LAFAYETTE — Lafayette city leaders granted approval earlier this month for a developer to move forward with plans to build a new 684-unit apartment complex.

The community, called Sundar Apartments, is planned for a roughly 36-acre property on the northwest corner of Dillon Road and U.S. Highway 287. Denver-based Milestone Development Group LLC the project’s developer.

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Prior to approval of plans earlier this month, Sundar Apartments faced pushback from residents in a neighboring subvision who expressed concerns about over-development in the still mostly rural area.

“The metro area has growing pains, obviously,” Lafayette economic development director Roger Caruso said during the Nov. 5 Lafayette City Council hearing on the apartment plans.

But Caruso also emphasized benefits the new multi-family housing would bring to the city. One major benefit would be the prevention of any large-scale oil and gas drilling on the property.

Details regarding a buffer zone between Sundar Apartments and the adjacent Maple Grove community must be worked out prior to the start of construction.