City Recommends Denial for Proposed Apartments at 212 Thompson

Thanks to Clothesline Laundromat and Minnesota Locks for their support.

A proposal for a four-story, 65-unit affordable apartment complex at 212 Thompson Avenue East moves forward to Planning Commission, though the City of West St. Paul recommends denial.

Why: The short version is the dense nature of the project doesn’t fit with the city’s vision for redevelopment.

Background: Originally proposed last November by Minneapolis developer Reuter Walton, the project would replace a single-family home built in 1931 with a four-story apartment. The project did receive has requested affordable housing tax credits from the Dakota County Community Development Agency (CDA), allowing the project to move forward.

Why Denial: Back in November, City Manager Nate Burkett said if the project fit the planning documents and met zoning requirements, then “there’s absolutely nothing that the city can do to stop it.” So what changed?

“Now we’ve got more information,” Burkett said. “We evaluated it against the Comprehensive Plan, we evaluated it against the ordinances, and we didn’t feel as though it fit.”

A 14-page staff report for Planning Commission goes into great detail about the rationale for recommending denial:

• Lack of mixed use: The project is not mixed use and its high density pushes the area well past the desired 50% residential, 50% commercial mix. It also conflicts with the proposed ‘town center’ feel for the area, which has a mix of properties.
• Too dense: At 35 units per acre, this project is well over the average 20 units per acre recommended by the Comprehensive Plan.
• Affordable housing: The city has already hit the 2040 Comprehensive Plan’s goals for new housing, and 60% of those new units are affordable. The city has also added double the housing of any other city in Dakota County.
• Character of neighborhood: City planning documents say growth needs to be accommodated without replacing single-family homes. The city suggests this is too big of a change.
• Requirements: The city says the project doesn’t meet a number of requirements, including landscaping, fire access to the east side of the building, sanitary sewer capacity, exterior building materials, drainage requirements for underground garage, requested right of way, and drainage/utility easements.

Potential conflict: While the city makes their case for denial, they’re also pursuing a mixed use development nearby at 150 Thompson, the former YMCA/Hy-Vee site. There will likely be close scrutiny on the arguments the city makes here and how it’s applied to other development projects. Burkett said the B6 Town Center Mixed Use zoning is fairly limited across the city and didn’t have concerns.

“We spent a lot of time on that staff report, and I stand by it,” Burkett said. “I think we made good arguments and it’s justified. At the end of the day, the Planning Commission and the Council are going to make the decision. They don’t have to take our recommendation.”

What’s next: The project will come before the Planning Commission on August 20 with a public hearing.

Aug. 19, 2024 Update: Developer Requests Extension

The developer has asked for an extension, so the Planning Commission review is pushed back to September 17. The August 20 Planning Commission meeting is canceled.

Sept. 12, 2024 Update: Another Extension

The developer submitted revised plans and there’s another extension, so this should come before the Planning Commission in October.

Oct. 9, 2024 Update: Extended Again

This project has what should be a final extension and should come before the Planning Commission in November.

Nov. 15, 2024 Update: Moving to Planning Commission

The project will come before the Planning Commission on November 19 with the city recommending approval.

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