Fulton Dances With The 'Devil You Know'

The half-block vacant lot at 50th and Chowen is on track to become .

Wednesday night’s endorsement by the Fulton Neighborhood Association wasn't exactly glowing—many neighbors aren't thrilled with the prospect of a four-story complex moving in next door—but they preferred it to previous alternatives: a CVS store and a large apartment building.

“It’d be lovely to see this be something quaint,” said Sue Frankowski, who lives across the street from the lot. “But if this developer moves on, we could have a developer who doesn’t talk to (the neighbors) at all.”

“This is the devil you know,” said Fulton Neighborhood board member Lynn Steel.

Others pointed to the high need for senior and assisted-living options, praising the developer for working closely with neighbors in the design process.

The Water Senior Living chain, which would operate the complex, runs current facilities in Eden Prairie, Woodbury, Forest Lake, Fergus Falls, Grand Rapids, Sauk Centre, Delano and Glencoe and is planning other senior communities in Edina, Little Falls, Winona and St. Michael. 

According to developer Jay Jensen, 20 of the units will be segregated in a “memory support” facility for residents living with Alzheimer’s. Parking for the other 70 units will be contained below the building, with 10 to 12 spots for visitors located in between the proposed building and the neighboring church.

Around 20 percent of the units were originally designated as “affordable housing” but, Jensen said, city officials told him they would not support using Tax Increment Financing to help him subsidize those units. That financing option would have shifted the tax burden onto Fulton residents.

After final approval from the city, construction on the 148,000 square-foot building is planned to start in late spring 2012.