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CC_Minutes_2004_1220
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Roseville City Council
Document Type
Council Minutes
Meeting Date
12/20/2004
Meeting Type
Regular
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<br />-~'alcon Heights creates neW", <br />dralllatic gate\Vay to the city <br /> <br />By CLAYTON SCHANILEC <br />A special development is ris- <br />ing up brick by brick in Falcon <br />Heights. <br />The project at Larpenteur and <br />Snelling that will add over 170 <br />housing units to the area is special <br />for a significant difference from <br />other recent Midway develop- <br />ments-the driving force behind <br />the housing project is not the de- <br />veloper, it's the community. <br />Falcon Heights Mayor Sue <br />Gehrz said the planning began <br />about five years ago. At the comer, <br />she said, "was a 1950s style strip <br />mall. It was rundown and getting <br />worse" every yeat" <br />In a series of community <br />meetings, it was voted unani- <br />mously that something had to be <br />done to revitalize one of the city's <br />main commercial centers. <br />A planning consultant was <br />hired, many more meetings en- <br />sued, and the end result was a <br />winning bid from local developer <br />Sherman Associates, who will own <br />and operate the three-building <br />com slated for completion by <br />early .11mer. <br />This approach contrasts to <br />other Midway developments like <br />the CVS drugstore development at <br />Snelling and University. Here the <br />retailer picked the site and sent a <br />plan to the city and neighbor- <br />hood groups. A tug of war ensued <br />over details like parking, en- <br />trances, and the storefront ap- <br />pearance. The end result was a <br />plan the community could ac- <br />cept, though with reservations. <br />vVith the Falcon Heights develop- <br />ment, the community had a <br />chance to create their ideal devel- <br />opment. <br />Such a tact has been used be- <br />fore, said University United Exec- <br />utive Director Brian 1\1c1\1ahon, <br />though not frequently enough <br />along University. He cited a St. <br />Louis Park project at Excelsior <br />and Grand where the city created <br />its own plan and then chose a de- <br />veloper to create a "spectacular" <br />development. "Enlightened cities <br />do it this way," he added. <br />The process does involve an <br />extr~ 'iinary effort by many. <br />Geh id 21 community meet- <br />ings were held to deal with the <br />.complexities of the development. <br />Once community needs were <br />assessed, Falcon Heights had to <br />find a planning consultant. Dan <br />Cornejo of Short Elliot and Hen- <br /> <br /> <br />The driving force behind the Falcon Heights housing project at Snelling and Larpenteur is not the developer, it's the com- <br />munity. Falcon Heights Mayor Sue Gehrz (above) said the planning began about five years ago. (Photo by Terry Faust) <br /> <br />drickson was hired after Gehrz <br />was favorably impressed with his <br />work in a Robbinsdale develop- <br />ment. Cornejo drew up a prelimi- <br />nary plan which, to his credit, <br />wound up looking very much like <br /> <br />The plan was sent out to 50 <br />developers for bids. This number <br />was narrowed to the four best <br />proposals, and finally Sherman <br />Associates was chosen as the site's <br />developer. <br /> <br /> <br />the final plan. <br />The final plan called for three <br />different buildings-a senior as- <br />sisted living rental building of 56 <br />units, a multi-family rental build- <br />ing of 119 units with a main floor <br />slated for retail space, and a clus- <br />ter of 12 occupant-owned town- <br />homes. <br /> <br />"Sherman had lots of experi- <br />ence," said Gehrz. "They had <br />been around a long time, and we <br />felt they understood the chal- <br />lenges of a very complicated <br />mixed-use development. George <br />Sherman had a reputation of be- <br />ing responsive to community <br />concerns. We were also pleased <br /> <br />that they would own and operate <br />the buildings. We didn't want <br />someone who would just build it <br />and leave." <br />That choice looks good in <br />hindsight as the developer went <br />out of its way to address several is- <br />sues that came up. They con- <br />tributed $150,000 to upgrade the <br />adjacent park, adding a gazebo, <br />removing troublesome trees, and <br />stretching out the bottom of a <br />pond that had flooded all too fre- <br />quently. When neighbors ex- <br />pressed parking concems with the <br />"final" design, Sherman agreed to <br />drop out two of the townhouses <br />in favor of more parking surface. <br />Height concerns led to shortening <br />the fou r-s to ry ass isted Ii vi ng <br />building to a three-story building. <br />Gehrz is satisfied that enough <br />parking has been provided in the <br />plan. Occupants will use under- <br />ground parking while consider- <br />able ground parking is available <br />on the interior of the complex for <br />retail customers and visitors. <br /> <br />CONTINUED ON PAGE 3 <br />
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