A developer received approval Wednesday night from the Waukesha Plan Commission to construct a 42-unit apartment building at 456 W. Main St.

The Kendal Lofts are proposed to be located along the Fox River on the west end of downtown Waukesha. The project has met with some criticism and concerns about parking availability in the downtown area, while others have publicly supported the project.

The first floor of the four-story building is parking and the next three floors are for apartment units. The original plans called for underground parking, which was not feasible because of flooding concerns given the proximity of the Fox River. The plans involve razing the vacant building that previously housed O’Brien Photography.

Minor changes were introduced to the Plan Commission as it approved the final plans with a conditional use permit. One of those changes was ensuring balconies would not hang over the sidewalk on West Main Street.

The project passed with Commissioner Joan Francoeur voting against the plans and Commissioner R.G. Keller abstaining because he is the architect involved with the project.

The project includes plans to lease parking spaces across the Fox River to alleviate parking pressures for the area businesses on the west end of downtown Waukesha. But that didn’t satisfy all who were concerned.

Alderman Steve Johnson said people currently don’t follow the parking ordinances that are posted throughout the city.

“The whole west side of Main Street is going to be parked in by people who live in this place,” Johnson said. “… People are not going to walk two blocks in the middle of winter.”