The recent denial of a neighborhood group's request for an environmental impact assessment for a 40-story condominium tower in Minneapolis has cleared the way for the developer to take the next step in the approvals process.

Minneapolis-based Alatus wants to build a 40-story condo tower across the Mississippi River from downtown Minneapolis in a neighborhood that is dominated by turn-of-the-century houses and storefronts, and a handful of high-rise condo and apartment buildings built in the 1980s.

The quarter-block site — now home to the Washburn-McReavy Funeral Chapel at 200 Central Av. SE. and the St. Anthony Commercial Club at 113 2nd St. SE. — is within the St. Anthony Falls Historic District, which has guidelines that limit the height, scale and other attributes of development. The site is on the edge of the Marcy Holmes neighborhood, but is adjacent to the Nicollet Island-East Bank neighborhood.

Alatus LLC's plans include a 37-level tower, including a mechanical penthouse level topped with a decorative parapet, that would sit on top of the four-level podium. The project calls for 207 for-sale condominiums and 6,700 square feet of ground-floor retail space.

The project would also include 333 parking spaces and retail space on most of the Central Avenue frontage, with the main residential entrance lobby on the south side of the ground floor of the building facing 2nd Street.

The petition was filed earlier this month with the Environmental Quality Board by a group called the Neighbors for East Bank Livability, which cited several concerns about the project, including the impact that the height of the building might have on nearby buildings, which include the neighboring historic Pillsbury Library Building and the Ard Godfrey House, which is the oldest wood-framed house in Minneapolis.

After the petition was filed, a scheduled review by the Heritage Preservation Commission was delayed.

A city staff report from the Department of Community Planning and Economic Development recommended that the HPC allow the demolition of the Washburn-McReavy building and issue a certificate of appropriateness for the 40-story building subject to several conditions.

The project is now scheduled for review by the preservation commission on Tuesday.

jim buchta