The Tiburon Apartments 9130-9220 Olson Memorial Hwy., Golden Valley

Type: Rental apartments

Units: 142 Lot size: 2.7 acres

Developer: Dunbar Development Corp.

Details: The concept for a new, 142-unit, market-rate apartment building on the site of a former bowling alley along Hwy. 55 in Golden Valley has received a thumbs-up from the City Council.

The council on Tuesday gave preliminary approval for a planned unit development for The Tiburon Apartments from Golden Valley-based Dunbar Development Corp., builder of such apartment complexes as Hoigaard Village in St. Louis Park and Laurel Village in Minneapolis.

The plans still must receive final approval before ground can be broken for the U-shaped, six-story building in the northeast quadrant of the Hwy. 55 and Hwy. 169 intersection. Earlier plans called for five stories, but developers received a variance.

Golden Valley has long targeted the 2.7-acre area as a potential redevelopment site. It currently has a pair of structures, including the one-time Golden Valley Bowl, which has been mostly vacant for years and is now considered "blighted" by city officials.

The bowling alley parcel is currently owned by an affiliate of the Luther Automotive Group, Hennepin County records indicate.

Dunbar's plans call for luxury units in the mode of several new apartment complexes designed by Minneapolis-based UrbanWorks Architecture, featuring a theater room, fitness area, private balconies, club room and an outdoor swimming pool. The 226,900-square-foot building is to have studio, one-bedroom, one-bedroom-plus-den and two-bedroom units with a 142-stall parking garage and 77 surface spots.

Don Jacobson is a St. Paul-based freelance writer. He can be reached at hotproperty.startribune@gmail.com.