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<br /> <br />May 23, 2024 <br />Page 3 <br /> <br /> <br /> <br />2. Property Description and Background <br />The Property consists of two parcels within the Arden Hills Corporate Center (the “Center”) <br />located off Lexington Avenue just north of the Boston Scientific corporate campus. The Center <br />is 16.6 acres and is made up of four <br />parcels. Each parcel includes a <br />building, access rights and dedicated <br />parking. The buildings at 4293 and <br />4295 have historically served individual <br />tenants but have a shared common <br />wall. The Center is subject to a Master <br />Planned Unit Development (MPUD) <br />approved by the City in 2017. The <br />Property and the Center are zoned I-1- <br />Limited Industrial District and guided for <br />Light Industrial and Office use. <br />The MPUD governs the site plan <br />including parking allocation between <br />the parcels and stormwater at the Center. While we originally proposed rezoning the Property <br />to I-Flex where schools are a conditional use, because the MPUD impacts all four buildings, <br />rezoning would trigger a significant MPUD amendment and potentially require the 4255 and <br />4265 buildings limit their uses to those permitted within the I-Flex District. For this reason, we <br />are interested in pursuing a text amendment to the I-1 District to conditionally allow for school <br />and religious uses at the Property subject to use performance standards. No exterior changes <br />to the Property are proposed. The current tenants of both buildings have elected not to renew <br />their leases at this time. The School has entered into a non-exclusive letter of intent in order to <br />conduct initial due diligence on the building and seek guidance from the City. <br />Like many single purpose structures, office and industrial buildings can sometimes seem like <br />challenging candidates for adaptive reuse. Although not every industrial or office space is <br />suited for reuse or transition to an educational environment, this facility is uniquely compatible <br />with the proposed interior redesign. Private schools, as a subset of the institutional real estate <br />market, face significant challenges in finding available space for either new construction or <br />conversion within the metro area. Schools risk losing enrollment if they relocate far from <br />established facilities. The Property is served by significant parking capacity, has access to a <br />major commercial corridor in Lexington Avenue and is benefited by existing residential homes <br />within walking distance of the buildings, while being supported by extensive greenspace and <br />Cummings Park. <br />3. Property Characteristics <br />a. Site Design <br />The School proposes to operate out of the existing buildings and utilize the current parking and <br />access allocated to the Property. As depicted in the images below- the 4295 building benefits <br />from an interior courtyard and architecturally inviting entrance. Exterior courtyard space links <br />the two buildings. The School would benefit from this outdoor space and would like to see it <br />used as an outdoor classroom or lunch area, but proposes to work with the surrounding office