North Shore Development Multi-Family Housing

North Shore Development has come to St. Francis proposing to develop much needed multi-family housing.   This project is proposed off Bridge Street and will have access to Bridge Street and Ambassador Blvd.  

Project will bring 120 quality units of housing into St. Francis to support our residents housing needs.  

FAQ: 

1. Is this Section 8 housing?   

        No, this project is not being built with HUD, Section 8 housing dollars. 

2. Why does the city need this project?

        The city needs this project for a few reasons.   First to provide housing opportunity to existing residents and residents that are looking to work in St. Francis.  Additionally, projects like this support the tax base as well as help to stabilize water and sewer rates.  To bring into the city the retail and commercial companies residents want, we need not only residents but we need the workforce to work in these areas.  Many project such as this highly support teachers, retail and restaurant employees as well as younger adults who cannot afford home ownership but want to live in the city they grew up in.

3. Can city streets, water and sewer support this project?  

        Yes, currently the city is working to add units to the city water and sewer infrastructure to keep costs reasonable for all rate users.   This will add an additional city street to support the long term needs of Ambassador properties as well as Bridge St. properties.

4. Bridge street is already busy, wont this create worse issues? 

     As Bridge street and Ambassador are County roads the city works with the County on every project and planning step.   Currently, the city does not see this intersection as an issue and is not planning any improvements.   As a project of this size will bring additional traffic.  However, the city will require growth to bring improvements to the intersection.  

5. How many units are they looking to build? 

        Currently, the proposed concept has 120 units with both surface and underground parking.

6. Will this put a strain on the schools? 

        The city works with the School District to inform them of projects coming in.  It also cannot be assumed that all units will have children, typically the impact to an area is minimal.  District 15 supports many cities that are in growth patterns such as Oak Grove, East Bethel and Nowthen. When they look at capacity they are looking at all cities and not just one or two projects.

7.  Will my property values be impacted?

        There are many factors that may increase or stabilize surrounding property values such as the quality and design of the building, local economy, demand for housing and proximity to local needs such as retail and schools.  Typically when a project such as this brings values down is when it is not being managed well, has crime or safety concerns.  Staff is working closely with the project to ensure this project adds value to the city and will be held to a high standard in regards to any safety issues if they arise. 

8.  Are these considered affordable?

        A certain number of units will be set aside and guided by income.  Those income levels support the local rent that is existing in St. Francis.   This will provide a local "market" rent as the project must meet a metro-wide "affordable" rent level.   When these numbers are discussed we are pooled into the same numbers as Mpls, St. Paul and Bloomington.   This projects affordable are St. Francis market rent levels. 

9. The noise and traffic from the construction will be bad.

        Currently the City is working with developer to create a construction entrance off of Ambassador and keep that traffic from Bridge street.   They will be required to follow city ordinance when it comes to times when equipment and machinery can be used.  We would encourage residents to reach out to Community Development if they are having issues with construction crews so we can work closely with the developer to find solutions as quickly as possible.