plan embraces Ted’s Frostop, preserving its familiar home and paving the way for its long-term success. The project reflects a commitment to revitalize a legacy commercial property in a mixed-use environment.”
Unpaused project
In July, the Roberts, owners of Robert Fresh Market, filed documents with the city outlining their revised plans for the property. It follows the withdrawal of their appeal of the Historic District Landmark Commission’s denial of their demolition request earlier this spring…