Two office buildings will be torn down in Burnsville’s Heart of the City area to make way for a 172-unit affordable apartment building.
New affordable apartments proposed for Burnsville’s Heart of the City
The new building would replace two office buildings on Burnsville Parkway; the developer hopes to complete the project over the next two years.
On June 10, the Burnsville Planning Commission unanimously recommended approval of the project’s preliminary and final plat, said Pete Schroeder, a development associate with Roers Cos., the developer. The City Council is expected to take a final vote on that recommendation July 16.
Office buildings located at 151 and 201 Burnsville Pkwy. — one is vacant and the other has two tenants — will be demolished. The result will be one approximately 4.5-acre lot.
“There’s a strong need for this type of affordable housing really everywhere,” Schroeder said. “This product, I mean, you can hardly tell that it is affordable housing.”
The building will have four stories and one-, two- and three-bedroom units. There will be one level of underground parking. Counting surface lot parking, there will be 266 parking spots.
Schroeder said the building will have many amenities, including a common area with spaces on two floors, and fitness and community areas within that area. Outside, there will be a dog run, a playground and a rooftop deck.
Potential residents must make 60% or less of the area median income to rent an apartment. Rents will range from $1,300 to $1,900 and the building is meant to attract a range of workers, from teachers to police officers to grocery store employees, Schroeder said.
Schroeder said his company anticipates acquiring the property in August and aims for an 18- to 20-month timeframe for construction.
The governor said it may be 2027 or 2028 by the time the market catches up to demand.