1550 Richland Road FAQs
Auburn is a growing community with a need for a variety of housing types. We expect to draw families, young professionals, professionals associated with Auburn University, students and empty nesters as we are providing a range of housing types, outdoor amenities and retail. The development fits the intent of the Auburn 2030 comprehensive plan by providing a mix of housing types and retail in one community.
The District at Richland Road will bring much-needed neighborhood-oriented retail to the area. Restaurants, a coffee shop and small retail stores will provide area residents places to gather indoors and outside. The retail will be walkable and bikeable to the immediate and surrounding communities. Ample parking will be provided.
We plan to have approximately eight acres of open space, or about 25 percent of the total site. Open spaces include ample opportunity for outdoor gathering and building community and will be connected within the development and to a walking and biking trail.
All residents at The District will have access to amenities, including a pool, clubhouse and other outdoor activity areas.
The commercial village open space and amenities will invite people to enjoy outdoor dining, child-friendly recreation areas and plenty of outdoor gathering space.
In addition, a new bike and walking path will be created along Richland Road, connecting existing neighborhoods with the development.
All common areas within The District at Richland Road will be professionally landscaped and maintained by Trinitas, the developer.
Water at The District at Richland Road will be contained and managed on the site through a new stormwater retention area.
Trinitas is a developer that owns and manages its developments. We will have on site management during and after construction to ensure a smooth development process and management once the community is open.
The developer will provide management of the site during and post-construction. The District will attract a range of residents, and in our experience communities that have a mix of housing types and residents do not typically have noise issues. During and after construction, The District at Richland Road will meet Auburn’s noise and work hours requirements.
We plan to have 30 feet of undisturbed woods as a buffer, along with approximately another 30 feet of new plantings, between the north end of The District and Southridge Court. Please refer to The District at Richland Road Site Section in the Document Downloads on our website.
A traffic impact study for The District at Richland Road has been completed by a local independent consultant and has been delivered to the City for review. A draft of the study indicates turn lanes and signal timing adjustments are recommended as part of the proposed development. With such improvements, post-development traffic conditions are expected to be similar to existing conditions.
The design engineers are currently reviewing the feasibility and need for an additional entrance. We will provide an update as soon as possible.
We anticipate families with school age children living in the proposed community, but it is likely most will walk to school from The District for their children’s drop-off and pick-up.
Per the traffic impact study, the proposed development does not produce enough traffic to warrant a signal at either proposed entrance. Given the proximity to the existing signal at Shug Jordan Parkway and Richland Road, the City of Auburn would not consider a traffic signal viable at these locations. Adding a traffic signal would benefit only the development while increasing travel times along Richland Road.
The William Buechner Parkway is anticipated to pull 20-25% of the existing traffic off Richland Road. In evaluating the proposed project’s impact on existing roadway infrastructure, the traffic study takes a conservative approach and only assumes a 10%-15% reduction in vehicle load on Richland Road. Using this conservative estimate, the traffic study concludes that the proposed project could be accommodated at Shug Jordan Parkway and Richland Road, with traffic conditions expected to remain similar to current conditions.
The project’s traffic study area was defined in coordination with the City of Auburn and takes future growth along Richland Road into account. This information was gathered from previous studies as well as proposed development plans along Richland Road. The much-anticipated William Buechner Parkway has also been accounted for.
The construction entrance for the project will be determined with the City. We expect it will be somewhere along Richland Road.
Construction hours will follow City of Auburn requirements: “No construction work, including any site preparation work, any assembly, erection, demolition, alteration, repair or similar activity, or the operation of any construction equipment which is attended by noise shall begin before 7:00 a.m. on any construction project in a single-family neighborhood or in any commercial or multifamily district that is adjacent to a single-family neighborhood. No construction work as described above shall continue after 7:00 p.m. on any construction project.”
Due to new site grading, most existing trees along Richland Road would be removed and replaced with new trees and shrubs around the community perimeter. We have posted two options on our website In the Document Downloads section for landscaping the community perimeter. Option A is “code minimum”. Option B, which we prefer and are recommending, provides for a significant increase in trees and shrubs over “code minimum” to beautify the community.