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City Council Regular Meeting Minutes 4 April 24, 2001 Page 4 1 2 Councilmember Thuesen stated that, from early on, housing has been the main focus of this .3 project.-He questioned why there has not.been more of a.focus on industrial. Mr. Shardlow. 4 stated that every developer indicated that housing was the key-to the success of this site. He 5 continued that the site does not have community-scale shopping center potential, and that light 6 industrial uses do not pay enough in order to make this project work. 7 8 Councilmember Thuesen asked about funding for the project. Mr. Shardlow said that the project 9 was unable to carry the cost of subsidizing housing cost within the way it is currently set up. He 10 stated that the City of St. Anthony is an ideal location for the success of this effort. He indicated 11 that there are a number of keys to the success of this effort that included finding a developer that 12 has the wherewithal to ensure that the project makes financial sense for the community, and also 13 making sure that it is designed in a way to accommodate density without causing any threat to 14 the surrounding area. 15 16 Councilmember Thuesen stated that he wanted the details when the Final Concept Plan is 17 presented, as to why and how it came to be the way that it is. Mr. Shardlow indicated that the 18 next step for them is to produce a recommendation of what the concept should be and the reasons 19 for the recommendation. 20. •21 Councilmember Thuesen asked that the long-term benefits to the city and community be. 22 included in that information. He also requested the Financial Summary be included as well. Mr. 23 Shardlow indicated that all of the requested information will be presented to them, broken down 24 by phases. 25 26 Councilmember Hodson asked if there has been any discussion about how much life the Apache 27 Building has left in it, and has tearing it down and starting from scratch been an option. Mr. 28 Shardlow responded that Apache has some real liabilities aesthetically as it sits today. He 29 indicated that he has a lot of respect for the work Hillcrest has done in other places,. and is 30 confident in their recommendation. 31 32 Mayor Cavanaugh stated that there was never a Planned Unit Development for the park site, and 33 indicated he hoped that one is now in place to make sense of the site. Mr. Shardlow responded 34 that there are some things that can'be improved with some type of Architectural Master Plan, but 35 there is a limit to what can be done that way. 36 37 Mayor Cavanaugh asked for a timeline on this sort of project. Mr. Shardlow stated 38 that, if the building is cleared, and the park is in the center,-then the residential should go fairly 39 quickly. He added that if there is a commitment to clear the land and.improve the visibility, he 40 saw the residential in three to five years. 41 •42 Mayor Cavanaugh acknowledged that there are more tools available to do office space in 43 conjunction with residential. Mr. Shardlow stated that there is a healthy office component in this 44 plan, and it is too difficult to project what the response would be to an office building because it 45 is not a Class A location for office.