11/06/2006 Council Packet - Laserfiche WebLink

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HARTFORD REAL ESTATE DEVELOPMENT. ARCHITECTURE • ENGINEERING • MANAGEMENT MEMO October 31, 2006 TO: Mary Alice Divine — City of Lino Lakes FROM: Frank Janes, General Counsel RE: Lakewood Apartments — Legacy at Woods Edge On Monday October 23, 2006, the City Council considered our request to amend the PUD Final plan for Lakewood Apartments. Discussion at the meeting centered on the removal of the small balconettes from the exterior elevation of the building. For the past several months, Hartford has been working with MHFA, which is providing the tax credit and mortgage financing for the project, and our general contractor to value engineer and trim construction costs for this project. Given today's rising construction costs and the affordable nature of the rental units, margins for the project are thin However, Hartford remains committed to preserving the building's overall architectural integrity. During this time, MHFA indicated its concern as to the lack of usability and the potential for unsightly storage on the balconettes. Given these comments, it seemed appropriate to both address MHFA's concerns and provide for some cost savings by removing the balconettes from the design. I would like to emphasize that that existing building architecture is of high quality and the cost savings realized in removing the balconettes is more than offset by the additional cost of the inset windows required by the Woods Edge design standards. Hartford has also added an additional color to the palate to further accentuate the movement of building's "bays ", and has created a distinct central building element to front the roundabout. The Council tabled the matter and requested that we attempt to provide some additional architectural detail to the building. I stated that we would try to address this request, but that any design change would have to be cost neutral to the project, given the already high construction costs involved. Since then, our architects have looked at a number of possibilities, including shutters, window boxes /planters, decorative coins, and additional colors. However, we feel these options are not suitable with the building's architectural characteristics, or added additional costs. We also considered retaining a few of the balconettes, but MHFA prefers the units be treated equally. Accordingly, we respectfully request that our original proposal be considered by the Council at the work session to be held on November 6, 2006. Overall, we believe the project will provide a worthy addition to the Woods Edge development. To that end, I attach a new 3- dimensional color rendering of the central and southwesterly elevation (across from the park) that shows more clearly the movement and presentation of the building as compared to the 2- dimensional drawings previously provided. Please note that there are a few additional changes that still need to be incorporated into this new rendering, and I will bring an enlargement of the final product to the meeting on November 6`h Thank you. 7900 Xerxes Avenue South • Suite 1300 • Bloomington, MN 55431 • 952- 838 -2400 (P) • 952- 838-2401 (F) • www.hartfordoro.com