South Washington County Bulletin- Cottage Grove
In the second round of public discussion of the new Summerhill Crossing retail, office and medical office development proposed for the intersection of 70th Street and Hinton Avenue, Cottage Grove’s Planning Commission approved a land use change and a preliminary site plan review of the project.
The five-building development, named Summerhill Crossing, could include two multi-tenant retail buildings, a restaurant building, an office building and a 36,000 square foot professional building that could be the new home of HealthEast Cottage Grove.
Summerhill is a cooperative project involving St. Paul-based MSP Commercial and Custom One Homes of Cottage Grove.
Community Development Director Howard Blin provided the commission with an overview of the project and the city’s initial suggestions for the project, including modifications to the site’s landscaping plan.
“We think this is a good start,” Blin said. “But we think it needs more landscaping around the edges of the site.”
Alex Young, of MSP Commercial, said the company was still working on the site’s final landscaping plan.
The company’s reasons for swapping a previously approved senior housing project with the professional building commanded the bulk of the commission’s attention and Commission Member Chris Reese asked why they were not proceeding with the original plans.
A three-story, 80-unit owner-occupied senior housing use was originally approved in 2002.
Developer Mike Rygh, of Custom One Homes, said two market studies showed that the market was not ready to support such a project.
Rygh also cited the Presbyterian Homes and Services’ senior housing project at the Cottage Square Mall site as a reason for changing the property’s future use.
“Obviously (the Presbyterian Homes project) is going to absorb most of that market,” he said
Young said that HealthEast may bring in complimentary medical tenants to the professional building and added that HealthEast may eventually occupy the entire space.
At last week’s council meeting, Young said plans for an ornamental pond in the northwest corner of the property have been replaced with plans for a rain garden.
Commissioner Rod Hale previously said the pond should stay in its current configuration if it was to be used to collect water from the surrounding development and Commissioner Jason Cavallo added that a traffic circle or stoplights might be necessary at 70th and Hinton to allow for the future traffic growth.