Cottage Grove’s former city hall might become the site of a new apartment complex.
DK Design and Development of Minneapolis presented the idea to the city’s Economic Development Authority at a meeting earlier this month.
The plan calls for a building up to four stories tall, with as many as 125 market-rate units. The three-acre site is on 80th Street and Hemingway Avenue South.
“It would be an amazing project,” said company president Della Kolpin.
Details are sketchy. It’s possible the project would include ground-level retail. Kolpin said the building will have underground parking, but other amenities have not yet been determined.
The site is next to the Park Grove Library. Plans for the project specify 90 to 125 one- and two-bedroom units.
The proposal must be presented to the city’s Planning Commission, and then to the City Council. If officials approve, work could begin next year, said Kolpin.
The project would solve a problem for the city.
The city hall building was built in 1968. In 2012, operations moved into the new city hall on Ravine Parkway.
The city tried to use the old space for an experimental business incubator, but the project lost money annually for four years. By 2016, less than half of the space was rented and city officials shut the project down.
Kolpin said there is not yet any cost estimate or proposed name for the project.
“The city is very anxious about this,” said Kolpin. “They are excited to have the opportunity for more market-rate housing.”