1985-11-26 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Council Meeting Minutes November 26, 1985 III Public Hearings, continued Judy Lee, 13 - 20th Avenue S.W., asked why two buildings in presentation had been changed from housing for the elderly; clarified she had corrected herself during the presentation she was no longer showing slides of elderly projects. the slide Dineen by stating Lee asked about the occupancy projections at rental rates of $800; could the building be filled with seniors from this community; if the project is marketable. Smith advised that Housing Alliance was as concerned about occupancy as Lee is; explained the vast amount of research and analysis that goes into a project before plans are drawn, and stated the marketing meetings would continue throughout the project, including input on the amenities, common space, landscaping, and so forth. Lee inquired about what seemed to be a shortage of underground parking spaces (50 spaces for 72 units) indicating that seniors are very mobile and that many times senior couples have two cars. I Smith responded that although a traffic consultant suggested .4 spaces per unit for senior projects, their plans fit the City's guideline for .7 spaces per unit; experience shows the need for cars declines after people have lived in this type of housing because of transportation available in the area and the obvious reduction in costs for insurance, gas, licenses, etc., and that the extra parking spaces are converted into storage. Dineen added that the average age of seniors in housing projects is 76 and that many persons move into a project like this. Lee questioned the marketing of the second phase of construction; Smith stated this community is one of the prime areas for senior housing but they would be building 36 units initially and then, barring any unfore- seen difficulties, would proceed to the second phase of 36 units. A resident indicated in a 32-unit building, there are eight cars. In response to Blomquist's request, Winkels indicated he has received no calls asking for additional parking spaces at the Palmer Drive complex during its five years of existence, other than two phone calls in the first few months. Winkels added that for Palmer Drive's new addition, the City required .7 parking spaces. III Blomquist noted that the proposed project has overflow parking availabil- ity in the Rice Creek Shopping Center. , Winkels advised that Mark Haggerty of Miller & Schroeder was present to answer any questions regarding the financing, explained the project would be on the Planning Commission's agenda December 17, 1985, and would be back to the council on December 19th's agenda for final review. Page Three