Adopt Resolutions #24-169 and #24-170 Approving a Final Plat and Site Plan for "Skyline on Sunwood" for a mixed use building at 7545 Sunwood Drive NW (PSD LLC). 

Site Location
The proposed site is on the north side of Sunwood Drive, between Sapphire Street and Center Street, and south of 145th Avenue NW.  The 4-acre site is zoned COR-1 Mixed Use Core Subdistrict and guided as Mixed Use in the 2040 Comprehensive Plan.  

Building Use
The mixed-use building is comprised of residential rental apartments and retail spaces.  The 133-unit residential portion of the building contains a mix of studio, 1-, 2-, and 3-bedroom units on floors 2, 3, and 4.  Resident amenity spaces are on the first and third floors featuring a swimming pool, fitness room, community rooms, business suites, a golf simulator, and a rooftop patio.  The first floor contains enclosed parking areas along the east and west legs of the building.  The overall density of the residential portion of the building is approximately 33.25 units/acre.

The retail spaces, totaling approximately 13,776 square feet, are located on the first floor at the southeast and southwest corners of the building.  The spaces are subdividable into six bays, three on each end.  The anticipated construction type of the building will limit the use of the spaces to retail, personal service, and office users.  Limited coffee shop and restaurant users (such as a sandwich shop) are possible, but due to the anticipated construction design and venting restrictions, full-scale restaurants are not possible.  

Building Design
The building will have three parts in a general U-shape creating a courtyard for the parking lot.  The side that fronts Sunwood Drive on the south will be four stories in height with a flat roof.  It contains the main entrance to the apartments.  This side also contains large windows for the retail spaces, all with direct access to the sidewalk along Sunwood Drive.  The portion of the first floor with smaller windows has the resident business spaces behind them.  

The east and west legs of the building are only three stories in height with a hip roof and gables, similar to the roofline of the nearby Parkview East Apartments.  The east and west portions of the first floor closest to Sunwood Drive has retail frontage wrapping around with a retail storefront (one each on Sapphire Street and Center Street).  The west (Center Street) leg has amenity spaces at its north end with the community room and a two-story pool atrium.  The middle portion of the west leg and the remainder of the east leg of the building will have parking behind the exterior walls.  Some windows are provided.  On the second and third stories of the east and west legs contain residential units.  A rooftop patio is proposed above the pool atrium on the west leg.  

Exterior materials will consist of brick veneer, corrugated metal siding with a corten steel finish, and LP lap siding.  Each unit will have a balcony and magic-pack HVAC units for each of the apartments.    The materials are generally consistent with the COR-1 standards, though lap siding is considered a complimentary material and must be high quality (no vinyl siding).  

On the interior of the courtyard, along the areas adjacent to the first floor parking garage, rows of attached individual "tuck under" garages are shown with standing seam metal roofs.  

Attached to this report are the applicant's inspirational photos that he presented to the Planning Commission.  

Access and Parking
Vehicular access to the site will be from two driveways off 145th Avenue on the north side of the site.  The 166-space surface parking lot is in the courtyard of the building.  A total of 92 enclosed garage spaces are provided on the east and west legs of the building.  Adjacent to the parking lot are 33 "tuck under" single-stall garages.  Along the north side of the site, a detached garage building with fourteen individual garage stalls is proposed.  In all 305 spaces are proposed.  The requirement for the residential portion of the building is 1.5 spaces per unit (200 spaces) and one space per 200 square feet of retail space (69 spaces).  The site does have approximately 36 spaces more than City Code requires and the applicant has stated that his residential properties tend to have a greater parking need.  

Customers driving to the retail spaces will not likely use the parking lot.  There is ample on-street parking on the streets adjacent to the storefronts.  It is strongly recommended that the building management create a policy that employees of businesses park in the parking lot to keep on-street parking convenient to the customers.  

Pedestrian Connections
Sidewalks will be constructed along all four surrounding roadways.  Adjacent to Sunwood Drive, the sidewalk will have small planter boxes mirroring the ones across the street in front of City Hall.  Along Center Street, a ten foot sidewalk behind the curb is shown according the the COR Framework.  This same type of sidewalk is shown adjacent to the retail space along Sapphire Street.  The remainder of Sapphire Street and 145th Avenue will have a traditional sidewalk with a boulevard.  Bike racks are shown in two locations along Sunwood Drive.  All retail spaces and the front door of the apartments can be accessed directly from Sunwood Drive.  

Landscaping
From the EPB's June 17 agenda, it was noted that there is a mix of evergreen and deciduous trees and shrubs, with the evergreens being located internal to the site.  The Landscape Plan includes boulevard trees along Sapphire Street, Center Street, and 145th Avenue, and 'single' planting beds along Sunwood Drive (this matches what is across the street in front of the Ramsey Municipal Center).  Most of Staff's review comments focus on the boulevards and sidewalks.  Comments regarding the sidewalk and streetscape have since been revised.  Irrigation is proposed for the site.  Staff has requested that the irrigation system be extended to provide coverage of the boulevard plantings along Sapphire Street and 145th Avenue, as well as the planting beds along Sunwood Drive.  This will be very beneficial for the plants during hot and dry stretches throughout the growing season.

Lighting
The applicant provided a lighting plan with photometrics.  The light levels shown across the parking lot are generally adequate and meet City Code.  All lights must be downcast and shielded.  The cut sheet provided for the wall-mouted lights indicates that the desired light can be angled in various positions.  These lights will need to be downcast to meet Code and prevent glare.  

There are street lights along Sunwood Drive and Center Street--taller ones at intersections with the shorter ones along the block.  It is recommended that two additional shorter light poles be installed along Sapphire Street in the vicinity of the retail storefront with the same 70-foot spacing in order to cary the street scape and retail feel around the corner from Sunwood Drive.  

Storm Water Management
Storm water in the COR is handled through a regional storm water basin instead of on site.  The applicant will need to have the Lower Rum River Watershed approval due to the size of the project.  The applicant will contribute an equal amount of constructing on-site basins towards the costs of the regional basin.  

Outdoor Amenities
The site also features a covered patio, pickleball court, and two dog parks.  These amenities are locted in the northwestern portion of the courtyard adjacent to the pool and community space.  These spaces will be enclosed by vinyl-coated chain-link fences.  

Utilities
The site is serviced by municipal water and sanitary sewer.  There are some extra services that were installed anticipating multiple buildings on this block.  The unused services will need to be removed by the applicant.  

Signage
Signs in the COR must be an individual-letter design.  Box signs are not allowed.  The renderings show rectangles indicating the potential sign locations for the retail users and the plans note that there will be brick behind the signs.  A sign for the apartment building is shown up near the roofline on the south facade.  It is recommended that a sign allowance of 50 square feet be available at the first floor level near or above the apartment door so that it can be identified from the pedestrian/street level (this was granted for the Hilton Home2Suites building with a similar sign package).   Another apartment sign is shown along the northwest roofline atop the pool atrium.  

A monument sign is shown at the northeast corner of the site.  

Public Safety
The City's Police and Fire Departments have reviewed the plans and provided input.  The parking lot drive aisles are designed to accommodate the turning needs of a fire truck.  The applicant has stated that he will work with staff at the time of building permit on a security plan for the building (key fob system, cameras, etc.). 

Plat
A minor plat is proposed to replant the existing outlot into a buildable lot.  Some right-of-way is dedicated for existing 145th Avenue NW at the northeast corner of the site.  With the plat, site development fees and park dedication is required.  Those fees will be set with a Development Agreement brought forth on a future Council agenda.  
 

Mailed notices were sent to property owners and residents 700 feet from the site.  A proposed development sign was placed at the northeast corner of Sunwood Drive and Center Street.  A legal notice was placed in the Anoka Union Hearld Newspaper.  

All costs associated with the proposed development are the responsibility of the applicant.  

At its meeting on June 27, the Planning Commission unanimously recommended approval of the site plan review. 

Two separate motions are proposed:

Motion to adopt Resolution #24-169 approving a final plat for "Skyline on Sunwood."

and

Motion to adopt Resolution #24-170 approving a Site Plan Review for a mixed-use building at 7545 Sunwood Drive Northwest.