Union Park Flats is being developed by Project for Pride in Living.

The following information is from a letter to the area residents sent by Project for Pride in Living dated May 28,2020. 

The revised project has the following characteristics:

– 60 units

– A mix of incomes, ranging from 30% of AMI or 80% of AMI (approximately $30,000 – $80,000 for a family of four, as an example). 

PPL commits to keeping these units affordable at these incomes for a minimum of 40 years, and, as with all of our affordable housing developments, compliance with this commitment will be monitored annually by the Minnesota Housing Finance Agency.

– Three stories, or 33′-6″ as measured from the 214′ topographic line of the top of the roof.

For reference, the 214 topographic line crosses the middle of the curb cut into the church’s north parking lot.

Saint Louis Park, as with many other cities, asks that we measure building height to the top of a flat roof, and excludes the parapet, which is why the drawings reflect this

measurement. Including the parapet adds 3 to 5 feet to the visible height of the building.

The proposed building to top of parapet is approximately level with the estimated height of the top of Union Church’s pitched roof.

– 90 parking spaces (69 below-grade spaces, 10 surface spaces on site, and 1 on-street parking spaces directly adjacent to the property and allowed by City code to be counted in the project total) for a ratio of 1.5 parking spaces per dwelling unit.

– A commitment to quality construction and sustainability.

The project will meet the requirements of the City of Saint Louis Park’s ambitious Green Building

Exterior materials will be brick, real (cementitious) stucco, and fiber-cement lap siding, non compliance with the City’s exterior materials guidance.

The northern portion of the church building will need to be demolished, and the church’s north surface parking lot will be removed.

PPL will own and manage this housing over the long term

Project Benefits:

We are excited about the many benefits this project will bring to Saint Louis Park, and to the Elmwood Neighborhood in particular. Union Park Flats will:

• • Provide new, high-quality housing options for a range of incomes, something that is in very short supply in Saint Louis Park and throughout the metro area.

• • Expand equitable outcomes for people of color.

• • Create jobs. Building, maintaining, and managing housing all require an on-site or local workforce.

• • Support workers in the local economy. Most of the households residing in PPL housing work in the local service economy in hospitals, schools, banks, retail establishments, and the like.

• • Enhance the station area with more people and more vitality, and increase the customer base for local businesses.

• • Support investment in transit by adding riders within walking distance of the Wooddale LRT Station.

• • Contribute to a greener future for everyone. Compact development makes for more efficient land use, shorter trips between home, work, shopping, and leisure (which, if short enough, are made on foot or by bicycle), and more efficient use of the existing infrastructure such as roads, water, and electric grid. 

• • Add to the vitality of the city. Households living in PPL housing tend to be younger and have children who attend local schools. They will tend to stay in and add to the community for years to come.