Excelsior planning biggest multi-family housing expansion in 50 years

The City of Excelsior along the shores of Lake Minnetonka has a plan on the drawing board for its biggest “market-rate” multi-family housing development in 50 years. It would also expand parking with a two-level parking garage adjacent to the development and possibly include a new city hall.

“The council has been talking about redeveloping this site for literally over ten years and trying to reimagine what this space could look like,” says Excelsior City Manager Kristi Luger. The current city hall also used to be a fire station and is no longer functional for city operations. “We are out of space inside the building,” Luger says, adding parts of the building are no longer compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act. That included the city council chambers which have since moved to a part of the building that used to house a library.

The city picked Red Leaf Partners of Excelsior from among several who submitted proposals for the site.

“This could definitely become a point of pride, a source of pride for Excelsior, expanding public parking while also creating new housing,” says Carl Runck of Red Leaf Partners. He says the $23 million development would include a two-story parking ramp, with one story below ground, and 52 housing units. The housing would include 11 row houses and 41 rental apartments at market rates ranging from $1,500 to $5,000 per month.

A new city hall could be incorporated into the site or the city might choose to buy another building in town. Either way, the historic siren that sits atop city hall and goes off three times a day (at noon, 6 p.m. and 9 p.m.) would remain on site, either on top of a new city hall or in its own “siren park.”

Some business owners we talked to say they like the idea of bringing more year-round residents to Excelsior, but they also are concerned about whether an increase of 108 public parking spots to 139 is enough. They also want to know whether the parking will remain free and see more detail on the design of the whole project.

“Functionality…is it going to be oversized?,” asks Debbie Slusar, owner of Amore & Fede women’s clothing store on Excelsior’s Water Street. “Is it going to look out of place in this quaint historical town?”

City Manager Kristi Luger says a public hearing will be held July 18 to address all those questions.

“We’re trying to be very mindful about our developments,” says Luger. “So I wouldn’t say we’re necessarily resistant to change, but just being very mindful because we know that this community is really special.”