A new location for the Marriott Residence Inn and a proposed apartment building received initial approval from the Eden Prairie City Council on Oct. 21, following a recommendation from the Planning Commission.
Both projects still require final approval at a future City Council meeting. The Roers Companies apartment complex will be at 6436 City West Parkway, and the new hotel will move to 11902 Valley View Road.
City West apartments
Nick Asta, a developer at Roers Companies, said the current building on the property — the former headquarters of Christmas décor company Department 56 — will be demolished to make way for a new 195-unit apartment complex.
The complex is near the City West light-rail stop, and Roers Companies is working with city staff to use tax-increment financing (TIF) to construct a trail leading to the stop in an effort to make the apartment building a transit-oriented development, Asta said. Roers Companies plans to finish the building by 2027, coinciding with the light rail’s opening.
“It’s a unique opportunity to have a transit-oriented kind of urban feel out in the suburban area,” Asta said.
Justin Merkovich, an architect on the project from JLG Architects, said the team conducted a solar study to determine whether solar power is a viable option for the building. The study found that solar panels on the building’s upper roofs could generate 400 kilowatts of energy.
An energy-modeling consultant on staff investigated using mostly electric and some gas energy sources in the building, Merkovich said. Rooftop solar energy could offset some of the gas energy use.
The council unanimously approved the apartment complex.
In a separate agenda item, the council discussed using TIF to fund affordable units in the apartment complex. Using TIF would allow for more affordable units in the building.
The city needs to create a TIF district to use the funds for the project, City Manager Rick Getschow said. TIF subsidizes projects using future tax dollars and can be used in a number of ways, including building bridges and roads, as well as subsidizing affordable housing.
The council unanimously approved adopting a TIF plan for a future meeting agenda and recommending staff include the TIF plan and development agreement on a future Housing and Redevelopment Authority meeting agenda.
Residence Inn moves locations
The current Marriott Residence Inn, at 7780 Flying Cloud Drive, plans to relocate to a property on Valley View Road near the school district’s Valley View campus and the former UNFI headquarters.
John Ferrier, vice president of CSM Corporation, said the current Residence Inn prototype was deemed obsolete by Marriott. The current design has a clubhouse building that holds the hotel’s amenities and 16 guesthouses, each with eight guest rooms.
The new hotel will be a single five-story building with 157 rooms and a restaurant in the parking lot, Ferrier said. Marriott has not chosen a vendor for the restaurant but is actively advertising to find one.
The current setup is difficult to update to Marriott’s standards, as every five to seven years the hotel chain requires a property improvement plan to bring the hotel closer to current prototype standards, Ferrier said. The existing multi-building layout also does not function efficiently.
The Marriott team plans to move the hotel to a new location to keep it operating during the 16- to 18-month construction process, Ferrier said. The current property also sits within 30 feet of the light rail, raising concerns about noise and vibrations.
The new Residence Inn site uses 6.5 acres of the nearly 60 acres available, Ferrier said. The land used for the hotel will be rezoned as regional-service commercial use, while the remaining land would be rezoned as parks and open space.
Parks and Recreation Director Amy Markle said it is possible the city may partner with the school district to create a trail system on the rest of the land.
A resident asked the Marriott team if it was aware of a bald eagle nest in a wooded area by the parcel during the Sept. 22 Planning Commission meeting. Ferrier said the team asked three groups to investigate and search for the nest but could not find it.
The man showed them where he had seen the nest, about 1,120 feet away from the development, Ferrier said. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service indicates that if a new property is within 660 feet of a nest, it needs to be addressed, so the project would be outside that radius.
“There were several downed trees where the gentleman said the Eagle’s Nest was, and he did indicate that it was in a dead tree,” Ferrier said. “So we’re thinking that maybe one of those trees.”
Some residents at the Planning Commission and City Council meetings expressed concern about the building’s height. Marriott requested a waiver to increase the height from 40 feet to about 52 feet.
Residents expressed concern about how this would affect their views from their homes.
Ferrier said the building will be set lower into the ground to mitigate the additional 12 feet. The team conducted several studies across Bryant Lake and the Interstate 494 corridor and found it would not have a significant visual impact for those living near the hotel.
When asked what will happen with the old property, Ferrier said there is no current plan for the buildings but that all possible options are being considered.
Mayor Ron Case suggested using the site for an affordable-housing complex of condominiums, since the units already have kitchens, living rooms and bathrooms for long-term stays. An agreement of this nature would need council approval.
The council unanimously approved the location change.
Editor’s note: This story was updated to reflect the correct address, 6436 City West Parkway, for the Roers Companies apartment project.
