Byerly’s Edina Project Updates Plans and Adds Housing
Lund Food Holdings has totally redesigned its plan for redeveloping an existing Byerly’s store on France Avenue near the Southdale Mall in Edina.
A year ago, Edina-based Lund’s brought an armful of renderings for a mixed-use project at the site into the city of Edina for sketch plan review, which turned into a critique of its first plan.
Wednesday night, Lund’s will return to the city planning commission with a firm development plan, a residential housing development partner, and about 84 more housing units than in the first version.
The biggest change in the plan at first glance is the orientation of the 47,000-square-foot Byerly’s store so that its pushed up against France in what is now part of the parking lot.
That met the city’s desire to have a more urban-feeling dense development and to hide some of the parking lot from the city’s main drag. Previously, the store was located in the back half of the site and the front of the store faced France.
Lund’s also responded to the city’s request that the project design was more appealing to walkers and bikers, especially those along the city’s Promenade on the east side of the site.
Instead of a loading dock for the grocery store, the new development will eventually have three apartment buildings, to be developed by Minneapolis-based Shafer Richardson. Other firms involved in the project include St. Paul-based Pope Architects, St. Louis Park-based Anderson KM Builders, and the Minneapolis office of Cresa Partners.
The first residential building, called Building A, would be a seven-story structure with 109 units and two levels of private underground parking for residents. That building would be developed at the same time as the new Byerly’s store.
Construction would begin on a second apartment building, with 77 apartments and 10,450-square-feet of retail, shortly after the old Byerly’s store is razed.
A third apartment building, with 60 units and 10,500-square-feet of retail, would be developed at a future date depending upon market conditions.
If the planning commission approves the plans, they will go before the full Edina City Council March 19.