A new plan is unfolding for the Superior Plating Co. site in northeast Minneapolis. Representatives for Lennar Multifamily, a division of one of the nation's largest home builders, will discuss plans for the 5.4-acre property, which has been the subject of a massive environmental clean-up effort and numerous development proposals, at a Nicollet Island-East Bank Neighborhood Association meeting Thursday evening.
Peter Chmielewski, senior development manager for Lennar Multifamily Communities, is on NIEBNA's agenda as the new site's "new developer," but said that it's too soon to discuss details. Third Ward Council member, Jacob Frey called the nearly two-block site a development "lynch-pin," and said that expectations for whatever gets built there are high. A previous development proposal called for a six-story, wood-framed rental apartment building. "That would not be okay," he said. "We are insisting upon a 100-year building which means steel and concrete....we're looking to expand upon the number of residental units and we want a project that activates street life in a big way. Our message to Lennar, and they're aware of this, is 'satisfactory is not going to cut the mustard here.'"
Frey expects the plan to have commercial on the ground floor with housing in one or more towers with residential units that could convertible from rental to ownership, and vice versa. Earlier this year a Florida developer abandoned plans to build about 500 units after terminating its purchase of the site from an entity connected to San Francisco-based City Center Realty Partners. Superior Plating, a metal plating company, ceased operation in 2011.
