PCAgenda_07Jun26 - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

22 Snelling Larpenteur Commercial Core . The Snelling/Larpenteur commercial core was originally developed in the 1940s and is the only large retail area in Falcon Heights. By the 1980s, due to outdated design and amenity standards and access limitations imposed by the high traffic volumes on Snelling and Larpenteur Avenues, it was functioning poorly in its original use as an auto-oriented shopping center. The Snelling and Larpenteur thoroughfares impose severe limitations on the extent to which the area can be made to accommodate pedestrian traffic or function as an integrated retail center. As a result the four quadrants of the district have evolved somewhat independently over the last several decades. The northeast quadrant, known as Falcon Crossing, was redeveloped in the mid 1980s utilizing tax increment financing for public improvements in support of private investment. The redevelopment replaced retailer Flower City, which burned in 1982, and a row of older neighborhood businesses. An aging restaurant was replaced by Dino's Gyros in 2004 as part of the redevelopment on the southeast corner. Dino's and Falcon Crossing share parking and access. Falcon Crossing has a history of full occupancy. The quadrant is expected to remain relatively stable, although traffic, parking and pedestrian safety will continue to challenge. The northwest quadrant, occupied by a small shopping center, a restaurant, furniture store and gas station, underwent some significant cosmetic upgrades in between 2003 and 2006. Since 1990, small businesses catering to neighborhood needs have somewhat given • way to larger "destination" retailers, though these locally owned businesses are still in scale with the limited space and parking available on the site. These limits, along with proximity to a residential neighborhood and access issues imposed by the highways pose challenges for any future redevelopment. None is anticipated at this time. The art deco building at the southwest corner of Snelling and Larpenteur, long the home of Harvest States Cooperative, is now owned by T.I.E.S., a non-profit corporation serving technological needs of school districts. Although T.I.E.S. leases out space to other entities for office use, the site is underutilized, and the western portion, still occupied by the building that once served as Falcon Heights fire station and city hall, is used for little besides storage and state fair parking. Preserving the original Harvest States building would be a high priority in any future re-purposing or redevelopment of the southwest quadrant of the Snelling/Larpenteur core. Falcon Heights' last Comprehensive Plan characterized the southeast quadrant of the Snelling/Larpenteur core as the best opportunity for redevelopment. The redevelopment of this site was accomplished between 2003 and 2007 with the construction of Falcon Heights Town Square by Sherman Associates, Inc. The new mixed-use development provides 175 apartments, 56 in a senior apartment building and 119 in amulti-family building, of which _ are designated affordable. Fourteen owner-occupied town homes are also part of the complex. The multi-family building contains 12,000 square feet of commercial space on the first floor. Parking is removed from the streetscape into the • interior of the block and underground.