The current state of affairs of the 500 Miller Ave. project as of Sept. 24, 2020.
The current state of affairs of the 500 Miller Ave. project as of Sept. 24, 2020.
It’s been nearly two years since the Mill Valley Planning Commission rejected a proposal, within an informal study session, from the then-owner of the 500 Miller Avenue project to turn it into either a) a project containing 28 condo units varying from small to large, including seven below market rate units, 4,030 square feet of retail space and all of the required parking for the units contained on site or b) a 19-unit iteration with three below market units and 4,450 square feet of commercial space.
Over those two years, the property at 500 Miller has seen minimal activity, beyond being home to Mill Valley’s most inviting would-be rock climbing wall. Maxemin never went back to the city with another proposal because he already inherited an approved nine-unit project with zero below market units. That project was approved by the city in 2011 and grandfathered in under state law.
At the time, Maxemin told city officials, “We have an already approved project that I inherited, that I will build if I have to. But we think we can do a lot better for this community in terms the quality of the project and the number of units that we’ll have for workforce housing.”
Fast forward two years and the Mill Valley Planning earlier this month approved a new color scheme for the approved project, which has seen some hints of renewed activity of late.
Need a reminder of what the project will look like? Check out the rendering at right.