22 on the River - 22 27th Avenue SE

[twincitizen]

Fine Associates has purchased the vacant Good Samaritan nursing home at 22 27th Ave SE in Prospect Park.

They plan to convert the former nursing home into roughly 100 apartments. Fine acquired the building for a song (under $1MM) and plans to put a significant amount of money into the rehab. No word yet on when construction would begin. If you're wondering, Good Samaritan has numerous locations in the MSP area, primarily in first-ring suburbs. This particular operation relocated to a new facility in Robbinsdale.

I'm not sure what their parking plan is. Given that it was a nursing home, it only has ~20 existing spaces on site. Perhaps they will reach an arrangement with the Thornton Place condominium tower next door to lease spaces in their ramp/deck. I'm anti-parking minimums as much as the next guy, but this is not the most transitable location. One could take the Route 67 (née Route 8) to either Blue or Green Lines, but that's about it. Bottom line is they're going to need more than 20 spaces for 90-some units. I hope they are able to figure that out without purchasing and demolishing any nearby homes.

EDIT: Perhaps they will convert the first level into parking. It does not appear that is currently the case, and the existing 20 spaces seems about right for the number of employees/visitors this place would have had as a nursing home.

[MNdible]

Interesting project.

Not related, but showing up on the google maps so it made me wonder, does anybody have any idea what the story is with the railroad r.o.w. through here? Does American National Can still need railroad access (it doesn't appear to feed anywhere else)? And even if they do, is that enough to justify the continuing existence of this spur, including the ongoing maintenance of the railroad bridge over 94?

[seanrichardryan]

Nursing homes tend to have low ceilings.

[Didier]

When did the nursing home move? There is a surface parking lot down the street at Franklin and Thornton where the nurses parked. I hadn't noticed either way, so I assumed they were still using that lot. At the very least, nurses have been parking there in recent history.

It's a great location in terms of river access, though probably a bit too far for LRT. It's a fairly ugly building, though, and most of the windows aren't really aligned to get the views. I'll be interested to see how much they plan to renovate the space.

As an aside, there is a auto mechanic at the corner of Franklin-27th that would be an amazing redevelopment opportunity someday. It's a huge corner lot that with some height would have river and downtown views.

[Didier]

Over the last couple days I noticed that the surface lot where the nurses used to park now sits empty. I never thought to look before, so not sure how long that's been the case.

Either way, I wonder if/how the nursing home and the surface lot are related. I can't imagine this parking setup would fly for a luxury apartment. If that's the case, there is otherwise no market for a parking lot here. It would be great to see more upscale townhouses across Franklin from River Mews (or whatever they're called). It's a great location, two blocks from the river, a short walk to the U, and a two-mile bike ride downtown.

[twincitizen]

Does American National Can still need railroad access (it doesn't appear to feed anywhere else)? And even if they do, is that enough to justify the continuing existence of this spur, including the ongoing maintenance of the railroad bridge over 94?

It appears there is still an active customer http://goo.gl/maps/EkQpz at the very end of that spur, but you're right, the ongoing cost of maintenance of that entire spur and bridge of I-94 seems impossible to justify for delivering a single car of whatever that is.

Over the last couple days I noticed that the surface lot where the nurses used to park now sits empty. I never thought to look before, so not sure how long that's been the case.

Either way, I wonder if/how the nursing home and the surface lot are related. I can't imagine this parking setup would fly for a luxury apartment. If that's the case, there is otherwise no market for a parking lot here. It would be great to see more upscale townhouses across Franklin from River Mews (or whatever they're called). It's a great location, two blocks from the river, a short walk to the U, and a two-mile bike ride downtown.

Good eye! Here's the parking lot Didier is talking about: http://gis.co.hennepin.mn.us/property/m ... 2923340053

I agree that would be a very nice site for luxury townhomes or even a pair of really nice single family homes.

[twincitizen]

More than a year later, it is proceeding: http://finance-commerce.com/2014/10/fro ... o-rentals/

[Didier]

I can't read the article, but a family friend who lives across the street said the neighborhood is pretty annoyed by this project.

Apparently they had a meeting with the developer a while back, who assured them that it wouldn't be student housing. Then, at the next meeting, all of the details revealed about the conversion were pretty much characteristics for student housing. I don't really know much more than that, but maybe the article has more details.

Also, apparently the plan is to turn the old surface lot on Franklin into townhomes. Not sure if that's in the story?

[min-chi-cbus]

So it's a remodel/renovation, not a ground-up project, correct?

[TommyT]

Correct.

https://www.google.com/maps/@44.9651837 ... e0!6m1!1e1

[twincitizen]

Ah, I now see why the neighborhood would think it's geared to students. I just read the F&C print edition of the story, and due to the limits of the nursing home construction, many of the units are going to be quite small. They are planning 11 studio units of just 300 sf. The minimum allowed by the zoning code is 350 sf, so those units will require variances. There will be other normal-sized and larger units, including some 2-story loft/townhomes on the first two floors. The neighborhood is simply making the assumption that the 300 sf units will be at a price point attractive to students. The developer noted in the story that the units would possibly be furnished as well, and offer shorter-term leases.

Fine Associates has not received any approvals from the city yet, but according to the story, their applications should be in soon. Some exterior/parking lot demo work is already underway.

[Didier]

The western wing of this building is totally gutted. There are no outside walls, and you can look right through.

[exiled_antipodean]

I can confirm (from being in the neighborhood) that the immediate neighbors (west of 94) are upset about this project. They are worried about the parking, and they're worried about it being "student" housing.

People elsewhere in Prospect Park are more supportive of the project in general, as it's a signature site and having it sit vacant would not be good.

This developer apparently has a history (at the 740 Building by Ford Parkway) of being pretty tight on parties and the like. So, there probably will be professional students there (close to both hospitals) but unlikely to be that attractive for your quintessential undergraduate kegger.

[kiliff75]

South half of the building has been completely gutted, just the steel frame is remaining.

[twincitizen]

Finally, plans: http://www.minneapolismn.gov/www/groups ... 134712.pdf

[Didier]

So one of the biggest changes will be creating a main entrance on 27th Avenue. That should be a nice improvement.

Lots of really small units, though. Most seems to be in the 500s for square footage, but some are in the 300s! Am I reading that right?

[twincitizen]

Of the 125 units, there will be 11 studios of 301 sf (under the 350 sf minimum), and a single 1BR unit of 444 sf (under the 500sf minimum), largely driven by the structural limitations of it being a former nursing home. It appears most floors range from units of 501-900sf, with one 1100 sf unit per floor. It's on the smaller end, but not terribly so. The tenant mix will probably lean younger. It's possible the 301 sf micro studios could be offered furnished, and/or with shorter lease terms.

The really crazy thing is that there are only 43 parking spaces on site. Surely that requires a variance as well, but I don't see it requested here. Even with the various reductions you can get for transit proximity, etc., 125 units is a long way from 43 spaces, especially given the characteristics of the area. It's served only by the Route 67, or a LONG walk to the Green Line. There are numerous parking restrictions in the area (no parking on Franklin, one-side restriction on Thornton, though I'm not sure why, etc.) which won't provide a whole lot of on-street relief.

EDIT: It appears they also own this parking lot nearby, with another 38 or so spaces: http://gis.hennepin.us/property/map/def ... 2923340053
I suppose that gets them close enough that it won't absolutely monopolize the streets, but I'm still wondering if/when they were granted a parking variance. That would be an interesting conversation to hear. The accessory parking lot is not mentioned anywhere in the staff report or plans...

[Didier]

My understanding is that the accessory lot on Franklin is going to be developed into townhomes, but I have no evidence to back that up.

[exiled_antipodean]

The previous use had a variance, and they were grandfathered in on the parking. They are using the lot on Franklin/Thornton for parking for now, but ultimately hope to put townhomes there.

Yep, the immediate neighbors have been outraged at the parking issue.

[Didier]

This one is progressing. They gutted the interior and have been adding new walls to one section. The other wing was left intact, although they must be planning to pop some more windows in there. The back side of the brick section doesn't have any.

P.S. Am I using Flickr wrong, or is it a giant pain to find the actual image URL of the actual image? I found this one by clicking into the share menu and copying it out of some longer code. Edit: It appears the URL I found was to a thumbnail.