Lyn-Lake Redevelopment: Aldrich Ave. Apartments

After a year of planning, a development plan for a large section of Lyn-Lake moved forward. The developer, GRECO, initially proposed a hotel, condo, apartment, retail, office project that would have brought hundreds of new housing units and significant amount of new office space to the neighborhood. The site consisted of the west side of Lyndale Avenue from the VFW (mid-block) north to 29th Street, the east side of Aldrich Avenue north of the Uptown City Apartments to 29th Street, the west side of Aldrich Avenue from Lake Street to 29th Street, and the east side of Bryant Avenue north of Five Restaurant (second building from the 29th Street corner) to 29th Street.

Ultimately, after resistance to the plan from neighborhood groups regarding the intensity of use and building heights (some up to 10 stories) and a general negative view coming from City Hall (partially due to some TIF money the developer wanted), the developer scraped plans for the proposed project.

Instead GRECO went back to work with its architect, BKV Group, and came up with what is most likely the first phase of a scaled-back project. The new proposal takes on the western side of Aldrich Avenue from Lake Street to 29th Street. The site current consists of a vacated gas station, an industrial warehouse, a single family home, duplex, and a four-unit apartment building.

The new proposal would create two new buildings: a retail/apartment building along Lake Street and an apartment just to its north. The four to six story building would contain approximately 15,716 square feet of commercial space, all of which would front Lake Street.

Parking would be provided in a two-level underground parking garage that would sit beneath both buildings.

The proposal was approved. Demolition of several houses, an industrial building, and the gas station on the west side of Aldrich between Lake Street and 29th Street began in May 2007.

Current Zoning: South Building - C2, I1, PO. North Building - I1
Proposed Zoning: South Building - C3A, PO. North Building - R6
Current Use: South Building - Retail, Residential. North Building - Industrial
Proposed Use: South Building - Residential, Retail, Parking. North Building - Residential, Parking
Proposed Height: South Building - 4 to 6 (68 feet) stories. North Building - 4 to 6 (68 feet) Stories
Current Parking: TBD
Proposed Parking: South Building - 178 underground stalls (includes 32 stalls for commercial uses). North Building - 130 underground stalls
Parking Requirement: South Building - 146 stalls + TBD for commercial (based on use, though City requires 18 for general retail use). North Building - 98 stalls (one per unit)
Housing Units/Type: South Building - 146 / Apartments. North Building - 98 / Apartments
Conditional Use Permits Requested: South Building - 146 new dwelling units, increase height from 4 to 6 stories. North Building - 146 new dwelling units
Variances Requested: South Building - Reduce minimum interior side yard, reduce minimum lot area, increase the maximum width of a driveway in a PO. North Building - reduce the minimum front yard, reduce minimum corner side yard, reduce minimum front yard, reduce the minimum lot area
Other Requested: Travel Demand Management Plan. South Building - Site plan review, preliminary plat. North Building - Site plan review.

• Rubenstein, Aaron. "GRECO Lyn-Lake Project Redesigned and Rejected." Uptown Neighborhood New Oct. 2006.