Hot Property: Hello Apartments in Golden Valley

Type: Rental apartments

Units: 172

Developer: Golden Villas

Architect: ESG Architects

Details: The latest proposal for a stubbornly hard-to-redevelop spot in Golden Valley has gained key city approval and appears on the way to reality.

Continental Property Group of Wayzata, owner of the site at 9130-9220 Olson Hwy., and Excelsior developer William Stoddard this week gained the thumbs-up on a plan for the 172-unit, six-story Hello Apartments.

Golden Valley has long targeted the 2.7-acre area as a potential redevelopment site. It has a pair of structures, including the former Golden Valley Bowl, which has been mostly vacant for years and is considered "blighted." In 2012, Dunbar Development Corp. proposed a 142-unit, market-rate apartment building there, but that project never materialized.

As designed by ESG Architects, the developers said the Hello Apartments will provide a quality building at a high-visibility gateway into the city just east of Hwy. 169. The plans include several townhouse units with individual entrances facing Golden Valley Road, meant to help "activate" the street.

Demolition of the former bowling alley and a neighboring one-story commercial building is scheduled for next month, with a late 2016 opening planned for the apartments.