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Home My WebLink AboutPL MINUTES 10061986 Meeting Sheet IIIIIIVIIIVIIIVIIIVIIIVIIIIIIIIIII 101767 Box: 21 Folder: PL MINUTES AND AGENDAS 1986 Document: PL MINUTES 10061986 CITY- OF ST _ ANTHONY • SPECIAL PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING MINUTES OCTOBER 6 , 1986 The meeting -opened at 7:37 P.M. with Hansen, Wagner, Werenicz, and Jones present. Chair Franzese arrived at 7:40 P.M. Absent: Madden and Bowerman. Also present: City Manager Childs and John Arkell , President of Arkell Development Redevelopers of Phases II and III Kenzie Terrace Redevelopment Project. Meeting Objective . Commission input related to changing project use from senior rental to adult market rate housing _ Proposed Changes From Project Approved December, 1985 Structures: 3 identical buildings (probably phased) , rather than 3 buildings as previously approved. Height: 4 stories from -5 to 8 stories as previous approved. • Units: 288 instead of 300 Parking: 446 spaces instead of 380 -- indoor, 177 (59 per build- ing) from 228; surface, 269 from 152. Building Area Coverage: 63,900 sq. ft. (23% of total site area) . Community Space: reduced to central location in each building. Commercial : 33,000 sq. ft. proposed to be eliminated by architect but not yet finally approved by developer. Design: pitched roofto match 202 building. Exterior: brick on center building areas, rest prefinished wood or aluminum siding. Construction Start-up Date: May or June, 1987 if project proceeds on schedule. Redeveloper ' s Reasons For Change 1 . It would be "suicidal " to proceed with 300 more senior units when only 50 of 150 .Kenzington units sold in a year and a half. • 2. There is a burning need for more market rate rental in St. Anthony. 3. There are almost identical projects. in Bloomington and near Hopkins (Conservatory) renting two bedroom units for $700 to $900 per month. -2- 4. Philosophy regarding senior housing has changed in the 1st 3 to 5 years. Many now want to retain financial liquidity by investing home equity and renting. • 5. The developers would anticipate that the project would still have a high con- centration of seniors but they wouldn't want to limit market to seniors only. Chair Franzese arrived at 7:40 P.M. In relation to his comments on low sales at Kenzington, Commissioner Hansen told Mr. Arkell he agreed with his perception that pricing was probably not a valid reason for the low sales because Birch Pond in New Brighton was much higher priced, started after the Kenzington, and was already all sold out. The Commissioner said he perceived, instead, based on his mother's experience with owning a Kenzington condominium, that poor management and inept sales efforts in the last few months might have turned off some prospective senior buyers who "like to feel secure and don't like 'unknowns'." The redeveloper acknowledged that "the initial financing hassle might have given the impression that the project might not be finished". He said the other problems had probably arisen since the META Partnership had taken over the project and appointed Health Central as Managers. Mr. Arkell added that Health Central is supposed to be a leader in their field but he had not used them for his Stillwater senior rental prgject where there is a waiting list of 230 persons and thus couldn't really comment. Gary Tushie, Project Architect, and Steven Yurick, Project Director, arrived at 7:50 P.M. and distributed copies of new plans which even the redeveloper had not yet seen. Pertinent data related to fitting the proposed three buildings • on the site and the unit mix per building was also given out. Architect ' s Response to Commission Questions *traffic flow patterns would not change. "Extreme need for controls" . ",difficult topography and ,grouridvvat'er only 4 or 5 feet below the surface required that underground parking be only partly below ground. *40% of the site would be landscaped (generallyy around the perimeter) . *"horseshoe design" for outdoor parking areas would provide security. *amenities such as fireplaces or swimming pool are not planned for the project. *HUD is touting the pitched roof design for the 202 project next door as "exemplary". Proposed Rents Mr. Arkell said although two bedroom apartments are bringing $700 and $900 rents in other communities„he •knows "today's market in St. Anthony" would only support monthly rents of: .$-4'855.fo,r -1,.`bedroom ' • $525 for 1 bedroom with den; $585 for 2 bedroom; and $30 to $35 for garage rentals (,eveothough. it costs 7$8,000 to construct a stall ) . The redeveloper said apartments which required too much equity to build in the • 70's or early 80's are now possible because interest rates have decreased from 11% and 12% to 8% for tax exempt bonds, which he perceived would justify charging rents for St. Anthony ("a sleeper community the public doesn't yet know much about") of $100 less than the rest of the metropolitan communities. His projections included a rise of about 57- r1i n ar.ents O'erv'year. Effect of New Tax Laws on Proj ect Mr. Arkell said the new tax laws would make the job of marketing the project for syndication a lot more difficult because each building would have to have at least a 10% cash flow to make it work. However, on the plus side, the Kenzington project had one of the largest 1985 tax exempt bond issues ($20,000,000) which makes it one of the most sought after commodities in the country today. The redeveloper said his office receives three or four calls a month from the largest bonding houses in the country who say they have buyers for those bonds. City Manager ' s Comments About P . U . D . Amendments Which Might - Be Required Parking: Ordinance requirement for one enclosed and one unenclosed parking space doesn't take into account this type of project. No setback variances appear to be neg0 r.edi. Height: City approved 8 stories for previous proposal , this would be 4 stories. • Density: 300 units previously approved, now 288. Design: It seems that the proposed pitch roof as on the 202 project is in keeping with residential character of the City. Perimeter The City required such landscaping in the very first project design Landscaping: criteria 4 years ago. Commission Public Hearing on Project Scheduled -For November 3rd Jones. - didn't like concentrating all of the outdoor parking spaces in front of the building. Suggested interspersing grassy areas might alleviate concentration of negative space which eventually would make the project look like a "junky parking lot" . - was comfortable with design but knew from his own experience in running 80 rental units that prospective renters look for amenities like skylights, natural wood, hardwood floors, fireplaces, and underground parking for the rents the redevelopers are suggesting. - was not too excited about the possibility of having aluminum siding. - perceived tenants would be willing to pay a lot more than $30 for enclosed parking. • Hansen - offered no objections but emphasized the need for traffic flow control . -4- Wagner -- disagreed with Commissioner Jones about breaking up green spaces arond the buildings because he felt that having all the landscaping around the exterior • would help market the project and buffer it from the neighbors. Redevelopers ' Defense of Proposed Parking and Building Finish Arkell - indicated he had the •same initial reaction to putting aluminum siding on the 12 . story Woodlake Point highrise in Richfield but had seen for himself that the new textured aluminum was hard to identify as such and "looked gorgeous when the building was finished". Tushie - persisted in his belief that "contiguous green spaces would be more visually pleasing". - suggested less parking spaces might be required if more seniors rent in the project. Also said that there is a possibility that 30 underground parking spaces be left unsold and vacant in the Kenzington across the street. Commissioners -were urged to visit the Woodlake Point condominiums and the Conservatory near'down.town'�i,Ho'pk�i ns. Since the staff has no listing of Minneapolis property owners within 300 feet of the project, there was Commission agreement that letting Minneapolis Alderman Walt Dziedzic know about the changes would be sufficient. . Kennington Design Award Noted Commissioners had been provided copies of "curr_es,p.ondence;� indicating the Kenzington had been selected a Senior Housing Showcase honor award in the apartment design category and would be included in the Metro Council sponsored tour of the winning projects October 25th and 26th and that Mayor Sundland had been i•nv:ited� . to attend the reception for the winners in the Metropolitan Council Offices October 9th. Mr. Tushie reported Arkell 's Richfield project would also be receiving an award. The meeting was adjourned at 8:45 P.M. Respectfully submitted, Helen Crowe, Secretary cjk