Senior housing plans ramp up in Fridley and greater metro

A number of senior housing projects are in the works in the Twin Cities, from Fridley to St. Paul to Lakeville, and some developers say the senior market is starting to revive.

Two projects are planned in Fridley, including a $25 million complex slated to replace the deserted Columbia Ice Arena on University Avenue with a medical center and 172 units in two buildings, said Scott Hickok, city community development director. He said the Walker Methodist project, and another 141-unit senior building, will both offer continuum-of-care housing for which demand appears to be returning.

Presbyterian Homes, which has 35 senior buildings in Minnesota, will have a grand opening Saturday for the 108-unit Boutwells Landing in Oak Park Heights, said John Mehrkens vice president for project development for Presbyterian Homes.

He said some senior housing demand is ongoing, such as care for seniors with memory loss or who need daily assistance. But demand for independent-living units, often with an option to pay later for future assistance, had been low until recently.

"We are starting to see signs of housing recovery generally and that results in more independent-living admissions," Mehrkens said. The depressed housing market has made it tough for seniors to sell their homes at reasonable prices before moving into senior projects, he said.

Presbyterian Homes is negotiating financing for two projects it hopes to start building this fall. A $60 million venture in St. Paul has received city approvals for a 255-unit facility to replace a Sisters of St. Joseph convent by St. Catherine University, Mehrkens said. Also planned is a $12 million, 60-unit assisted-living building in Spring Park on Lake Minnetonka.

Filling a need

Walker Methodist plans to build a 172-unit, continuum-of-care building and a 34-bed nursing wing, said Denny O'Donnell, vice president of Walker ElderCare Services. On the southwest corner of the landscaped campus, abutting Locke Park, a two-floor medical center is planned by Multicare Associates, which would close its existing center by Unity Hospital in Fridley, Hickok said.

The City Council unanimously approved rezoning for the 12-acre arena site Monday.

Walker is negotiating financing and hopes to break ground this fall on the two, connected senior wings, O'Donnell said. He noted that Walker is finishing work in Lakeville on a $33 million senior project with 153 units that will open Sept. 15.

Fridley's other senior project is a 141-unit building with three levels of senior care at Mississippi Street and Old Central Avenue. The 3-acre site has obtained preliminary plat approval and Select Senior Living is negotiating financing for the $24 million project, said Joel Larson, a Select partner.

If both Fridley projects are built that would provide more than 300 housing units, well over the 200 units of demand found by developer market surveys. The project that gets its occupancy permit first "will be in the driver's seat," O'Donnell said. That could mean the other project would scaled back or not built, he said.

Select is developing similar senior buildings in Stillwater and Mounds View, which have received city approvals, Larson said. He hopes to begin construction on both by fall. Larson said he expects to close on a $19 million loan in July for the 95-unit Mounds View building and then start construction.

In January, Select opened another 90-unit senior building in Coon Rapids that is 60 percent occupied, Larson said.

Because of the soft senior housing market, facility operators are offering more amenities and activities to stay competitive, said Tamara Connolly, property management director of Lang Nelson Associates Inc., a St. Louis Park-based provider of assisted-living housing.

Lang Nelson, which operates 23 senior housing projects in the Twin Cities, opened its last building in July in Brooklyn Park. The 155-unit former condominium is less than half rented, she said.

In Anoka, Volunteers of America National Services (VOA) is considering building a senior housing complex by the Northstar commuter rail station being finished, said community development director Bob Kirschner. He said the city and Anoka County own the 14-acre site, a block north of the station, scheduled to begin rail service by November.

He said he hopes to make a proposal in the next few months to city officials that would feature a campus with independent-living units and memory loss and nursing home care. The nursing home beds would replace those at another nursing home VOA operates in Anoka, he said.