Final Plans for Lilydale Tennis Club Site Approved

Final redevelopment plans for the Lilydale Tennis Club site and a preliminary plat were heard and discussed by both the planning commission and city council Monday night.

While the city council voiced several concerns regarding the redevelopment plans submitted by John Wall of Highland Bank and Lance Lemieux of Southview Senior Living, approvals were ultimately granted for both the redevelopment’s final plans and the preliminary plat.

The site of the former Lilydale Tennis Club will be split up into two separate lots for the purposes of building a senior living residence and a luxury apartment building.

The city had until Aug. 15, 2011 to complete its formal review of the developers’ application plans.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, the state government shutdown stood as a major concern for all those involved.

City Engineer Jeff Weiss voiced concerns during the initial public hearing about drainage options for the redevelopment. He said that developers and the city were both waiting to hear back from the Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT), which is effectively closed, regarding the feasibility of tapping into a storm water drainage system the state agency already has in place at the site.

Should permission not be given, or should the MnDOT system prove unsuitable for the required drainage, developers would need to devise alternative methods.

Finances for the project continued to be a source of concern. While the city council had been under the impression that Lemieux was planning on including eight to twelve affordable housing units in the planned 120-unit senior housing building, Lemieux said he would be uncomfortable committing to providing affordable housing at the property in writing given the project’s pricetag.

“If the Elderly Waiver program is cut . . . that’s my big concern,” he told the council.

Also a concern for Lilydale city staff was vegetation at the property. Developers are proposing removing non-native species in favor of native vegetation. City Planner Ciara Schlichting recommended that an ecologist from the city be consulted as part of the ongoing process.

Robert Spaulding of Friends of the Mississippi River encouraged those in attendance to think about slope stability and erosion control along the bluff, praising developers and the city for reducing the project’s scope and density. Spaulding also voiced concerns regarding the visual impact the development would have on the bluff, conceding that the project was “maybe just fine in its current form.”

Despite these concerns, the city council, acting on the recommendation of the planning commission, approved the final plans and PUD for redevelopment of the property. City staff reported they will continue to work with the developers to follow up on concerns with the plan as the development moves forward.

Demolition, site prep and utilities are scheduled to be completed over the next month and a half. The senior housing facility will be built first, with construction anticipated to begin this fall. The apartment building’s start date will be dependent on improvements in the housing market.