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Hot Property: The Ellipse, St. Louis Park
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THE ELLIPSE
3900 Excelsior Blvd., St. Louis Park
Type: Rental apartments, retail
Units: 133
Retail area: 16,000 square feet
Lot Size: 2.28 acres
Developer: Bader Development
Details: After several failed attempts to redevelop the site of Al's Bar at the corner of France Avenue and Excelsior Boulevard, St. Louis Park city officials have issued some preliminary approvals to a proposal for a 133-unit, mixed-use rental apartment building with 16,000 square feet of retail on the first floor.
Bader Development is an apartment builder, owner and property manager, responsible for erecting such recent luxury rental projects as Cornelia Place in Edina, Creekside in Plymouth and Waterstone Place in Minnetonka. The firm is hoping to bring its upscale aesthetic to a high-profile gateway corner of St. Louis Park.
The Ellipse would rise five stories on a combined nine-lot parcel that contains the legendary Al's -- once a bootleggers' hangout -- and Anderson Cleaners. It's the latest in a series of redevelopment ideas for the spot. Earlier proposals included much taller buildings, and the Ellipse's height has also drawn complaints from its immediate neighbors about shadows and a jarring change of scale from the nearby residences.
But the St. Louis Park Planning Commission has given approval for the project's preliminary planned unit development application and the rezonings that Bader asked for. The project goes before the City Council this month.
Dean Dovolis of DJR Architects, who is shepherding Bader's negotiations with city officials and neighborhood groups, said several changes were made to the Ellipse plans to answer some of the concerns, and that he is confident that its advantages will ultimately outweigh its drawbacks in the eyes of the city.
"I think the biggest thing is that we're going to create a plaza at the intersection, which is something that will turn that corner into a true gateway for St. Louis Park, something like we did for Minneapolis with the West River Commons [at the foot of the Lake Street bridge]," he said. "Al's bar was great, and it's a remnant left over from the Prohibition era, but now with the evolution of Excelsior Boulevard further west, it has become a negative visually."
Dovolis said the design and building materials used for the Ellipse will fit well with the successful Excelsior & Grand mixed-use project, which is less than a mile to the west. Its rental units, he predicted, will find plenty of takers at a time when the condominium market has evaporated.
It also will help that the location is on a major bus transit line and is behind the planned Southwest Corridor light-rail line, he said.
DON JACOBSON
Don Jacobson is a freelance writer based in St. Paul. He can be reached at hotproperty.startribune@gmail.com.
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