Standard on Bond approved by Bel Air Planning Commission, construction to begin late 2024
Downtown Bel Air will see a transformation after the Bel Air Planning Commission unanimously approved the five-story Standard on Bond – a 50,000-square-foot mixed-use complex offering apartments, retail space, outdoor dining and office space.
The project, at 128 and 130 N. Bond St., was initially set for Planning Commission approval in March but was tabled due to what town officials said was “significant” pushback from the community.
Standard on Bond’s first floor will include 7,000 square feet of restaurant space for indoor and outdoor dining.
Site plans show that the outdoor dining area would wrap around the building and contain 81 seats; the first-floor indoor dining is proposed to have 116 seats.
According to the Planning Commission’s April 4 decision letter, the second floor to the fourth floor of the new complex will feature 30 one- and two-bedroom apartment units.
The fifth floor is slated for a 9,440-square-foot “mixed-use center” – likely to contain office space, developers say.
In October 2023, the Board of Appeals denied the project developer’s request to have 91 fewer commercial parking spaces and 40 fewer residential spaces than are required by the town code.
A staff report said the project should have 144 parking spaces. Site plans provided by the developer showed 128 parking spaces.
The developers requested that the board approve 79 “shared parking spaces,” which could be used by apartment residents, restaurant patrons and office workers with the understanding that parking availability will stagger throughout the day.
The commission approved 16 of the 79 proposed shared spaces, satisfying the 144-parking space requirement, and the project was approved.
Construction for the project is slated to begin late this year.