Just Listed: Dominium begins building senior apartments in Prior Lake

Construction started this week on a low-income senior housing complex that will replace a strip mall in Prior Lake.

Dominium Development & Acquisitions paid $1.3 million for the Gateway Street Retail Center and is building 168 rental units for seniors on a 2.33-acre site at 5101 and 5137 Gateway St. SE.

Terry Sween, a Dominium development associate, said that because the property is situated along a busy stretch Hwy. 13, it serves as an unofficial gateway to Prior Lake and is suited for residential reuse because of its proximity to a more modern mall.

Dale Severson, Bob Bayer, and Russ Bayer of Coldwell Banker Griffin Commercial, represented the seller, Wells Fargo.

Sween said that the 25,000-square-foot mall, which had a Napa Auto Parts and a Red Owl, had been built in the 1970s, was about half occupied and had gone into foreclosure. "It had outlived its use as a retail center," he said.

Sween said the site's proximity to Hwy. 13 provides the kind of exposure that will help lease apartments.

Plymouth-based Dominium will act as owner and operator. The four-story building will have underground parking and a variety of amenities, including a great room, theater room, business center, weight room and library.

In an effort to meet growing demand from baby boomers entering retirement, Dominium is ramping up efforts to build senior housing. The project will be similar to other senior housing projects the company has done, including the Legends in St. Anthony and The Cavanagh in Crystal.

"We are activity looking for more sites like this," Sween said. "We're very enthusiastic given where the demographic trends stand."

Move-ins are expected to start in late spring or early summer of next year. The building, which was designed by BKV Architects, is restricted to people 55 and older and they can't earn more than 60 percent of the area median income. Rents are still being set, but an 800 square-foot, one-bedroom apartment is likely to rent for around $900 per month. The building will also have two- and three-bedroom units.