An “ugly” former industrial site in Shoreview could be the landing spot for the city’s next big multifamily development.
Enclave Properties is going before the City Council on Monday night with its plans to develop 295 affordable and market-rate apartments and 4,500 square feet of commercial space on the city-owned brownfield site at 3377 Rice St., the former home of a Ramsey County public works facility.
Sitting at the southeast corner of Interstate 694 and Rice Street, the 11-acre site needs about $1 million worth of additional cleanup to bring it to residential standards. The developer hopes to begin construction as soon as this fall, said Tom Simonson, Shoreview’s community development director.
Shoreview officials are eager to see new development at the site.
“It has been a brownfield, polluted, ugly site for 20 years. So we're excited that we're going to see a really quality development there,” Simonson said in an interview.
Simonson said the city has an agreement to sell the property to Enclave for about $4.8 million.
Finance & Commerce reached out to Enclave Friday morning.
Ramsey County Public Works vacated the site after moving its operations to Arden Hills. At one point, the Metropolitan Council bought the property with plans to use it as right-of-way for a cloverleaf ramp. The Met Council ultimately decided on a roundabout, which required less land and freed up the 11 acres, according to a project narrative.
The Met Council sold the property to the city, which put out a request for development proposals. Enclave emerged as the city’s developer of choice.
From an affordability perspective, the development promises to set a new standard in Shoreview. Specifically, 20% of the units would be affordable to households at 50% of the area’s median income, which makes it the biggest project with the deepest level of affordability since the city adopted its mixed-income housing requirements, Simonson said.
Roughly half of the apartments would be one-bedroom units, according to the staff report. Also included are studio (9% to 10%), two-bedroom (36% to 37%) and three-bedroom apartments (5% to 6%).
A project narrative reveals plans for a rooftop patio, outdoor playground, fenced-in dog park, internal walking path connecting to the sidewalk system, a parking garage with rooftop solar and electric vehicle charging stations, and a “quasi-public space” suitable for events and gatherings.
Enclave’s latest plan is a departure from its original concept, which called for 253 apartments and 10,000 square feet of commercial space in two buildings. Based on a subsequent market study, the city and Enclave had “concerns for the success and long-term viability of a retail center as large as 10,000 square feet,” according to a city staff report .
Those concerns prompted a shift to more apartments and a smaller commercial space in a single, four-story mixed-use building, said Allison Eddins, Shoreview senior city planner. Eddins said the developers plans to build out the commercial space to attract a restaurant with outdoor seating.
The Shoreview Planning Commission recommended approval of the project in April. Monday night, the City Council will consider a proposed rezoning and other requests. Additional approvals, including final plat and a development agreement, will likely go before the City Council in June.
The developer has also requested tax increment financing assistance, and the city is “still working through that process with them,” Eddins said.
After a long dry spell, the city has seen a surge of multifamily development in recent years. Simonson said the city has added about 1,500 apartments in the past six or seven years.
“Most of our multifamily apartments were done in the late ’60s and early ’70s. And then we were literally decades without any apartments other than senior housing,” Simonson said. “And then, all of a sudden we just started seeing this huge demand and interest in doing multifamily in Shoreview.”
Currently under construction in the city is a 200-unit Aloma project at Lexington Avenue and just north of I-694, the third phase of development that will eventually include 600 apartments, Simonson said. Eagle Ridge Partners and Greco Development are teaming up on the project.
Also in Shoreview, Tyme Properties is building 52 apartments and 21 rental townhomes at Hodgson and Gramsie roads, and Scannell Properties plans to build 220 to 240 apartments as part of its Seven Lakes development on the former Deluxe Corporate campus at 3660 and 3680 Victoria St.
Simonson said the Scannell project will be up for city approvals this fall with construction to start in 2025.
RELATED: Scannell project could bring hundreds of homes to Deluxe site
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