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Reports of Staff <br />December 16, 2016 <br />Page 2 of 4 <br /> <br /> Retail on lower level <br /> People move here for the School District <br /> Need low maintenance housing that offers retail and smaller restaurants, <br />express Target, Express Hy-Vee, moderately priced eating places <br /> Look at Fridley on University Ave as a comparison, there is no retail there <br /> Don’t want 80% affordability <br /> Evaluate the entire housing stock in Mounds View <br /> Replace older housing stock first, and have entire city plan <br /> Assess the current affordable housing product first <br /> Want smaller restaurants, gift shop, 24 hour fitness center, etc. <br /> Need a downtown area concept with anchor tenant, flower shop, coffee, <br />Chiropractor, medical services, smaller hardware store, maybe adjacent to <br />apartments or as part of the development, Could do creative landscaping with <br />pondage, vegetation, fountains, outdoor seating & fireplace with restaurant <br />and pathways, could create fake rooflines with painted windows similar to <br />Arbor Lakes in Maple Grove to make it appear like a downtown. <br /> Want upscale apartments, we don’t have a product like that in Mounds View <br /> Fridley took a chance, why can’t we? <br /> Do we have the demand for retail? Look at Mounds View Square with their <br />vacancies. <br /> Do we wait to see what happens with the Rice Creek Commons development <br />or do we start development now? <br /> Height: We are willing to modify the city’s height requirements if this will help <br />the developer to bring cost down by increasing the number of units. <br /> Does age correlate to affordability? <br /> We need living streets, walkability, etc. <br />Before the Council work session a company was interested in constructing an 80 unit <br />apartment building with 80% affordable and 20% market rate with a mixed -use <br />component. However, after hearing the Council’s vision for the site, they have stepped <br />away from the project. Below is their response: <br />Brian, <br />This feedback is very helpful, thank you. At this point we are not <br />convinced that market rate rent levels would be high enough to support <br />new construction in that location. We also don’t know that we would be <br />willing to take down the whole site a do a very large, mixed use building. I <br />completely understand the Council’s thoughts and ideas, but at this point I <br />think we will take a step back. If anything changes on the vision for the <br />site please let me know.