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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2009-004 Inf Sheet 1501 Freeway BlvdApplication Filed on 7-30-09City Council Action Should BeTaken By 9-28-09 (60 Days)Planning Commission Information SheetApplication No.2009-004Applicant: Jim Irwin on Behalf of Barry Minneapolis, LLCLocation: Southwest Quadrant of Freeway Boulevard and Humboldt Avenue NorthRequest: Site and Builidng Plan ApprovalThe applicant, Jim Irwin on behalf of Barry Minneapolis, LLC, is seeking site and building plan approval for a 145,317 sq. ft. office building, a 28,255 sq. ft. annex building and a three story enclosed parking facility on an 8.57 acre site located at the southwest corner of Freeway Boulevard and Humboldt Avenue North to be known as the Minneapolis Professional Office Building. The property in question is zoned C-2 (Commerce) which allows multi-story office buildings and accessory uses as permitted uses in this zoning district. The subject site is surrounded on the north by Freeway Boulevard with I-1, R-5 and C-2 zoned property on the opposite side of the street; on the east by Humboldt Avenue and T.H. 100 overpass; on the south by vacant C-2 zoned property and I-94 right-of-way; and on the west by the north/south leg of James Circle with other C-2 zoned property on the opposite side of the street. This 8.57 acre parcel is being created by the replatting of the former Days Inn, Cracker Barrell Restaurant and the Olive Garden Restaurant properties which were acquired by the City of Brooklyn Center Economic Development Authority in 2006 and 2007. The preliminary plat (Planning Commission Application No. 2009-001) proposed to create two lots out of these three properties and was approved by the City Council on January 26, 2009 following public hearing and recommendation by the Planning Commission. The final plat is yet to be approved by the City Council and filed with Hennepin County but will need to be prior to the issuance of building permits for this project. A slight modification of the property lines between the preliminary and final plats will be made to accomplish the lot configuration for this development.As mentioned, the Economic Development Authority acquired and cleared the properties in 2006 and 2007 in hopes of attracting a corporate office or major office development. The City and the Government Services Administration (GSA), the procurement arm of the federal government, have worked out an agreement for the land and the development of the proposed multi-story office and accessory buildings planned under this application for use as an FBI field office facility. The site and building plan comprehends a unique facility with many security and safety measures designed specifically for its use by the FBI that are not common to other office developments. Some of these unique features include a 100 ft. stand-off distance building setback around the entire perimeter of the property; an 8 ft. high anti-climb, anti-ram fence surrounding the site; security guard booths at entrances to controlled access points along with moveable gates and barriers; and a vehicle inspection area for delivery vehicles prior to entering the main portion of the site. ACCESS/PARKINGAccess to the site is to be gained from two points. The Primary Site Entrance (PSE) will be from Freeway Boulevard at the northwesterly part of the site and controlled by a Visitor Screening Facility (VSF) including a guard house and various detectors, rolling/swinging gates, wedge barriers and traffic arm barriers. The Secondary Site Entrance (SSE) is off James Circle at the southwesterly corner of the site containing a guard booth and the same type of security/safety features as the primary entrance. Also a vehicle inspection area outside the compound but on the property is located in the same area. This is the point where large delivery and other large vehicles will access the site. A visitor parking lot will be located along Freeway Boulevard adjacent to, and east of, the visitor screening facility and the primary site entrance. This parking facility is separated from the main portion of the site containing the compound buildings by an 8 ft. high ornamental steel crash rated anti-ram/anti-climb protective fence that surrounds the perimeter of the site. There are 20 visitor parking spaces in this separate lot. The lot itself is setback approximately 7 ½ ft. from the property line/street right-of-way line which is less than the 15 ft. green strip/parking setback required by Section 35-412, Subdivision 4 of the City’s Zoning Ordinance (the subject of the variance request contained in the companion Application No. 2009-005).On-site parking will be provided primarily in a three story enclosed parking structure within the secure compound area which will accommodate 300 parking spaces. Twenty-seven spaces are shown east of the annex building which houses agency vehicles, warehousing and storage, along with vehicle service and maintenance. There is some office space in this annex building associated with these functions. These spaces along with the 20 visitor spaces provide for 347 parking spaces, which are sufficient for the FBI’s needs. The City’s parking requirement based on the ordinance parking formula requires 694 total parking spaces utilizing the office parking formula for a building between 20,000 sq. ft. and 220,000 sq. ft. (144, 317 sq. ft.), 553 spaces, and the annex building (28,255 sq. ft.), 141 spaces. The applicant has provided as part of their plan submission a proof of parking plan indicating the ability to provide the required 694 parking spaces if the FBI were to abandon the use of this building and a general office use were to utilize the site. It should be noted, that the proof of parking plan eliminates the separated visitor parking space and the security/safety features and provides then the required 15 ft. green strip/parking setback.The plan they provide meets their parking needs and the proof of parking plan satisfies the city ordinance requirements and, therefore, is acceptable provided a formal proof of parking agreement is executed between the city and the property owner and is filed with the title to the property.This should be a condition of the recommended approval of this application.As mentioned previously, the structures to be located on this site will all be located within a security fenced area located around the perimeter of the property. The office building, which is to be a five story building, will be located to the north of the site and attached to the three story covered or enclosed parking structure. Access to the parking structure is gained from the south side of the building and at the northwest corner of the building. The annex building will be located parallel to the Humboldt/T. H. 100 overpass easterly of the other two structures. A parking facility will be located on the east side of this annex building with overhead doors to allow vehicle access to the building. As mentioned, it will provide a service and maintenance area along with parking for their vehicles. The annex building is attached to the office building by a covered walkway. A circular fire truck turn around drive is located to the north of the annex building. A loading and receiving dock is located between the parking structure and the office building and a suspect drop off drive and entrance is along the west side of the office building on ground level. GRADING/DRAINAGE/UTILITIESThe applicant has submitted preliminary grading, drainage, utility and erosion control plans which have been reviewed by the Engineering Department. Written comments from the department are provided and will be attached as part of the record for this application. Driving and parking areas will be bound by B-612 curb and gutter throughout the site. A city water main is located along the southerly boundary of the old Days Inn site which will be relocated along the south property line for the newly configured site. This matter was noted during the preliminary plat review for the properties and a new drainage and utility easement will need to be provided for the location of the relocated water main. The site is served by sanitary sewer, water and storm sewer which are located in right-of-way areas and utility easements around the site. An infiltration area will be located at the northeast corner of the property with this site draining primarily to the underground infiltration pond located adjacent to the Regal Theater and to an existing ponding area to the south and west of the site designed to handle drainage for a number of properties within the area. This site is over the threshold for requiring Watershed Management Commission review and approval which will be required to be obtained prior to the issuance of building permits for the project. A traffic impact study has been undertaken for this site development. Although there will be a reduction in trips generated from the site on a daily basis, there will be an increase in peak hour trips which will cause some issues at the Shingle Creek Parkway/Freeway Boulevard intersection as well as at three side streets along Freeway Boulevard between Shingle Creek Parkway and Dupont Avenue. This most likely will require “optimizing the signal systems” in the area. A copy of the GSA Site Redevelopment Traffic Study is available should the Commission members have an interest.LANDSCAPINGThe applicant has submitted a landscape plan in response to the landscape point system utilized by the Planning Commission to evaluate such plans. This 8.57 acre site requires a total of 725.6 landscape points. They are credited with providing 846.44 landscape points based on the distribution system contained within the point system policy. They do, however, provide a total of 1,647 landscape points based on the total landscape package being provided with this plan submittal. This obviously exceeds the minimum required points and appears to be a well landscaped site. Boulevard trees are to be provided within the public right of way area along Freeway Boulevard, which are indicated on the plan to be Sienna Glen Maple trees. Other shade or deciduous trees to be provided include eight Ironwood trees, six Swamp White Oak, seven Bur Oak, fifteen Boulevard American Basswood and four Green Spire Linden trees distributed around the site in various different areas. Coniferous trees include 41 Eastern Red Cedar, eleven American Larch and 26 Techny Arborvitae again disbursed throughout the site in various locations. Ornamental trees include one Autumn Brilliance Service Berry and seven Crusader Hawthorne. Shrubs including Gray Dogwood, Dwarf Bush Honeysuckle, Gro-Low Fragrant Sumac, Tiger Eye Sumac and Taunton Yew are also provided for in the landscape plan.Underground irrigation is required in all landscaped areas and various stone surfacing features are provided throughout the site. A court yard area, for instance, is located in a somewhat triangular area between the office building, parking structure and annex building for employee utilization. All in all the landscaping provided well exceeds the point system utilized for evaluating landscape plans and appears to be an appropriate decorative feature for this complex. BUILDINGSThe applicant has submitted building elevations for the five story office building, the three story parking structure and the annex building. The main office building exterior will be comprised of limestone, an architectural precast material, recessed tinted glass, with metal shade structures and an aesthetic panel wrap. The limestone will be the prominent feature of the building facade. The parking garage will be constructed from two shades of architectural precast to match the office building with architectural louvers. The annex building will be constructed from similar materials and colors as the parking deck. Screen walls of the same materials are provided for the office and annex buildings to screen roof-top mechanical equipment. As mentioned, the parking structure will be a three story enclosed building that will be required to have a fire sprinkling system and the annex building will be an approximately 20 ft. high bay facility for again servicing vehicles with some associated office area.The applicant will provide colored renderings at the Planning Commission meeting for review.LIGHTING/TRASHThe applicant has also submitted a lighting and photometric plan indicating the proposed location on the site for various lights and the foot candles associated with the lighting at the perimeter area. The foot candles do not exceed what is authorized under Section 35-712 of the city ordinance. They utilize a variety of freestanding lights both single head and dual head on poles that are 25 ft. in height. They also make use of wall mounted lights, flood lights and in ground up lights at various locations on the site. Security is an obvious concern and areas will be well lit for this purpose. The schedule of lighting indicates that lights will be full cut off. Our ordinance requires that all fixtures be shielded and light directed on the site in such a manner as to avoid glare to abutting properties. The plan seems to comply with our light standards. No trash enclosure area is shown on the site and it is assumed that trash will be contained within the building and picked up by vehicles entering the site at the secure secondary site entrance. RECOMMENDATIONWe believe the plans are in order and approval is recommended subject to the following conditions:The building plans are subject to review and approval by the Building Official with respect to applicable codes prior to the issuance of permits.Grading, drainage, utility and erosion control plans are subject to review and approval by the City Engineer prior to the issuance of permits.A site performance agreement and supporting financial guarantee in an amount to be determined based on cost estimates shall be submitted prior to the issuance of permits to assure the completion of all site improvements.Any outside trash disposal facilities and roof top or on ground mechanical equipment shall be appropriately screened from view.The buildings are to be equipped with an automatic fire extinguishing systems to meet NFPA standards and connected to a central monitoring device in accordance with Chapter 5 of the city ordinances.An underground irrigation system shall be installed in all landscaped areas to facilitate site maintenance.Plan approval is exclusive of all signery which is subject to Chapter 34 of the city ordinances. B-612 curb and gutter shall be provided around all parking and driving areas.The applicant shall submit an as built survey of the property, improvements and utility service lines prior to release of the performance guarantee. All work performed and materials used for construction of utilities shall conform to the City of Brooklyn Center current Standard Specifications and Details.Appropriate erosion and sediment control devices shall be provided on site during construction as approved by the City’s Engineering Department and applicant shall obtain an NPDES construction site erosion permit from the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency prior to disturbing the site.The final plat comprehended under Planning Commission Application No. 2009-001 shall be given final approval by the City Council and filed with Hennepin County prior to the issuance of building permits for this project.Plan approval is contingent upon the granting of the variance from the green strip/parking setback requirements comprehended under Planning Commission Application No. 2009-005.The owner of the property shall enter into an easement and agreement for maintenance and inspection of utility and storm drainage systems prior to the issuance of permits.Storm water drainage systems shall be approved by the West Mississippi Watershed Management Commission prior to the issuance of permits.The owner of the property shall enter a proof of parking agreement to provide up to 694 parking spaces on the site upon a determination by the City, to be constructed within one year following notification that such parking is needed.