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ARDEN HILLS PLANNING COMMISSION – February 4, 2015 2 694 and bordered by Health Partners and the Northwoods Office Building to the east and UTC Fire & Security building to the west. City Planner Streff stated that as proposed, the Red Fox Business Center would consist of two (2) buildings totaling 93,300 square feet. Building 1 is proposed at 43,300 square feet in size and Building 2 is proposed at 50,000 square feet in size. The buildings would be designed into individual tenant bays ranging from 5,000 square feet and up to allow businesses to take as much or as little space as needed. Two driveways are proposed to provide access to the development, the first along the eastern property line for passenger vehicles and the second along the western property line for truck traffic. In this case, it is important to separate passenger vehicles and truck traffic whenever possible in order to minimize conflicts. Parking areas for passenger vehicles would be located along the front façade of Building 1 and along the front and side façades of Building 2. As indicated on the plan set, Building 1 provides a parking area consisting of 82 parking stalls and Building 2 has 80 parking stalls incorporated into its design. In this development, truck docks have been provided along the western façade of Building 1 and along the southeast façade of Building 2. The docks on these building have been positioned on the site to minimize their view from adjacent rights-of-way and neighboring buildings. Where less desirable views exist on the site, increased landscaping has been provided by the applicant. City Planner Streff indicated that both of the proposed buildings would be similar in design and use. The applicant expects 50% wholesaling and warehousing uses with the remainder of the space used for office space, business services, research and development, manufacturing and processing (class 1), retail, and other similar uses. Given the visibility of the property from Interstate 694 and Snelling Avenue, Roberts Management Group believes the project could attract some commercial showroom and retail tenants as well. City Planner Streff explained that the buildings would be constructed with high quality tilt-up concrete panels with exposed aggregate. Decorative metal and anodized aluminum would be used as accent materials to provide architectural interest to the building façades and to create focal points for entryways and corners of the buildings. The applicant intends to use a significant amount of glass coverage on the front façades of each building by incorporating ribbon windows. Glass coverage on the front façade of both buildings would be approximately 42% with an average of approximately 22%-25% glass coverage when combined between all façades. Building 1 would be designed with a 22 foot clear height and Building 2 would be constructed with a 24 foot clear height in order to allow tenants to maximize the use of their space and the ability to store products vertically. City Planner Streff noted that Planning Case 14-036 includes three requests: 1. Master Planned Unit Development 2. Final Planned Unit Development 3. Conditional Use Permit City Planner Streff commented that the Planned Unit Development process is a tool that provides additional flexibility for development that an underlying zoning district would not otherwise allow. For example, a PUD may make exceptions to setbacks, lot coverage, parking requirements, signage, building materials, or landscaping requirements. It is intended to overcome the limitations of zoning regulations and improve the overall design of a project.