Development Roundup

By JANE MCCLURE

Accessory units along Green Line get approval

Accessory dwelling units, touted as a way to add housing density along the light-rail Green Line in St. Paul, would only be allowed in portions of the South St. Anthony Park, Merriam Park, Snelling-Hamline, Lexington-Hamline and Hamline-Midway neighborhoods under an ordinance approved Sept. 14 by the St. Paul City Council.

Whether the change prompts more people to add the accessory dwelling units isn’t clear, although support was voiced for the change at Planning Commission and City Council public hearings.

Council President Russ Stark said he hears interest mainly from the North St. Anthony Park neighborhood. That area is outside of the boundary. The St. Anthony Park Community Council recently oversaw a study of the dwelling units and supports the zoning change. District 1 Planning Council supported the change and asked that the changes be adopted citywide. Hamline Midway Coalition and Como Community Council weighed in with technical suggestions.

In Merriam Park, a group studying housing issues in the neighborhood has looked at the proposal as a way to promote more owner-occupancy of the neighborhood’s many large foursquare homes. Union Park District Council didn’t take a position on the zoning study.

The City Council September 14 asked city staff to do a follow-up study of the dwelling units, to see how many have been added over the next year. Minneapolis has added about 50 units since it added an accessory dwelling unit ordinance a few years ago, although it’s not clear how many of those were existing units that were brought into compliance with new regulations.

The area where the housing units will be allowed is smaller than originally proposed. The City Council voted 6-1 on September 7 to drop Summit-University and Frogtown from the neighborhoods where accessory dwelling units would be allowed. That move was recommended by Ward 1 City Council member Dai Thao in response to the objections of the Summit-University Planning Council (SUPC). Frogtown residents had supported the change.

The ordinance would allow stand-alone backyard houses, carriage house-style apartments above garages and smaller units built into or attached to a larger home one-half mile north and one mile south of the Green Line from the western city limit at Emerald St. to Lexington Pkwy. The new units would have to be owner-occupied, be registered with the city and meet an array of zoning and building code regulations.

The proposal grew out of zoning studies along the Green Line that began even before the trains began running in 2014. It was promoted as a way to increase the number of housing units conveniently located near the transit line and had the support of other local district councils.

Griggs Midway lot plan OK’d

Changes have been made to the financing for the Griggs Midway Building parking lot improvements. The St. Paul City Council, acting as the Housing and Redevelopment Authority (HRA) Board, approved the changes Sept. 28.

Photo left: One of the plans that were originally proposed for Dickerman Park.

The building complex at the northeast corner of Fairview and University avenues had used a part of Dickerman Park for off-street parking for many years. That lot was removed as the Park is being redeveloped.

The HRA action approved a change in term from seven to five years for a previously-authorized forgivable loan through the Neighborhood Commercial Parking Program. The program was created to mitigate parking losses when Green Line light rail was built. Griggs Midway Building got a loan in Aug. 2015.

The Griggs Midway Building Corporation owns five buildings in the block behind the northeast corner of Fairview and University. Two of the buildings front on Dickerman Park. The park project resulted in the loss of 57 parking spaces. A second lot on Fairview has long encroached on Fairview right-of-way, meaning another 27 parking spaces would be lost.

The HRA loaned Griggs Midway Corporation up to $200,000 to reconfigure the rest of its parking area. The corporation wants to change the loan term to five years to limit the liability on their asset.

Former auto dealership sold

Two more former auto dealerships on University Ave. face transformation. The St. Paul City Council, acting as the Housing and Redevelopment Authority (HRA) Board Sept. 28, gave the nonprofit tentative developer status for two properties long occupied by Saxon Ford.

The developer status doesn’t involve any budget action at this time. It gives the partnership time lines to bring forward plans for the city-owned properties, which are bounded by Sherburne Ave., Galtier St. and University Ave. One property has a seven-month deadline, and the other can be worked on for up to 30 months. If planning is successful, final development agreements come back to the HRA for sale of the properties. The HRA set many conditions to be met as part of the developer agreement.

The city has sought developers for the properties for more than a year. The partnership would build assisted living on one parcel and a health center on the other. The plans have support from Frogtown Neighborhood Association.

Grant awarded

A West Midway residential development received investigation grants from the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development and the Metropolitan Council. The St. Paul City Council voted Sept. 7 to accept the funds.

It was among nine grants sought for sites throughout the city. The grant application was submitted in April. $763,327 was awarded for a preconstruction work for a new apartment building at 2300 Territorial Rd.

A developer sought the grant through the city, which acts as a pass-through funding source.