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HomeMy WebLinkAbout03-26-12-WS 'It EN HILLS Approved: April 30, 2012 CITY OF ARDEN HILLS, MINNESOTA CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION MEETING MARCH 26,2012 5:30 P.M. -ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL CHAMBERS CALL TO ORDER/ROLL CALL Pursuant to due call and notice thereof, Mayor David Grant called to order the City Council Work Session meeting at 5:30 p.m. Present: Mayor David Grant, Council Members Brenda Holden, Fran Holmes, Nick Tamble, and Ed Werner Absent: None. Also present: City Administrator Patrick Klaers, Community Development Director Jill Hutmacher, Public Works Director Terry Maurer, City Planner Meagan Beekman, and Assistant City Engineer John Anderson. 1. ADOPT AGENDA It was the consensus of the City Council to accept the Work Session agenda as presented. 2. AGENDA ITEMS A. Planniniz Case#12-007—Holiday Inn City Planner Beekman presented the City Council with information on Planning Case #12-007 regarding the redevelopment of the Holiday Inn, located at 1201 County Road E. It was noted the site was owned by TAT Properties and Stuart Companies. A brief history of the property was given by staff. It was explained that TAT Properties was now requesting Master and Final PUD approval for a 155-unit apartment building. City Planner Beekman described the proposed plan in further detail noting four of the units would be one-bedrooms with the remainder being studio apartments. She indicated the applicant would be installing a countertop, cabinet, sink, under-counter refrigerator and microwave in each unit. The site has communal kitchens available on each floor. She explained the building would be sprinkled and the elevator system would be upgraded to meet current fire code. ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION—MARCH 26, 2012 2 City Planner Beekman indicated the applicant was interested in phasing the building. This would allow the developer to complete the improvements on the first and second floor first with the third and fourth floors completed when the market demanded. Staff explained the request includes a lot split. As part of the subdivision requirement, the City will require several upgrades to the parking lot and green space. She noted the B-2 Zoning District requires 20% green space per lot and in order to meet these requirements, additional green space would be needed for Lot 1. City Planner Beekman stated staff has been working with the applicant since early January. Several revisions have been made to the first proposal. She reviewed the concerns of staff being the proposed density of the apartment complex, the kitchens and lack of cooking surface/oven, along with increased traffic generation. The phasing of the building was a concern to the County Sheriff and how to keep people out of the vacant space on the upper two floors. The mix of unit types was another concern as 151 units would be studio units. The development may have more success with additional one and two bedroom units. At this time, the applicant was seeking comments and questions from the Council on the proposed redevelopment. Councilmember Holden questioned how the old McGuire's site would be locked off from tenants if the space remained vacant. City Planner Beekman noted all of the improvements made on Level 1 and Level 2, would be open to the tenants, but the McGuire's space would be secured. Councilmember Holden asked for the size of the units. Rob Davidson, TAT Properties, stated the units would be approximately 300 square feet in size. Councilmember Holmes discussed comments received from the Planning Commission. Councilmember Werner questioned if this type of renovation had been done to any other hotels in the metro area. City Planner Beekman was aware of one completed in St. Paul in the 1980's. The hotel was turned into studio apartments and was now a shelter for homeless women. Mayor Grant requested further information on the definition of a kitchen. City Planner Beekman stated the city's building code defined a kitchen to include a sink with hot and cold water with a sewer connection, a sanitary prep area (countertop), refrigeration and cooking appliance. In Roseville, ovens and stoves are required however this is not spelled out specifically in the building code. Mayor Grant questioned if the city could make an amendment to this code requiring a cook top or stove. City Planner Beekman stated this was the case. ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION—MARCH 26, 2012 3 Mr. Davidson commented he has been excited about the prospect of converting the hotel into mixed use housing. He felt the concept would be an asset to the community and noted the phasing of the site would allow for the density and unit types to be determined based on market needs. Mr. Davidson indicated there was a large number of students and young professionals in the area that would benefit from this style of housing. Lisa, a representative of Stuart Companies, explained she has been in property management for the past 20 years. She has learned that multi-family needs have changed over the years and smaller units with larger amenities would be a draw. The exercise and Wi-Fi open spaces would suit the market and clientele well. Mr. Davidson addressed the kitchen concerns stating it was his intention to install a countertop, sink, refrigerator and microwave. He indicated the residents within these units would be younger, with perhaps a meal plan at a local campus and would not be preparing full meals. He noted the addition of the cook top/range would create additional fire and safety concerns. Councilmember Holden asked if the refrigerator would have a freezer. Mr. Davidson indicated the refrigeration units would have a freezer. Councilmember Holmes questioned if staff was aware of any new construction in the metro area installing only a microwave unit for the cooking appliance. City Planner Beekman stated this was done in St. Paul, but only through redevelopment and not new construction. The City of Minneapolis does not allow multi-family housing units to not have full kitchens. Staff researched student housing in Minneapolis surrounding the University of Minnesota. Her research found the units to have full kitchens and multiple bedrooms. Mayor Grant described the unit his daughter lived in for off-campus student housing. He did not understand how a microwave would be sufficient for cooking in a studio apartment. For this reason, he did not feel the proposed units would have much demand, and he supports ovens being in all the kitchens. Councilmember Holmes explained her daughter has an apartment without a stove. She stated each individual has different preferences and for those individuals seeking to live alone, the proposed development was a great option. Councilmember Tamble questioned what the rent would be for these units. Mr. Davidson anticipated the rent to range from $60041,200 per month. The $600 would be for the studio units and the one-bedroom units could be closer to $800. He stated double occupancy units would be over$800 per month. ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION—MARCH 26, 2012 4 Councilmember Tamble questioned if two people could occupy 300 square feet. He felt this was not enough space for proper living quarters. He understood this to be the case in New York City, but did not understand the reasoning behind allowing this in Arden Hills. Mr. Davidson explained this was within City Code. Councilmember Tamble expressed concern with the proposed redevelopment missing the market with this use. He questioned how the developers would handle the third and fourth floor phasing if the first and second floors were not rented out in a timely manner. Mr. Davidson stated adjustments would have to be made to the model to meet the needs of the market. He explained a great deal of money would be spent on renovating the gathering spaces to draw people to the unique amenities of this location. The proposed facilities would attract young professionals and students. Councilmember Holden stated Northwestern College had trouble getting students into this location. She expressed concern with this location turning into Polynesian Village. Mr. Davidson explained again his projections and stated he was proposing to invest a great deal of money into redesigning the site to meet the needs of the market. He has a long track record of success in the community and noted the proposed project would be the same. He felt the proposed project had exciting potential. Mayor Grant had a great deal of reservation with the proposal and the small size of the units and felt that this was a risky proposal for the City. Councilmember Werner questioned if market research had been conducted on the demand for a 300 square foot studio unit. Mr. Davidson replied that formal market research had not been conducted, but stated the Phase I and Phase 11 would allow for flexibility in the unit sizes. Lisa indicated the rent charged for these units would allow for work-force housing and offered a great facility for those working manufacturing jobs at $10-12 per hour. She did not anticipate this building to become low-income housing because the units would be too small to house large families. Councilmember Tamble asked for the reason the restaurant was not being redeveloped. Mr. Davidson commented the amenities offered through the redevelopment would drive the restaurant redevelopment. However, he anticipated this turning into a third tenant use, such as a coffee shop or day care facility. Mayor Grant questioned if the developer had considered turning all of the units into 600 square foot one-bedroom apartments, versus the 300 square foot studios. ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION—MARCH 26, 2012 5 Mr. Davidson stated this may work well, but he was hoping to find a mix of both versus only one or the other. Councilmember Holmes asked what the main concerns of Council were at this time. Councilmember Tamble stated the proposed size of the studio units was a concern for him. He felt tenants needed more than 300 square feet of living space. He proposed the units be more varied in size. Mayor Grant indicated a one-bedroom unit would be his preference versus the majority being studio units. He felt two bedroom units could also be renovated to attract additional clientele. Councilmember Holden questioned if the traffic study would require reduced density at the proposed site and if larger units would assist in reducing the density of the redevelopment. City Planner Beekman stated this was a concern for staff as the apartment complex would increase the flow of traffic in and out of this property. Mr. Davidson explained that the investment he was proposing in the site would be attracting professionals and not low-income individuals. He felt his proposal was viable and would meet demands in the market. He was prepared to reduce the density to 120 units between all four floors, which would meet City code requirements. It was noted this reduction would create more variety in the mix of units. Councilmember Holmes stated this would lead to 85 studio units and 35 one-bedroom units. Mayor Grant commented again he did not feel the studios were units without a full kitchen with a stove. Mr. Davidson requested flexibility in that definition. Councilmember Holden indicated the young professionals just out of school may not be interested in sharing kitchen facilities. The smaller units may work for some individuals while the additional one-bedroom units would fill another need. Mayor Grant stated his grandmother lives in an assisted living facility and has a small refrigerator, stove/oven and full kitchen. This allows her to still cook if she feels the need to prepare food. He encouraged the developer to look into the smaller options available in appliances. Councilmember Holmes explained that additional market research proving that the studio unit with the microwave oven kitchen would be viable may assist the Council in moving forward with this redevelopment. Mayor Grant indicated the Council always had the option to amend the City Code to further define what should and should not be included in a kitchen. ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION—MARCH 26, 2012 6 City Administrator Klaers commented the Council could direct staff to define the City Code further. City Planner Beekman noted she spoke with the City Attorney regarding this matter and the Council could make a revision before the redevelopment proceeded. Further discussion ensued regarding the International Building Code and how staff was interpreting this document. Mr. Davidson stated the units were smaller and the occupants are going to operate differently than in a traditional unit. He proposed placing a cook top in the one-bedroom units. Mayor Grant requested the Council summarize their comments and concerns for the applicant. Councilmember Holden had no additional comments at this time. Councilmember Tamble stated he would like to see more backing or proof for the demand on the market for the 300 square foot unit. Councilmember Werner expressed concern with the proposed size of the efficiency units. Councilmember Holmes indicated she supported the redevelopment and requested additional market research from the applicant. Councilmember Holden suggested the density be lowered and that cook tops be added to the units. Mayor Grant had concern with the number and size of the units. He was pleased with the amenities offered outside of the units, but requested the developer reconsider the amenities offered within each unit. He indicated this was an important property on a key corner of the City. He stated the Council would continue to work with the applicant to find a balance to make the PUD a success. 3. COUNCIL COMMENTS AND REQUESTS None. ADJOURN Mayor Grant adjourned the City Council Work Session meeting at 6:59 p.m. r Patrick Klaers David Grant City Administrator Mayor