Modified Noodles & Co. Site Plan OK’d

A site plan for 2161 W. Stadium Blvd. – where a Noodles & Co. restaurant is planned – received approval from the Ann Arbor planning commission at its July 17, 2012 meeting.

A site plan for that location – site of the former Sze-Chuan West, adjacent to Bell’s Diner and Stadium Hardware – had been previously approved by commissioners at their March 6, 2012 meeting, and subsequently by city council in April. But the future tenant wanted to revise the site plan and shift the building 21 feet to the north. The new location provides space for one row of parking along the south side of the building, to be accessed from the Big M car wash site at 2151 W. Stadium.

The existing 4,300-square-foot restaurant has already been demolished. The proposal calls for building a new 2,679-square-foot one-story restaurant with a 615-square-foot unenclosed patio at the front of the building. The 1.15-acre site is located on the west side of West Stadium, south of Liberty.

The site plan approval would be contingent on a land division request that’s currently being reviewed by the city’s planning staff. The division would separate the restaurant parcel from a larger parcel at 2151 W. Stadium, where the Big M car wash is located. Both parcels are owned by Chuck Gallup of Gallup Properties.

Another contingency relates to an easement that allows the site to access West Stadium. Currently, there’s a 10-foot access easement to the north – a shared driveway with 2163-2177 W. Stadium, where the building that houses Bell’s Diner and Stadium Hardware is located. However, the owner of that property is unwilling to expand that easement. Instead, a 20-foot permanent access easement across the adjacent property to the south – where the Big M car wash is located – will be required. No drive-through is proposed for the restaurant.

There will be 30 parking parking spaces – 22 in the back of the building and eight along the south side.

This brief was filed from the city council’s chambers on the second floor of city hall at 301 E. Huron, where the planning commission meetings are held. A more detailed report will follow.