Chaska's Clover Ridge bringing "new urbanism" to a far outpost of suburbia
Minnesota Real Estate Journal
October 2006
By Jon Kerr
Low-income apartment plans test resolve of officials, residents to follow through on 'workforce housing' ideals.
Some critics have suggested it may be trying to fit a round peg in a square hole. But Chaska city leaders are convinced that an innovative suburban development touting "new urbanism" themes eventually will have the city sitting in clover.
The 250-acre Clover Ridge development is Chaska's five-year-old ongoing effort to emphasize density and pedestrian-friendly designs over sprawl. It's a mixed-use development of single-family homes, condominiums, commercial space and apartment buildings that include a sizeable percentage of subsidized units and is intended to create both diversity and an old-style sense of community.
"We are trying to build on our vision of being the best small town in Minnesota. How do we continue to maintain that feeling even as we continue to expand is the question," says Chaska Assistant City Manager Matt Podhradsky of the city's rapid population growth. Over the course of a few decades, it has gone from under 7,000 to a current figure of over 20,000. Its population is expected to eventually top out at approximately 35,000.
Clover Ridge's answer is to emphasize features such as front porches, alleys, parks, tree-lined boulevards and pedestrian walkways that provide public open spaces in which to meet neighbors. Approximately $10 million in public subsidies including a $1 million Livable Communities Grant from the Metropolitan Council have leveraged private development of an anticipated total of 1,100 new housing units ranging from upscale $700,000 townhomes to low-income apartment units.
"We didn't want to put all our eggs in one basket," says Podhradsky, noting Chaska's need for affordable housing to support a growing employment base in area factories and medical institutions.
"We also wanted to have identifiable neighborhoods and a true identifiable center," he says, describing Clover Ridge's development around a traffic roundabout with a stone obelisk at its entrance at Hundertmark Road. Nearby is an elementary school; a park and ride lot, a condominium building, and on the way is an apartment building with ground floor retail space.
"It's urbanism," says Podhradsky, comparing Clover Ridge to developments in more urban areas of the Twin Cities, such as St. Paul's Highland Park and 50th & France in Minneapolis, even while suggesting that downtown Chaska offers its own model.
"We have a 150-year-old city with some of these features already in place," he says, "so it made the concept a little easier to sell."
More controversial has been one aspect of Clover Ridge: Minneapolis-based Central Community Housing Trust's plans to break ground this fall on a 115-unit apartment building, with about half the units aimed at low-income tenants, as well as 10,000 square feet of ground-floor commercial development. Both elements have received some questioning of their appropriateness in a suburban setting and the neighborhood service-oriented retail area has recently been scaled back from earlier plans for up to 15,000 square feet.
But backers of the $21 million Clover Field Marketplace insist that these last pieces ultimately will fit well within Clover Ridge's concept and Chaska's future.
"There is a lot of support. It is a visionary city. They recognize that affordable housing is just as important as parks and schools and streets and other infrastructure," says Gina Cigniak, Central Community's vice president of housing development. "It will be creating opportunities for a lot of people to live and work in the area. Chaska understands that a lot of their workers right now are having to drive 20 or 30 miles for affordable housing."
Stylistically, Clover Field Marketplace will also fit in with the city's demand for quality and an intimate, pedestrian-friendly appeal, says Cigniak.
"They are going to be really unique units with underground parking. We think they will be really attractive in the neighborhood setting. It really feels like an integral part of Chaska, which is exactly what the city wanted and the way we do business."
Podhrasky agrees, noting that at recent public hearings Chaska residents increasingly have come out to express continued support for both the Marketplace and the long-term plans for Clover Ridge.
"In general people have been very supportive. A number of people have indicated they moved to Chaska just because of the design," he says. "It is different than the norm. But I think it gets back to our original mission. If we were going to get back to that small town vision we need places where people can meet each other."
 Learn more about Clover Field Marketplace
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