PL MINUTES 08211984 - Laserfiche WebLink

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-4- • 1 Mr. Childs had also reported the new owner had proposed to construct a small addi- 2 tion to the north side of the building for stairwells which would be an extension 3 of the non-conforming protrusion of the rear of the building which now exists. In 4 his memorandum, the Manager had also pointed out what he perceived would be an 5 improvement, the replacement of the freestanding NORTHGATE MOTEL sign with tasteful 6 wall signage on the structure. 7 8 Gerald Isaacs introduced the members of his development team, Dan Gleeson of 9 Gleeson & Associates Architects, .and Dan Carlsen, Carlsen and Frank Architects, who 10 told the Commission members the plans generally call .for converting- three existing 11 motel rooms into one two story condominium .office similar to those in the Freight 12 House conversion project they have developed in St. Paul . The existing balconies 13 would be stripped..from the building and a new vestibule fora- solar .arcade for the 14 offices entered from the front would be developed along the Highway 88 side and 15 continued in the new rear addition-to service the offices which would face the 16 shopping center, both designed to enhance the traffic flow in and out of the con- 17 dominiums with. a walkway installed to make the- complex accessible from the shopping 18 and new residential areas. A new office supply store is also planned in the building. 19 20 The colored renderings of the project along with the site plans which had. been 21 reproduced for the Commission agenda packet, were hung on the wall .and Mr. Gleeson 22 and Mr. Carlsen answered questions put to them by the Commission about the project. 23 These included the description of the brick and stucco proposed for the exterior 24 of the building and .the fact that sprinklers are not required by code for this 25 type of building. Commissioner Bjorklund indicated he thought he remembered 26 sprinklers in the crawl spaces but was told .the Fire Marshal would -make the judge- 27 ment as to just what the codes required of the complex. 28 29 Mr. Isaacs addressed. the Commissioner's concerns about the placement of the air 30 conditioning condensers in relation to the proposed condominium housing which was 31 throught would be constructed about 60 - 75 feet to the west of the office con- 32 dominiums. He said all mechanics would be within the walls of the building and 33 there would probably not be a problem in any event, since most of the office 34 inhabitants are gone for the day long before the neighbors would be going to bed. I 35 Mr. Childs noted that the developer had planned unit air conditioners for the 36 condominiums and they might create a greater level of annoyance for the rest of the 37 center. - 38 39 The Freight Station was again compared to the proposed project with the Commission 40 members being told only two parking spaces per unit were required at that location, 41 which the developers said had proved more than- adequate for that project. 42 The Manager read the formula which requires 74 parking spaces for the City_project 44 and confirmed that St. Anthony's ordinances are more restrictive than those. for other 45 municipalities. As he had noted- in his memorandum, the developers had not been 46 encouraged to seek additional land to the west because that would probably have 47 been developed with access onto the .residential street, Lowry Avenue, and Mr. 48 Childs said, in a manner of speaking-, the City could be considered to have provided 49 the hardship required o be addressed for approval of the project. The Manager also 50 mentioned the possibility of the use of the Red .Owl parking lot by the condominium 51 owners although no formal agreement has..been reached at this time. 52 53 Mr. Isaacs answered questions about the condominium prices by .saying he expects 54to sell the St. Anthony units for from $75,000 to $80,000 ;.even though the St._ Paul ; 55 units sold for $70,000 originally and are now going for $130,000.