New redevelopment plans for prime St. Paul blufftop land announced
Image: Pioneer Press
Redevelopment plans have been made public for the old US Bank site in St. Paul overlooking the confluence of the Mississippi and Minnesota Rivers, historic Fort Snelling and St. Paul's treasured Crosby Park.
FMR believes this significant site deserves careful attention and planning. The confluence of the Mississippi and Minnesota Rivers is one of the most culturally and geographically significant places in the state of Minnesota. Even before Fort Snelling was established as one of Minnesota's earliest settlements, the Dakota Indians gave this place great importance, naming it Mde-to (Mendota) which means meeting of the waters. The scenic views to and from this area are some of the region's finest, but intense development of highways, bridges and the airport have degraded some of the views over time. New development at this site provides an opportunity to bring additional beauty to the area, but only if it's done with an eye towards protecting the sites public values, such as scenery and river access.
Johnson Brothers has big plans to develop several new residential buildings at the site, the first of which would include 210 luxury apartment units. According to a recent Pioneer Press article, the developer is planning to request a variance to allow buildings up to 70 feet to take advantage of the scenic views in the area. The area's critical area zoning currently allows for a maximum building height of 40 feet. FMR is concerned that 70-foot buildings may be visible during summer leaf-on months from many public viewpoints along the Mississippi and Minnesota River corridors. The public viewpoints include Fort Snelling, Pilot Knob Preservation Site, Wabun Park, the Mendota Bridge and more.
Another component of this project is to relocate Shepard Road from its current location at the edge of the bluff to behind the site on what is now Norfolk Avenue. This would expand a 2.5 block section of Norfolk Avenue from two to four lanes and potentially improve the connection to Highway 5. The portion of Shepard Road to be relocated would become an extension of Mississippi River Boulevard. FMR is in the process of studying the proposal, but we support the idea of extending of Mississippi River Boulevard to calm traffic and ensure the publicly owned bluff and parkland is clearly delineated from the private development.
FMR will continue monitoring this project as it moves forward in 2015 and report back in future Mississippi Messages e-newsletters.