Resolutions approving a Final Plat review of Victory Ridge Apartments, and a Conditional Use Permit to allow a grouped housing project and a wetland sequencing and replacement in the O-R, Office Residential District (Outlot B, Kearney Addition No. 2); by request of Bolton and Menk.

At the September 24, 2025, meeting, the Planning Commission recommended adoption of the resolutions.

The applicant is currently requesting approval of a wetland replacement plan, a conditional use permit to allow grouped housing project, and a final plat review of the Victory Ridge subdivision. The subject property is legally described as Outlot B, Kearney Addition No. 2.

The final plat proposes the creation of a one-lot, one-block subdivision encompassing approximately 14.83 acres. The property has been evaluated for woodlands, shoreland, and wetlands. The applicant has shifted the development to minimize impacts to the wooded areas and the shoreland areas. The wetlands will be reviewed in conjunction with the final plat.

Outlot A, Elwin No. 3 and No. 2 will remain under their current ownership. The developer does not plan to purchase them for further development. 

Wetlands and Hydrology: 

The applicant has requested wetland flexibility and submitted for review, a wetland sequencing and replacement plan to allow for impacts to the wetland located on the upper areas of the site. Two sites were determined during the wetland analysis.
Wetland 1 is isolated and will be permitted through the Wetland Conservation Act. Mitigation for this wetland is planned at a 2:1 ratio for a total of 0.16 credits. 

A hydrology study was conducted and determined proposed improvements, including dedicated drainage areas, storm sewer routing, and two filtration basins. The first basin will be located on the eastern side of the property and will provide the majority of the water quality and impervious drainage for the development. The basin is designed to outfall near the bottom of Thomas Ravine bluff. The second basin will be located on the western side of the property. 

Conditional Use Permit:

Site plans for the Victory Ridge Subdivision illustrate a grouped housing development consisting of four apartment buildings with a total of 180 residential units. Supporting site improvements include four garages, on-site parking, and associated residential amenities. The property is currently zoned O-R, Office Residential, where grouped housing projects are classified as conditional uses. 

The applicant proposes to construct two 38-unit buildings and two 52-unit buildings, arranged in a rectangle around a central open space. Building designs are proposed to mostly replicate those previously approved and constructed for the Augusta Estates Park apartment project. The 52-unit building will have 23 tuck-under garages and include two studio units, 22 one-bedroom units and 28 two-bedroom units. Each 52-unit building will have a dedicated lobby, mail center, fitness center, and community room. The 38-unit buildings will not have tuck-under garages and include three studio units, 12 one-bedroom units, and 23 two-bedroom units. Each 38-unit building will have a dedicated lobby, office, community room, and fitness center. Both building types include a variety of unit layouts for each bedroom classification. 

Several outdoor amenities are proposed, including a playground, a fenced dog park, outdoor athletic courts, and ample green space. 

In order to reduce the development envelope of the project area, the applicant has modified their parking layout to adjust for the recent amendment to the parking requirements for Multiple Family developments, reducing the requirement from 2 stalls to 1.5 stalls per unit. As a multiple-family housing development, the project must provide a minimum of 1.5 parking stalls per unit. With a total of 180 residential units, 270 off-street parking stalls must be provided on site. The applicant has proposed to provide 365 parking stalls on site, at a rate of over 2 stalls per unit. The applicant intends to utilize a variety of parking types, including tandem parking, underground, garage, and surface lot parking. 227 parking stalls will be provided in surface lots. This includes 48 tandem stalls. Nine accessible parking stalls will also be provided within the surface lot. 40 garage stalls will be provided and 48 underground parking stalls. If tandem parking stalls were not included in the total parking calculation, 317 off-street parking stalls would still be provided on site. This conforms to the Mankato City Code.

Public utilities are available within the Dublin Road corridor to serve the proposed development.

Site access is proposed from Dublin Road and will be required to conform to the City’s engineering and access management standards. The applicant has submitted a traffic study. It was determined that a dedicated left turn signal at the intersection of Adams St. and Victory Dr. could be beneficial during peak hours. The functionality of the signal will be evaluated for adding a left turn signal. The applicant will be required to cost participate with any enhancements to the signal. The percentage of participation will be determined by the Department of Public Works.