New market rate apartments are to coming to East Point Douglas behind Kohl's, following public hearing and approval of preliminary and final plat, PUD, and tax abatement resolutions by the Cottage Grove City Council on Wednesday, Feb. 18.
The project by Yellow Tree Development for a 186-unit apartment building to cost $45.6 million will see four levels of apartments and two stories of covered parking once completed, a slight adjustment from the five story, 164-unit apartment building proposed to the council in March of last year. The current 186-unit project includes a Planned Use Development (PUD) for site flexibility as well as a 10-year tax abatement and will be located on East Point Douglas Road on two separate outlots combined into one with a new plat: Everwood Outlot D established in 1997 and amended in 2007 as well as Frattalone's Southpoint Ridge Outlot B, established in 2007.
Cottage Grove Senior City Planner Samantha Pierret shared additional details in a presentation at the public hearing last Wednesday.
"The conservation easements, trail easement, and gradient of the property have significantly reduced the buildable area on the site,” she said for the site across from the Legends. “The developer has had to design their building around these areas, including the grading that is allowed."
As for restriction details Pierret said that a conservation easement was established for Everwood Outlot D, restricting development above a line marking 860 feet above sea level. A trail easement requires preservation of a former farm road as a natural trail, the lower 40 percent amendable and the northerly 60 percent unamendable in the existing agreement. Formerly connecting East Point Douglas to what is now Aspen Cove, limited changes were nonetheless allowed to the trail.
"The location of the road may be amended or the trail that is proposed may be amended as the city sees fit so long as an unpaved pedestrian connection is maintained to East Point Douglas Road," Pierret said. The Minnesota Land Trust had approved all trail all proposed trail configuration and grading within the easement.
As for the property zoning, it’s mixed use.
"The property is currently zoned mixed use with apartments a permitted use," Pierret said, surrounding areas guided as mixed use in the city’s 2040 Comprehensive Plan. The new apartments as presented will see 30.39 units planned per acre with mixed used allowing for 20 to 40 units. Units will range from studio apartments to multi-bedroom, and be priced for 60 to 80 percent of Area Median Income (AMI).
As to getting to the project finish, more details were involved.
“As mentioned the applicant has also requested a Planned Use Development or PUD with this development,” Pierret said. Details of the proposed PUD providing flexibility include a building height of 77 feet maximum where 55 feet is normally the limit, building setbacks at 10 feet where 20 feet are usually required, a parking lot setback of 13 feet as opposed to 20 feet, a parking ratio below 1.6 spaces per unit, and architectural materials under 65 percent Class 1 and 2 materials on building walls not facing East Point Douglas.
Rationale for the PUD at the Yellow Tree site is to provide multi-family housing in a site that presents unique physical limitations, with similar PUD granted to the Roer’s development further down East Point Douglas, said Roer’s development now under construction.
Tree mitigation will take place on the Yellow Tree site as well, with 994 of 4,023 exiting tree inches removed. The apartment builder will provide 50 trees (including 18 coniferous trees) and 405 shrubs to the site, with the parking lot landscaped islands under 8 percent.
Public Works Director Ryan Burfeind followed Pierret at the podium, sharing traffic impacts, the development adding 856 trips per day for a total trip count of 2,600 per day. Road capacity is 5,000, the road designed to handle the additional traffic volume. Also touched on was pedestrian connectivity and traffic on Hardwood, currently at approximately half capacity.
“No additional improvements recommended at this time for Hardwood Avenue,” Burfeind said. Pedestrian connectivity was something to look at going forward as increased pedestrian traffic comes with time.
Among details to get the new project started meanwhile is a 10-year tax abatement, presented by Cottage Grove Economic Development Manager Nate Carlson and Schane Rudlang of Ehlers.
“So the question of what is tax abatement and why is it needed for this project?”Carlson said. “I would state it’s similar to TIF (Tax Increment Finance), the increment for an improvement on site. But it only accounts for city taxes. That’s what we’re contemplating this evening.”
Making tax abatement different from TIF was the fact that it captured new increased taxes due to increase in value and that county and school taxes would continue to flow to the respective jurisdictions, with no affordable unit requirements and flexible use. Yellow Tree applied for abatement due to unique site constraints and the belief it would not be an economically feasible project without some assistance. This was reviewed by staff, with total project cost of $245,409 per unit or $45,646,074 total, the majority related to construction. Tax abatement would be at 100 percent for the first three years, then stepping down to 95, percent in year four, 85 percent in years five to seven, and 75 percent in years eight to 10. Present value fo the abatement note over 10 years is $1,241, 057.
Following staff presentation and questions to the applicant, the council approved Yellow Tree’s requests with several resolutions, approving slate of Outlot B, Frattalone’s Southpoint Ridge, approving the preliminary and final plat for Everwood Sixth Addition, approving the PUD and site plan, approving agreements for stormwater management facilities, encroachment, and permanent trail access, and finally adopting a resolution approving the tax abatement agreement between the city and East Point Apartments LLC, which will manage the property once built.
Also in news from Feb. 18 council meanwhile, the council made a proclamation of Lunar New Year read out by Council member David Clausen, with Council Member Justin Olsen also referencing the start of Ramadan and Ash Wednesday in council remarks.
“It’s important that everyone who lives here in Cottage Grove understands you’re welcome here,” Olsen said. “We appreciate that you’ve chosen Cottage Grove as the place to settle and hopefully raise a family and do those things. And whether it’s Lunar New Year, Ramadan, or Ash Wednesday, we wish all of you the very best for these holy days.”
Cottage Grove Council meetings are held on the first and third Wednesdays of each month in the St. Croix Room at City Hall. The public is invited to attend.