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