A local developer who promises to bring a “different level of housing” to Ramsey has cleared another hurdle in the city approval process.
Ramsey-based PSD Land Development won final plat and site plan approvals from the City Council late Tuesday for its proposed “Skyline on Sunwood” development, a $30 million-plus project that will create 133 apartment units and 13,000 square feet of retail on a 4-acre site at 7545 Sunwood Drive NW.
Located in the city’s COR development area, the project site is on the north side of Sunwood Drive between Sapphire and Center streets.
Tuesday’s council action, one of the final steps in the city entitlement process, advances a project that offers higher-end market-rate apartments and attractions for both human and canine occupants. Construction could begin as soon as late August, a city official said Wednesday.
Matt Kuker of PSD Development told the city’s Planning Commission in late June that the target market for the building is the “young urban professional” who doesn’t want to have a house and a yard to maintain, but has enough discretionary income to support local businesses.
“We’re trying to bring a different level of housing to Ramsey. There are a number of different apartments [in town]. We’ve been involved in some of them. You’ve got some Chevrolets. We're trying to bring a real nice Lexus or Cadillac.”
A city staff report reveals that the U-shaped building would feature apartments ranging in size from studios to three-bedroom units. Also included are a host of amenities, such as a swimming pool, a fitness room, community rooms, business suites, and a golf simulator.
Kuker said there’s even a special outdoor turf area for dogs to do their business a place where the residents’ pets, in essence, can relieve themselves without offending humans’ olfactory senses.
“It works very well. It's actually an outdoor turf with an irrigation system in it and it goes off once an hour, and washes [pet urine] through into a holding tank, so it doesn't smell like pee. You’ve got to think of all these things,” Kuker said.
The “worst thing about having a pet-friendly apartment,” he said, “is there's no grassland to go to the bathroom. They usually go right outside the back door.”
Todd Larson, Ramsey’s community development director, said Wednesday that next steps include approval of a development agreement, a relatively routine action item that could be headed to the consent agenda for the next City Council meeting.
At least two other notable apartment projects are advancing in Ramsey at a time when multifamily construction is down throughout the metro area.
Earlier this year, Forest Lake-based Norhart Construction pitched a 223-unit apartment building and 5,000 square feet of ground-floor retail space on a 4-acre site between Sunwood Drive Northwest and Zeolite Street Northwest.
Finance & Commerce reported in late May that Presbyterian Homes & Services’ Haviland Fields development would bring a 160-unit senior apartment building, a 280-unit non-age-restricted apartment building, and 20 senior rental townhomes to a portion of the Lord of Life Church property at 14501 Nowthen Blvd.
Larson said Wednesday that the Norhart project is approved and construction could start in the spring. Haviland Fields, he said, is also moving forward.
“We’ve shipped that off to the Met Council and are just awaiting their OK [on a comprehensive plan amendment]. Then we will bring it back to the council for the final site plan and rezoning, but they are most likely going to be a spring construction, too,” Larson said.
Related: Haviland Fields project still in play despite no Ramsey TIF
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