The former Sholom Home will be renovated into 150 rental apartments — 80 percent of them studio or one-bedroom units of 600 square feet or less, according to updated plans shared with District 10’s Land Use Committee Oct. 2.
But the project will need the neighborhood to go along with a substantial parking variance, said Chuck Repke, a representative of Midway Community Group Redevelopment. The company, headed by Minneapolis developer Jeffrey Laux, is buying the former nursing home property at 1554 Midway Parkway through foreclosure.
The site currently has 65 surface parking spaces on its Canfield side; plans call for adding 10 more spaces on-site near Canfield and Arona, and 25 indoor spaces in the west building. But that could be more than 75 short of what city zoning code requires.
“It comes down to parking,” Repke told more than three dozen neighbors
at the meeting. “You have to make a serious decision: Is the building
worth saving? This can work, but it comes with a dilemma.” At another
point, he said: “If we can’t get the parking variance, we can’t do the
building.”
Targeted for renters without cars
Neighbors expressed concerns about adding more cars to streets such as
Canfield, Arona, Midway Parkway, and Almond, especially during the State
Fair. They suggested alternatives such as a ramp on the Canfield side,
more surface parking on the Midway side, underground parking, and
parking arrangements with the State Fairgrounds across Snelling. They
also discussed potential issues such as noise, lighting, and
landscaping.
Repke said the parking crunch may not be as severe as neighbors fear. He said the building will be one of the most transit-friendly options available. He said he believes it can be marketed successfully to renters who have chosen not to have a car, but instead rely on transportation such as the A Line bus that stops outside, ride-sharing, bicycles, and electric scooters. That target includes empty-nesters, young professionals, and graduate students at the nearby Hamline University and University of Minnesota campuses. He expects rents to start near $1,000 for the smallest units.
The latest plans call for 22 studio apartments of 400-500 square feet; 97 one-bedroom apartments of 550-600 square feet; 24 two-bedroom apartments of 800-900 square feet; and 7 three-bedroom apartments of 900-1,050 square feet. The project expects a number of communal amenities, such as a barbecue patio near Snelling and Midway; bike parking; indoor activity and media rooms; and a rooftop garden.
Repke told neighbors that the site is too narrow to make a parking ramp
viable. In a follow-up email to District 10, he said adding a surface
lot on the Midway side could, at most, add 9 spaces – and also would
create aesthetic, engineering and other obstacles that are unlikely to
pass muster with the city.
Renovation means trade-offs
Owners want to keep the buildings intact, Repke stressed, in part to
make the project distinctive from newer developments such as those on
south Snelling. But “creative re-use” comes with trade-offs, he said,
including the parking challenge. If this proposal doesn’t fly, he said,
the city’s zoning code would allow developers to demolish the existing
buildings and build a contemporary, five-story structure that could hold
400 units but meet all the parking requirements.
“After 10 years as a vacant, ugly building, I would think that having life in that building will improve things in the neighborhood,” he said. “We want to make this the best development that works for you.”