January 7, 2019 Sarah Smith Community Development Director City of Mound 5341 Maywood Road Mound, MN 55364 Dear Ms. Smith, We are pleased to present the enclosed concept plan and requisite attachments for the property at 2200 2238 Commerce Boulevard and Unassigned Addresses on Fern Lane. Through this application, SRD 2.0, LLC, an affiliate of Schafer Richardson and Commerce Place, LLC, the owner, is seeking approval from the City Planning Commission for the concept plan. Attachments included in this application include: Major Subdivision Application Sketch Plan Review Fee Check Survey Development Narrative Site Plan Concept Context Study Rendering Please feel free to contact me with any questions regarding the proposed redevelopment at 612.314.1597 or TMartinez@sr re.com. We look forward to working with you on this exciting project. Sincerely, Trevor Martinez Project Manager
Concept Plan Submittal Narrative The proposed concept plan includes the redevelop the southeastern portion of the Commerce Place Shopping Center, located at the northeast corner of Commerce Boulevard and County Road 15/Lynwood Boulevard. The south building on the approximately one-acre site will be demolished and redeveloped into a multifamily apartment building of approximately 103 units. On the northeast corner of the site, the existing two story commercial building will remain and Fern Lane will be partially vacated to allow for additional parking. Both buildings will be developed and owned by an affiliate of Schafer Richardson. Steven Scott Management will provide property management services to the residential building. The redevelopment will allow for a long vacant commercial property to be revitalized and bring more residents to the area. This will, in turn, support the existing commercial properties in the area and future retail and restaurant growth. The construction of a new apartment building in the community will expand housing options in Mound. No market rate apartment buildings have been constructed within the city in a number of years and existing rental housing options are significantly older. This building will support the city s goal of lifecycle housing to accommodate a wide range of incomes ages and types of households in the community. The site location also supports the City s Transit Oriented Development and will support the Transit Center directly south of the property. Residents will be able to walk to the local businesses for their needs and utilize nearby transportation options to access employment or other activities. More residents walking in this area will support the city s investment in pedestrian oriented infrastructure, and businesses within the central business district of the community. Building Design and Height: The building is four residential stories on top of one level of underground parking. While a flat roof design would reduce the height of the roof s peak, community feedback and further analysis of existing architecture suggests that a pitched roof is more appropriate. The roof base is 45 with a peak at 69. The building footprint is approximately 25,700 square feet. The building will be comprised of a wood frame structure over masonry. The first floor of the building will be both active community uses and residential units. The community room will be on the main floor in the center of the building, adjacent to a back yard amenity area to include grill stations and a large patio. The main building entrance will be on the west side of the building facing Commerce Boulevard.
Parking: The parking for the site will be handled with both underground stalls and surface parking stalls. Because the site shares parking with Wells Fargo, their parking allocation has been included in this analysis. In total, 262 parking stalls will be provided. 113 parking stalls will remain in the western parking lot, 59 new parking spaces will be configured in the northeast corner, and 60 stalls will remain underground. These numbers result to There are no compact stalls. Based on our experience in developing both residential and commercial properties in other suburban markets, we believe ample parking will be provided to both commercial and residential users. Approximately 10 additional parking stalls could be achieved through the elimination of new tree islands currently envisioned for the repaved western parking lot along Commerce Boulevard. The site s central location and proximity to the Transit Center support it as a Transit Oriented Development perhaps with less of a need for parking than developments located further from the City core. Site Access and Relationship with Adjacent Uses: Site Access to the development is anticipated to be maintained much in the manner that it currently is to the Commerce Place shopping center. The west, or primary, side of the development will maintain the existing curb and lot line at the property. Vehicular access to the existing surface parking lot abutting the Wells Fargo property will remain as-is. Church Street, an existing public street, will provide an access point for the building s underground parking as well as a point of access for the eastern surface parking lot. Fern Lane will be partially vacated in order to continuously develop parcels to the east and west for parking and to keep apartment residents from impacting the existing residences on Fern Lane. A second one-way entrance to the north eastern lot will be located off of County Road 15. This access point will also contain a loading zone for residents moving in and out of the property. Site Design and Landscape: The current site layout will accommodate turfgrass, as well as trees and other plantings. As the development moves forward, a landscape architect will be engaged to develop more detailed landscape plans for the site. A patio and grilling area will be located in the site s back yard, a courtyard on the eastside of the building. Garbage and recycling for the building will be stored within the underground parking garage on the site.
Stormwater and Existing Infrastructure: The development will comply with the Minnehaha Creek Watershed District requirements and other municipal stormwater requirements. The development will incorporate the standards of the City s Surface Water Management Plan as applicable. BMPs will be observed both in planning for the future land use and during construction. The development has not yet engaged the services of a civil engineer, but will do so as the site design and planning proceeds. The landscape plan, when developed, will also consider stormwater management. The building s location allows the development to utilize existing infrastructure in the community, such as water and sewer lines, utilities, and streets and sidewalks. This creates efficiency both for the community and for the development itself. Re-platting: A re-platting of the parcels will be necessary to divide the southern portion of the site from the existing commercial property to the north and to combine the vacated portion of Fern Lane with the eastern and western current parcels. The exact location of property lines will be determined as the site design is further developed. Unit Mix and Types: The building will be composed mostly of one bedroom and studio units, with some two-bedroom options. Of approximately 103 units the mix is projected at: Studio- 27 units, One Bedroom- 60 units, and Two Bedroom- 16 units. Two-Bedroom units will contain two bathrooms each. Approximate unit sizes will be: Studio- 550 sf, One Bedroom- 770 sf. Two Bedroom- 1,200 sf. The preliminary market analysis shows that comparable new construction properties would place Studio rents in the range of $1,100-$1,300 or $2.10/sf, One Bedroom $1500-$1800 or $1.76/sf, Two Bedroom $2,000-$2,400 $1.77/sf. The proposed development will be priced on the lower end of the identified new construction comparables with rents for the development currently contemplated in the range of $1,150 for a Studio, $1,475 for a One Bedroom and $1,875 for a Two Bedroom. These may adjust as design and development progress. Property Management: Property Management of the building would be provided by Steven Scott Management who manages over 9,000 apartments and townhomes throughout the region.
Relocation and Existing Commercial Tenants: The existing tenants in the buildings are aware that the Commerce Place site may be redeveloped, and that this redevelopment will likely occur on the south portion of the site. Our property management staff communicates with them regularly and have also notified them of this land use concept plan submittal to the City. Because the development is at such an early state, no relocation plans have yet been made. These conversations will likely be finalized closer to the completion of the entitlement process. Conclusion: The proposed redevelopment will assist the City of Mound achieve its goals of: housing stock diversification; supporting transit-oriented development and infrastructure investments; adding active uses and increased vitality to the central business district; appropriately increasing population density to support nearby retail, restaurants, and services; and act as a catalyst for additional investment and development in the community.
S I T E NOTES 5 FERN LANE CHURCH STREET 5 EXISTING RETAIL TO REMAIN 1 MAIN ENTRY 2 PATIO 3 MOVE-IN AREA 4 GARAGE ENTRY 5 SITE ENTRY 6 EXISTING WELLS FARGO COMMERCE BLVD 4 6 1 PROPOSED APARTMENTS 4 STORIES 103 UNITS 3 2 5 COUNTY ROAD 15 Schafer Richardson Mound Apartments Mound, Minnesota 55364 CONCEPT SITE PLAN January 7, 2019
Schafer Richardson Mound Apartments Mound, Minnesota 55364 CONCEPT RENDERING January 7, 2019
Schafer Richardson Mound Apartments Mound, Minnesota 55364 CONCEPT CONTEXT STUDY January 7, 2019