Forest Lake developer pitches apartment complex on vacant St. Croix River site – Twin Cities

A developer’s plan to build a $25 million, three-story apartment complex on the site of the former Osceola Medical Center building in downtown Osceola, Wis., has been criticized by some who say it could harm the St. Croix River National Scenic Riverway.

Supporters say that Forest Lake-based developer Gaughan Cos.’ mixed-use development would provide much-needed housing in the area and remove an unsightly building that has sat vacant for 15-plus years.

In addition to 100 apartments, the project would include underground parking, a lobby, coffee bar, fitness center, retail space and a full-service restaurant. The top floor would have a rooftop deck and a club room for entertaining, with views of the river.

Officials from Gaughan purchased the approximately 4.2-acre site last year. Since then, they have worked with officials from the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources and the Village of Osceola to make sure the project meets all the necessary requirements for building on the bluff of the federally-protected riverway, said Dan Hebert, Gaughan’s senior vice president of commercial accounts.

The new development, located at the corner of River Street and East Third Avenue, would be built on the footprint of the former hospital and nursing home, Hebert said.

Gaughan is proposing that the east side of the building be constructed out of brick, but the west side – the side that faces the St. Croix River – would be “all earth tones” to comply with rules regulating the color of buildings that are designed to preserve the view from the river. In addition, Hebert said, there would be no exterior lights allowed on the units’ balconies.

“We’ve thought through this,” he said. “We don’t want a beacon on the river.”

The project also would improve stormwater management on the site and “create more green space,” Hebert said.

Zoning amendments

Village of Osceola Planning Commission members on Monday night will consider two zoning amendments – both of which are related to the project.

One zoning amendment has to do with asking for a conditional-use permit to extend the height of a structure from up to 35 feet in a Rivertown zoning district to 45 feet, said Frank Pascarella, the former interim village administrator who is project manager for the village on the project. The Wisconsin DNR has asked village officials to amend its zoning ordinance to include four caveats that would need to be met when someone asks for that specific CUP, he said.

The other zoning amendment has to do with allowing first-floor residential apartments, he said.

“This is a unique site, and it has some unique regulatory challenges,” Pascarella said. “Even if this (plan) fails, the Village is going to look for something to be developed there. The building has been vacant for 16 years, and the Village can’t afford to spend $1 million to have it torn down. We certainly don’t want a government facility on this site.”

Polk County officials recently conducted a housing study and found that there is a need for an additional 151 to 162 rental units in Osceola between now and 2040, said Terry Hauer, executive director of the Polk County Economic Development Corporation.

In addition to providing much-needed housing, Hauer said the project would remove an “abandoned, dangerous, burdensome, unattractive building that is currently visible from the river” and “provide additional green space.”

‘Urban intrusion’

Mark Kozlak is co-president of the Historic Garden District of Osceola, a group formed in opposition to the project. One of the group’s objections to the proposed zoning amendment allowing first-floor residential apartments is that it would eliminate Village review of “residential uses located above or below the street level in the same B-1 zone as a conditional use,” according to materials prepared by district officials. “Every property in the B-1 zone in the core of downtown Osceola would be impacted by this ordinance change. Village power to require conditional use compliance would be lost.”

Kozlak said he expects a crowd to attend the meeting on Monday night.

“The fight is protection vs. profit,” he said. “If this big-box development is allowed to break the tree line, it will set the precedent that will destroy the scenic St. Croix River outside of the major cities. The smaller villages and towns (along the river) have up to now been careful not to violate the guidelines for the St. Croix National Scenic Waterway. This is a huge urban intrusion into the bucolic St. Croix River Valley. Others will then follow.”

Kozlak said his preference would be for someone to renovate the building that already exists.