Senior apartments to rise at old school site

For the last century, give or take a couple years, Lincoln School on Thompson Avenue in South St. Paul was a gathering spot for children. Next year, the place where the school stood will be home to senior citizens.

The Dakota County Community Development Agency broke ground Tuesday on Thompson Heights, a 60-unit affordable apartment building for seniors. The $5.5 million building will be the CDA's third senior housing complex in South St. Paul.

And none too soon: The agency's senior housing waiting list already has 300 South St. Paul residents.

"It's definitely a community with a lot of older residents," said Mark Ulfers, executive director of the Dakota County CDA. "South St. Paul is a neat community and has a strong following by the people who live there."

It's possible that some of the people who attended Lincoln School for kindergarten through sixth grade could now move into Thompson Heights as senior citizens.

"That would be interesting, wouldn't it?" South St. Paul Mayor Beth Baumann said. "It's the circle of life."

The school, built in 1908, served the neighborhood around it until the mid-1980s, when Independent Special District 917 bought the property. Most recently, District 917 used it as a campus for about 85 to 100 special education students.

"Taking a school that was way beyond its useful life, removing it and creating both new housing opportunities and educational opportunities is kind of unique as far as any project we've had a direct involvement with," Ulfers said.

The Thompson Heights redevelopment also includes six single-family lots that will flank the senior apartment building.

Those lots, which will be sold by the CDA and developed after the apartments are completed, are a huge bonus for the city, said Branna Lindell, executive director of the South St. Paul Housing and Redevelopment Authority.

"We're a first-ring suburb. There's not a lot of room for new housing or new development," she said.

Dakota County Commissioner Kathleen Gaylord, a former South St. Paul mayor, said the city has for years emphasized preservation and rejuvenation of its housing stock to benefit those who want to stay and attract new residents.

"It's redeveloping for two different needs in the community," Gaylord said. "One is providing some affordable housing for seniors, but then also working to improve the neighborhood with an opportunity to put new single-family houses in the neighborhood as well."