Pictured is the design of the new Windsor Manor apartment building approved at Wednesday’s Marysville Design Review Board meeting. It is set to replace the former three-story high-rise building that burnt down in 2014.
(Image submitted)
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A new building will rise out of the ashes of the old Windsor Manor building that burnt down in 2014.
The Marysville Design Review Board unanimously approved an application for a new residential building at Windsor Manor.
Andrew Showe, of Windsor Manor, LLC, said his company is looking to replace the previous three story high rise with a two-story building at the same site. The new structure will feature 32 units and an elevator.
Showe said Windsor Manor generally caters to residents 55 and older. Showe said there are currently about 166 units at Windsor Manor.
“I will tell you that at this point, there are enough applications at that office today to fill up this whole building,” Showe said.
About 1:11 a.m., May 11, 2014, a woman from apartment 20H called 911 to report her couch was on fire. The four-alarm fire destroyed the three-story high-rise structure at 207 Windsor Drive. At the time, 45 of the complex’s 47 apartments were occupied.
On the morning after the fire, several residents at Windsor said the occupant admitted she accidentally started the fire with a cigarette.
Investigators determined the fire did start on the couch and ruled the cause of the fire as “unsafe cigarette smoking.”
The woman was not charged in connection to the four-alarm fire. No firefighters were injured battling the fire.
Showe said the woman’s oxygen accelerated the fire.
When the fire initially occurred, Showe Management Company, which operated the facility, worked to find alternate housing for residents at other properties it owns. Some residents went to live with relatives.
Officials from the American Red Cross along with officials from the county and other social service organizations expressed concern that “affordable housing is limited” in the community.
The charred remains of the high rise were leveled in late 2014.
Showe said he’s been working with Marysville Housing, Inc., which has sponsored the project.
There will be a community room, a centralized office, fitness room and other residential amenities.
Showe also emphasized the building’s energy efficiency. There will be solar panels on the roof to provide electricity to the building.
Board member Tim Schacht commended the plan’s inclusion of solar panels. He said it’s been a long time since an application has come through that uses them.
“I think that’s awesome,” Schacht said. “I think it even adds a nice character to the building.”
The plan also includes a community garden area. Showe said he’s not sure how often the garden will be used, but Union County Senior Services recommended it.
“So we’re going to give it a try,” Showe said.
He said there will also be a sidewalk that goes around the garden for residents who want to go for a walk.
Schacht said the building’s design is balanced well. He said the building will be a benefit to the community.
“I’m fine with what’s shown right now,” Schacht said.