HRA MINUTES 01081985 - Laserfiche WebLink

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-2 - her firm had decided to propose the townhouse project which would be developed in three phases. The first phase, which the developer anticipated could be started • in mid-April, 1985, would consist of six units of townhomes to be constructed on the 33rd Avenue corner of the site. The second phase, which would have to be governed by an August 1st tenant lease in the existing building, would consist of three buildings; two with four units each and one with six units. The third phase, consisting of two 6 unit buildings to be constructed on the south end of the site, could be started in the spring of 1986 unless the marketing is so strong for Phase I that Phases II and III could be built at the same time, Ms. Donaldson said. She told Commissioner Makowske Brighton would be handling their own marketing out of a trailer/model on the site. The development company official indicated on the site plans the green area which would be left in the middle area of the project with perhaps a "gazebo" type screenhouse located where it could be seen from all the units. Ms. Donaldson indicated the plans call for bay window treatment of the front of the units along Old Highway 8 to give some interest on the street side. Both ingress and egress would be off Old Highway 8 in deferrence to the wishes of the neighbors who had indicated they would not want traffic on 33rd Avenue increased, according to the Brighton developers. They presented the site and elevation plans for the project which included a schematic section of one of the two story units which could be adapted for a dormer, depending on whether there were two or three bedrooms in the unit. The preliminary plans called for 20 two bedroom units and 12 three bedroom townhouses with a single car garage and a parking space in front of each unit. Ms. Donaldson pointed out that the proposed 32 units would be a tight fit on that site, but indicated her company intended • to survey the property to determine whether at least some double garages could be provided, as suggested by one of the neighbors at the December 29th meeting. Commissioner Ranallo told her he understands some of the owners of the new town - homes across from Apache had found the mid-size car garages they had been provided were not large enough for the average townhome owners couple, both of whom work and drive standard cars. The developers reiterated that the contractors for the project would be Watson - Forsberg Construction Company and Ms. Donaldson pointed out that Mr. Forsberg was a St, Anthony resident and would no doubt want to construct a top quality project in his own community. The developer indicated .she had more or less decided on a "Prairie Home" design for the buildings which she perceived would fit well with other homes in the area. Brighton is looking for a low maintenance material for the exterior of the buildings, but if they are unable to find a suitable vinyl siding, the -exterior would be of wood. The firm's track record in obtaining financing for similar projects in and around Minneapolis was discussed with the Consultant who later commented that he per- ceived that record was "incredibly good". Mr. Brustad indicated he foresaw no problem with getting financing for a project as good as this one 6ncf both developers concurred wi-tFFFF--t�e`Chairman's perception that obtaining financing for townhomes was much easier than for condominiums. Commissioner Ranallo indicated he would anticipate there would be a potential market for these townhomes from the couples who had initially looked at the Kenzington but who had concluded condominium living was too drastic a change from • their single family homes. The Chairman reported his business experience with Brighton Development had been that "they always deliver whatever they promise".