by Dima Armo

Germantown's western border will see a larger TraVure building than originally planned.

The Germantown Board of Mayor and Aldermen Monday unanimously approved a revised final plan for phase four of TraVure, which changed a 34,592-square-foot, two-story building to a 56,136-square-foot, three-story office and retail building on the southwest corner of Poplar Avenue and TraVure Drive East.

This is the third revision of TraVure's phase four outline.

Alderman Jon McCreery said TraVure is one of the first projects he's seen from start to finish.

"I've watched a good model of how a developer and a municipality can work together to create a positive investment for both of us," McCreery said.

Alderman Sherrie Hicks thanked developer Gill Properties for working on the project to make it just right for Germantown.

"This has gone through a couple iterations, and it goes back to 2015," Hicks said. "This will complete a piece. It's a gateway to our city, and we want it to look good and come to fruition."

The Planning Commission in 2015 approved a preliminary plan for phase four, featuring a 34,100-square-foot, two-story building with surface parking.

Gill Properties went back to the commission in 2016 for the first revision of the final phase four plan, requesting to change it to a 47,396-square-foot, three-story building with underground and surface parking — the commission approved it. The developers went to the Planning Commission again in 2018 for its second revision approval of a 34,592-square-foot, two-story building with only surface parking.

Gill Properties then returned to the commission Nov. 1 for another approved revision to create a 56,136-square-foot, three-story office and retail building with surface parking.

Gill Properties President Ray Gill said multiple economic changes influenced the site plan change including market and retail demand, office-usage patterns and COVID-19.

"Basically offices and office workers have adopted a hybrid office attendance regime," Gill said referring to the state of working during the COVID-19 pandemic. "We project 3.5 days per on average so that reduces the parking requirements and our thinking is shared by planners and governments."

TraVure is a 10-acre, $125 million mixed-use development for offices, retail and restaurants.

The new building will feature about 18,000 square feet on the first floor for retail and about 35,500 square feet for the second- and third-floor offices, according to the phase four site plans. The 2-acre project will also have about 2,500 square feet of common area.

The site plans also show 104 surface parking spots, with four of them reserved for handicap parking.

Construction will take one year, but building commencement will be decided in 2023, Gill said.

Gill said the company is currently in talks with "fine restaurants and quality retailers for this rare location on Poplar in Germantown."

Across the development, TraVure currently has a Hilton Garden Inn, Home2 Suites by Hilton as well as tenants in the office building including JPMorgan Chase, New York Life, Robert Baird Securities, Unum Insurance, First Bank, Royal Bank of Canada and Mid-America Apartment Communities.