Rosemount City Council Selects Team for New Senior Housing Development

The City Council Tuesday unanimously approved Development Representation Associates as the team it would like to move forward with for its privately funded senior housing project located adjacent to the Steeple Center.

The City Council interviewed three teams on Sept. 22, and further looked into their proposals and discussed each of them in their entirety at a special workshop meeting on Sept. 28.  

“There were certain components of each of [the teams] that were very attractive,” Kim Lindquist, the city’s community development director, said. “It was a very difficult decision.”

“The team from Development Representation Associates (DRA) includes DSGW Architects of North St. Paul and Ebenezer Management Services of Minneapolis (part of Fairview Health Services),” according to a City Council background report.

“I feel very confident with the track record [of Fairview],” Mayor Bill Droste said.

The other two teams were Winkelman Building Corporation with Frisbie Architects and a team from Stonebridge Companies.

“This [development] has been on the list for a long time. We were lucky to have three strong teams come to us,” Councilman Jeff Weisensel said.

DRA is now waiting for the city to make the first move as to what it wants to tackle first, Lindquist said.

The next steps include several decision points, such as meeting with the developer, going over site plans, deciding what kind of attributes the city is looking for as well as discussing the financial implications of the senior housing project. In addition, the developer will need to provide more details on what they’re looking for.

We also need to get publicity out there, let neighbors know what’s going on with this development project. We’ll probably have a public open house about it, Lindquist said.

“I think residents will feel very proud when this development is done,” Weisensel said.

The council has been discussing a possible senior housing development for several years. In early 2011, it was at the top of the council’s goals to redevelop the remainder of the old St. Joe’s site as a senior housing development.

“We need to seize the market while we can,” Lindquist said.

The city hopes the project will be completed sometime next year.