Rosemount Moves Forward on Plans for Senior Housing

The anticipated senior housing development in Rosemount is a tiny bit closer to a reality.

The city council recently approved a request for qualifications (RFQ) prepared by community development director Kim Lindquist.

The RFQ will solicit responses from interested parties, asking them to outline their qualifications to undertake such a project and present a proposal for how the city-owned land just north of the Steeple Center, near the Robert Trail Library, can best be developed into senior housing and some type of senior center.

City administrator Dwight Johnson says  the RFQ likely will be released in mid-July.

The City Council will interview and select a partner from the respondents, based on its determination of which proposal  is the best fit for Rosemount, then begin negotiations for  the project, including financial terms. 

While the city will not own or be directly involved in the management of the facility, a joint-venture partnership of some sort is possible. 

Lindquist hopes that partnership decision can be made this fall and, ideally, that construction can begin by this time next year. 

The senior housing development is needed for the increasing senior population in Rosemount, up almost 50 percent between 2000 and 2009.