St. Paul City Council backs five-story Trellis Treehouse Senior Living by Highland Bluff

Frederick Melo, Pioneer Press
Updated ·3 min read

Over the objection of a concerned neighbor, the St. Paul City Council has given the green light to a five-story affordable senior housing complex near West Seventh Street in Highland Park, along a steep bluff site previously zoned for single-family housing.

The Trellis Treehouse Senior Living development will be situated off Madison Street, next to a future retaining wall along the bluff behind the Highland Chateau Health and Rehabilitation Center, a skilled nursing facility at West Seventh Street and St. Paul Avenue.

Trellis, which is based in Arden Hills, plans 36 units of affordable senior housing, with 27 units targeted to seniors earning no more than 30% area median income and nine units targeted at 50% AMI. The project will include a mix of one-bedroom, studio and efficiency units with seven stalls of tuck-under parking.

“I think it’s a good project, and will provide much-needed senior housing not only in St. Paul, but in Highland Park,” said St. Paul City Council Member Chris Tolbert on Wednesday, addressing the council.

Planning Commission vote

The roof of the Treehouse building will sit some 30 to 40 feet below the first floor of the single-family properties to the north and northwest along Lower St. Dennis Road.

On Dec. 9, the St. Paul Planning Commission voted 10-1 to approve variances for site regrading, the retaining wall and trough-shaped yards between the retaining wall and the new building, which currently bears the address 0 Madison Street.

The city’s zoning code typically requires that buildings fit into hillsides without significant regrading, both to protect the stability of the slope and preserve existing trees while preventing excessively tall retaining walls.

The Planning Commission, which imposed five conditions, required an engineering report on slope stability and hydrology, a rezoning of the property from single-family residential to medium-density/multi-family residential and the establishment of a new private street that is being negotiated with the Highland Chateau and St. Paul Public Works. The city council adopted the requisite rezoning on Jan. 25.

A neighbor’s appeal is denied

Chad Cutshall, a resident of Lower St. Dennis Road, later appealed the Planning Commission decision to the city council, noting in a Jan. 25 letter that “this retaining wall is approximately the size of a highway billboard sign that spans the length of an entire football field.” He expressed concern about the “large, unattractive trough shaped yard” planned, as well as the loss of existing trees.

“In no location on the entirety of the Highland Bluff is there a development with similar character to the proposed structure,” Cutshall wrote.

The city council held a public hearing on Jan. 25 and then voted 5-1 Wednesday to deny Cutshall’s appeal of the Planning Commission decision, with Council Member Jane Prince the sole hold-out. Council Member Nelsie Yang was absent. The council also rejected Cutshall’s appeal of the site plan by a 5-1 vote.

“The variance, in fact, is not in harmony with the intent of the zoning code,” said Prince, noting the size of the planned retaining wall and difficulties accessing the site from the currently unimproved road. “I just cannot believe there’s adequate access, even with the installation of a private road there.”

Following multiple community meetings, the Highland District Council voted to recommend that the city council support the project.

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