Apartment projects up for review in Plymouth

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Two projects that would bring hundreds of multifamily housing units to Plymouth, including a new proposal from Bloomington-based Doran RE Partners, are up for review in the coming week.

Doran is floating plans for a 162-unit, market-rate apartment building at 10000 State Highway 55, a 7.4-acre site just north of Highway 55 and east of Bachman’s Nursery and the Waterford Shopping Center.

The Plymouth Planning Commission will comment on the proposal Wednesday as part of a sketch plan review, an informal process designed to give the developer some guidance prior to a full development application.

On the following Tuesday, redevelopment plans for the Dundee Nursery site will go before the City Council, said Steve Juetten, Plymouth’s director of community development. The site is at the northwest quadrant of Highway 55 and Rockford Road

Parkera, a Bloomington-based real estate and development company, wants to remake part of the 23.7-acre Dundee site with a 210-unit, market-rate apartment building and an up to 60,000-square-foot structure to be occupied by Twin Cities Orthopedics.

From a big-picture perspective, Juetten said the city is hearing from multifamily developers, but he hastened to add that proposals for new apartments take some time to graduate from concept to construction.

“It’s not like we have a lot of sites — and a lot of sites have some baggage because they’re not guided [for multifamily],” Juetten said. “Processing multifamily takes a little bit longer because we generally have to go through comp plan amendments. But there are interested developers out there that are looking at the Plymouth market.”

Among those is Doran, which sees a lot of potential in its proposed development site.

“It’s kind of a unique setting, sitting right on Bassett Creek,” said Tony Kuechle, Doran’s president of development. “It’s walkable to a large amount of retail amenities. And there actually has not been a lot of new product in Plymouth.”

The project would offer a mix of alcove, one- and two-bedroom apartments within a seven-story “mid-century, modern-style building,” according to city documents. Exterior materials include a mix of stone, metal panel, and fiber cement siding.

Designed by Doran Architecture, the project features a 223-stall parking garage, a business center, flex work space, clubroom and game room, entertainment suite, exercise facility, outdoor pool and spa, grilling stations, dog run and activity areas, according to a project narrative.

After hearing from the Planning Commission and City Council, Doran will decide whether to submit a formal application, and consider potential modifications to the plan if it decides to proceed, Kuechle said.

The project would require a number of approvals, including rezoning and a comprehensive amendment to allow for increased density. But if all goes as planned, Doran could begin construction in spring 2022, Kuechle said.

The Dundee site is closer to breaking ground. Demolition and site clearing for the residential building is expected to begin in November, according to city documents.

Kelsey Malecha, Parkera’s senior vice president and director of growth, research and analytics, told Finance & Commerce in March that the Dundee site is appealing because it’s within a good school district and has easy access to trails, retail and transportation corridors.

“The nursery has been a staple in the community for a long time, and we want to sort of hold onto their legacy with the landscaping business and bring a lot of elements of nature and biophilic design into our project,” Malecha said.

RELATED: Dundee Nursery site up for redevelopment

Correction: This article has been revised to correct the title of Tony Kuechle.