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Proposed plan for apartment complex in Riverside

Neighbors are fighting to save their community after a developer proposed a plan to add more than 100 apartments to the Riverside area.

People think the complex would increase traffic, add crime and take away from the historic charm of the neighborhood.

“It would mess up a historical area in our city,” neighbor Sally Schroeder said.

Councilman Jim Love said that Kings Street in Riverside could be seeing some big changes in the future.

CenterState Bank is working with a developer to build a new bank on the property, along with an apartment complex.

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"They want to still have the bank there, but also sell the rest of the property," Love said. 
It would include at least 118 units and about 200 parking spots, but he said there are issues with the proposed plan.

“The height is higher than a lot of people would like with four stories,” Love said.

As of now, the property is zoned for commercial use.

“Currently, it’s not even zoned for residential, but they are asking for a PUD,” Love said.

Neighbors said they aren’t against development on this property, but they said they want something that would be better suited for the neighborhood.

“Homes would be nice, they have built quite a few homes and haven’t had trouble selling them,” Schroeder said.

Neighbors are worried a complex of this size would not only add crime to the area, but also traffic.

“It’s great to build new places for people to move into and help neighborhoods grow, but it also can cause traffic,” neighbor Rachel Wassel said.

Love said the area first has to be rezoned before the bank sells the land to the developer?