Hwy. 7/Louisiana Interchange, New Apartments Highlight Council Agenda

The overhaul of St. Louis Park's Highway 7/Louisiana Avenue interchange is one of several items up for consideration as the City Council meets on Monday, May 20.

Council members will take the final step in moving the interchange project forward Monday, with a proposal to designate C.S. McCrossan Construction as the lowest responsible bidder for the job. Their bid was the lowest submitted at around $22.3 million, which is still a slight increase from previous estimates.

While the overall project cost has increased by $493,184, the City of St. Louis Park's share has actually decreased by $714,484. The project was planned for and included in the City's adopted Capital Improvement Program (CIP), with an estimated total budget of $31.5 million.

The Minnesota Department of Transportation received four bids in total for the project, ranging anywhere from $22.3 million to $26.7 million.

The project will provide for the construction of a grade-separated interchange at the intersection, including pedestrian- and bicycle-friendly improvements along with the reconfiguration of frontage roads. It's tentatively planned to begin June 1, with substantial completed expected in late 2014, followed by final completion in June of 2015.

The Council will also be considering final development plans for a residential complex on the site of the old Eliot School. The final plan for the Eliot Park Apartments development is consistent with preliminary layout, which would see two new apartment buildings—with a total of 138 units—erected on the site, located at 6800 Cedar Lake Road.

In addition to the apartment buildings, the developer is proposing building underground parking and two single-family homes. The existing school building would be razed in the process.

Minneapolis-based Hunt Associates is overseeing the project, which is expected to be quite costly given the amount of redevelopment proposed for the site. Hunt Associates has an agreement to purchase the property for $2.075 million, with the cost of constructing the residential development on the site expected to be close to $25 million. 

Council members will also decide whether or not to move forward with potential Tax Increment Financing (TIF) assistance for Hunt Associates, to help offset what a staff report refers to as "extraordinary costs of redeveloping the site and meeting the design guidelines."

The project is conservatively estimated to add at least $17.7 million to St. Louis Park's tax base upon completion, meaning it would generate approximately $250,000 in tax increment annually. Hunt Associates has requested $1.1 million in pay-as-you-go tax increment from the recently approved Eliot Park TIF district.

See the full agenda attached above as a PDF file and check back later this week to see how the Council voted.

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