Citywalk Apartments request to double size to 12 stories headed for review

Oct. 8—ROCHESTER — A public hearing is slated for Wednesday regarding a request to

double the size of a planned Second Street Southwest apartment building.

The Rochester Planning and Zoning Commission will hold the hearing at 6 p.m. Wednesday in council chambers of the city-county Government Center before being asked whether to recommend approval of the change in plans.

Dubbed Citywalk Apartments, the

project was approved last year

for six stories with 219 apartments, but developer Andy Novak of The DM Companies is now proposing an expansion to 12 stories with 361 apartments.

An earlier version of the plan called for 131 apartments in a seven-story building with 131 apartments, but the plan changed after DM Companies secured a purchase agreement for a nearby 10-unit apartment building at 219 Sixth Ave. SW. The planned sale made way for a six-story building with additional apartments.

Novak said the latest requested expansion takes into account

Mayo Clinic plans for building new health care facilities

near the apartment complex planned for the southwest corner of Second Street Southwest and Sixth Avenue.

"When they break ground on a $4 billion hospital, this is going to be a (housing) crisis," he told neighbors during a required meeting in August. "DM Companies made a strategic decision to provide more housing for the community."

The proposed expansion of the project comes as

changes to the city's zoning map are being considered,

which could eventually limit the potential height of new construction in the area.

The site is currently zoned for high-density residential development, which allows the proposed 115-foot apartment building, but a proposed change to transit-oriented zoning would reduce the maximum allowed height to 85 feet at the intersection.

The Rochester City Council delayed a planned Oct. 2 decision on adopting the map, but the requested Citywalk change is still slated to be reviewed using the map that was on file when plans were submitted last month.

In addition to asking for added height to the building, the plan proposes the creation of 228 underground parking spaces.

Other minor changes include replacing the first-floor residential units with enhanced amenity spaces, which is expected to make ground-floor spaces more visually accessible from the public sidewalk. Additional materials and landscaping elements, such as green trellises, have also been added to the north and west sides of the planned building.

The proposed changes are being supported by city Community Development staff, with some recommended conditions.

Staff is suggesting the developer be required to provide some added design details before building can start and address Rochester Public Utility concerns cited in a staff review, which includes assuring trees and shrubs don't block access needed for service. City staff is also asking for an 8-foot-wide sidewalk along Second Street be extended to the west property line.

Meetings scheduled to be held during the week of Oct. 9 include:

—City Council learning session, 3:30 p.m. Monday in the Cascade Lake meeting room, 88 23rd Ave. SW.

—Pedestrian and Bicycle Advisory Committee, 6:30 p.m. Monday in room 104 of City Hall, 201 Fourth St. SE.

—Rochester Police Policy Oversight Commission, 3:30 p.m. Tuesday in room 164B of the Development Services and Infrastructure Center, 4001 West River Parkway.

—Ethical Practices Board, 10:30 a.m. Wednesday in room 104 of City Hall.

—Planning and Zoning Commission, 6 p.m. Wednesday, council chambers of the city-county Government Center.

—New commissioner introduction to the Planning Department, 4 p.m. Tuesday at 2122 Campus Drive SE

—Human Rights Commission, 6 p.m. Thursday in conference room 2 of the Government Center.

—Zoning Board of Adjustment, 6:30 p.m. Thursday in board chambers of the Government Center.

—School Board study session, 5 p.m. Tuesday in the boardroom of the Edison Building, 615 Seventh St. SW.