A pair of developers want to build a pair of residential towers across from the Galleria and Southdale shopping centers in Edina, but on Tuesday night the proposal received a "lukewarm" response from the City Council because of its height, City Manager Scott Neal said.
Twin Cities-based Arcadia LLC and Ryan Cos. want to build a multiphase, mixed-use development that would include a 24-story tower with 82 condominiums and a 20-story tower with 70 condos at the corner of France Avenue and 69th Street.
The Art Deco-inspired stone and glass buildings were designed to be slender enough to minimize their visual impact and create a compact floorplate that enables every unit to have at least one corner view.
Neal said that while the council "loved" nearly every aspect of the project they expressed some concern about a high-rise in that location, which is surrounded by low-rise commercial buildings and is adjacent to a residential neighborhood.
Representatives from both companies presented highly detailed coloring renderings and site plans for the Estelle Edina to the council during what's called a sketch plan review, a routine and early part of the entitlement process that gives the developer an opportunity to get a preview of the council's reaction to the project.
Residents don't participate, no vote was taken and all comments were nonbinding. Next week, the developers will discuss details with the city before deciding whether to take the next step by submitting a formal land-use application.
"We're early in the process," said Carl Runck, a developer with Ryan and one of the presenters. "It's in sketch-plan review and we're still talking with neighbors, business owners and Edina residents."
Runck said that some council members offered "enormous amounts of praise" on the attributes of Estelle and "shared insights on what this kind of project could mean for the city's growth and its potential influence on the nearby neighborhood."
