I just learned this spring of the proposed development of a large apartment complex on the land previously known as Kraewood or Paulsen’s tree farm. I am shocked to say the least.
I am joining with my neighbors in adding my voice to to say “No” to this aspect of the development. An apartment complex is totally out of place in this neighborhood of single family homes, duplexes, and single home rentals. There should continue to be single family homes, parks, small blocks, and families in this neighborhood.
With this apartment complex, there will be increased traffic, noise, & safety issues as well.
With this apartment complex, a beautiful and quiet space filled with wildlife, including a Federally Endangered species, will be in part replaced with concrete, hundreds of cars and hundreds of people. That is not a good trade off.
I strongly support the Kraewood Addition plans. This project provides a good connection and through street between established residential neighborhoods mostly south of Greenvale and the largely immigrant housing further north. It will further the City's plans to provide less segregated neighborhoods and to enhance density and infill. The plan provides a variety of housing options and I believe there will be opportunities nearby to provide more of the varied housing that the SHED activists support. We need this kind of housing. This development is legal and conforms to City codes and long-term planning goals.
I live at 417 St. Olaf Ave., and my grandson attends Hand-in-Hand at Greenvale School, so I am familiar with the neighborhoods impacted. I have read the traffic evaluations and trust their analysis. I hope the Planning Commission will help SHED and other hesitant community members understand how much there is to gain and how little to fear from this development.
I support this Plat request that meets infill requirements for needed housing. I do want the city to require that the buildings meet our Climate Action Plan and be all-electric, with no natural gas connections.
Infill projects are an important component to city planning and development process. They get challenging when development of a specific type has flourished in spaces adjacent to the targeted area. As a former resident in this part of the community, I deeply appreciate the multitude of variables at play as the city leadership, staff and commissions work to balance affordable housing with safe streets for schools, climate action, water management, and neighborhood character while simultaneously inviting the neighborhood to provide important feedback. Constructing higher density living adjacent to public services, such as Greenvale school and Early childhood/Community Ed represents thoughtful planning. The B&M traffic memo from provides needed commentary and improvements to the plat. Greater consideration to green space and water mgmt BMPs would benefit low areas, neighbors, and amount of impervious surfaces. Future projects should engage area residents earlier in collaborative design.
I have lived in Northfield my entire life, 40 years and counting. My parents first home was on Lathrop Dr. and I have distinct memories of losing my shoe in the road crossing the street to Greenvale school when my family's house was being built in 87'. When my family moved to Juniper Ave after living on the "other side of the tracks" for several years it felt like I had come home.
Things have changed. Greenvale avenue is heavily traveled. Crossing the road has become extremely unsafe and I can't imagine how much worse it will become if the purposed development passes. The study done by HKGI for the city states we are in need of more affordable housing for first time homebuyers/townhomes and approximately 39 apartments, not 100+ apartments.
I am vehemently opposed to the development as it is presented. This proposal is self severing to the individuals looking to profit from our community. It is not family's first and is not what Northfield needs.
I wish you could ask the wildlife who call that forest home what their opinion on the development. This is how we lost world habitats, one piece at a time. The trees in that forest cleans our air and are homes for countless wildlife. Don't destroy this beautiful resource. The plan for this development has no area dedicated as a park or place for those children to play. It does not make sense that the largest apartment in Northfield should to be located here. I live in this neighborhood and am very concerned with the additional traffic and how it will impact the many children who walk or ride their bikes to school. I feel terrible for the quiet, peaceful neighborhoods surrounding this area. They don't want their neighborhoods ruined with hundreds of more cars and people.
Could Northfield benefit from having housing options such as those outlined in the Kraewood proposal? Sure! Is the best place for the purposed site best suited in the well-established, active, quiet and tight neighborhood of the Greenvale neighborhoods? Absolutely not. There are already huge safety concerns for pedestrians and children in the area with very little care or solutions from law makers. But yeah OK, let's add hundreds of more families and children into an already unregulated and unsafe area of town. Be smart and do no harm.
Please reconsider building the largest apartment complex in town directly across from the elementary school. My kids bike/walk to Early Ventures everyday and we already struggle with cars who don’t stop when we’re in the crosswalk. We’ve almost been hit a number of times from people who don’t slow down. The traffic congestion during “rush hour” is incredible, even during a Covid school year. I fear the increased traffic will have a detrimental impact on those of us who bike/walk to school and in the neighborhood.
The study done by HKGI for the city states we are in need of more affordable housing for first time homebuyers/townhomes and approximately 39 apartments, not 100+ apartments. Please do not build this large of a complex on this land.
Sincerely,
Melissa Haars
Our pioneer founders were innovators and abolitionists; not the type who sought to inhibit opportunity or promote exclusivity through an HOA mentality. Northfield is not in the boondocks, nor was it built to be. Our founders platted this area to be a connector to other cities and economies.
The proposed development site is not only already on a road that is a major thoroughfare into a city which handles large logistical and manufacturing traffic each day, it connects multiples cities.
For proper decision-making here, we need to remove our parochial blinders and realize that Northfield is a nerve center; just off a major interstate, connecting commerce in the western part of the state to the Mississippi River cities and serving as a bedroom community and hub between the Twin Cities and Rochester.
Pollinator opportunities can be engineered. A parking lot is a small price to pay for opening our community to newcomers and extra revenue to schools and elder services to keep taxes low.
My concern has to do with the size of the apartment complex and the traffic it will add to our neighborhood. Specifically, I’m concerned about future traffic congestion on Lincoln as it intersects Linden and Greenvale Ave.
As the northwest part of town has been developed over the last 40 years it seems that no thought has been given to how this part of town will connect with Hwy. 3 and downtown. I fear that as more development occurs we will face a situation much like the one the roundabout recently solved at the intersection of Jefferson and 246. Almost every time I was stuck in traffic there, I thought to myself, “How could someone not have foreseen this?” I’d like to avoid having those same thoughts as I approach the intersection of Lincoln and Greenvale at some future date.
I think we would be wise to address the lack of connectivity to Hwy. 3 and downtown before adding a large apartment complex and several hundred more cars to this neighborhood. Or we can kick it down the road.
The proposed development has caused a strong, expected and understandable reaction from neighbors. In many ways this has been exacerbated by the fact that our Northfield community lacks a true urban plan that identifies areas of need and match them with areas that could be developed. It seems that many developments in town are ad-hoc and created in a piecemeal fashion rather than a plan that members in the community understand in terms of affordable housing needs, workforce needs and so forth. Adding more expensive homes to the proposed area lacks the goal to help community members access affordable housing options, including homeownership.
It would have been great that this plan would have included the option to buy the apartments and build houses that teachers, nurses and many others, including people of color, can afford. In one of the meetings with neighbors and developers, teaming up with Habitat was offered. It would be great to get creative about affordable housing in town.
We enjoyed living in our residential, family-oriented neighborhood on Green Meadow Court for seventeen years, and we especially enjoyed having the Paulson woods in our back yard. The woods made the air cleaner, the noise level lower, and the neighborhood much more pleasant. They also provided sanctuary for many forms of wildlife. Wooded areas within city limits are a very precious gift and once lost cannot easily be replaced.
We realized that the woods might very well be developed some day, but we were expecting the development to blend in with the single-family, residential neighborhoods on all sides of the property. Instead the current proposal calls for depositing a large apartment complex in the middle of this single-family neighborhood. Several hundred new people will move into a very tight space, creating dangerous traffic conditions on Lincoln Parkway, and air, noise, and light pollution.
I just learned this spring of the proposed development of a large apartment complex on the land previously known as Kraewood or Paulsen’s tree farm. I am shocked to say the least.
I am joining with my neighbors in adding my voice to to say “No” to this aspect of the development. An apartment complex is totally out of place in this neighborhood of single family homes, duplexes, and single home rentals. There should continue to be single family homes, parks, small blocks, and families in this neighborhood.
With this apartment complex, there will be increased traffic, noise, & safety issues as well.
With this apartment complex, a beautiful and quiet space filled with wildlife, including a Federally Endangered species, will be in part replaced with concrete, hundreds of cars and hundreds of people. That is not a good trade off.
comment attached
I strongly support the Kraewood Addition plans. This project provides a good connection and through street between established residential neighborhoods mostly south of Greenvale and the largely immigrant housing further north. It will further the City's plans to provide less segregated neighborhoods and to enhance density and infill. The plan provides a variety of housing options and I believe there will be opportunities nearby to provide more of the varied housing that the SHED activists support. We need this kind of housing. This development is legal and conforms to City codes and long-term planning goals.
I live at 417 St. Olaf Ave., and my grandson attends Hand-in-Hand at Greenvale School, so I am familiar with the neighborhoods impacted. I have read the traffic evaluations and trust their analysis. I hope the Planning Commission will help SHED and other hesitant community members understand how much there is to gain and how little to fear from this development.
I support this Plat request that meets infill requirements for needed housing. I do want the city to require that the buildings meet our Climate Action Plan and be all-electric, with no natural gas connections.
Infill projects are an important component to city planning and development process. They get challenging when development of a specific type has flourished in spaces adjacent to the targeted area. As a former resident in this part of the community, I deeply appreciate the multitude of variables at play as the city leadership, staff and commissions work to balance affordable housing with safe streets for schools, climate action, water management, and neighborhood character while simultaneously inviting the neighborhood to provide important feedback. Constructing higher density living adjacent to public services, such as Greenvale school and Early childhood/Community Ed represents thoughtful planning. The B&M traffic memo from provides needed commentary and improvements to the plat. Greater consideration to green space and water mgmt BMPs would benefit low areas, neighbors, and amount of impervious surfaces. Future projects should engage area residents earlier in collaborative design.
see attached
See attached
I have lived in Northfield my entire life, 40 years and counting. My parents first home was on Lathrop Dr. and I have distinct memories of losing my shoe in the road crossing the street to Greenvale school when my family's house was being built in 87'. When my family moved to Juniper Ave after living on the "other side of the tracks" for several years it felt like I had come home.
Things have changed. Greenvale avenue is heavily traveled. Crossing the road has become extremely unsafe and I can't imagine how much worse it will become if the purposed development passes. The study done by HKGI for the city states we are in need of more affordable housing for first time homebuyers/townhomes and approximately 39 apartments, not 100+ apartments.
I am vehemently opposed to the development as it is presented. This proposal is self severing to the individuals looking to profit from our community. It is not family's first and is not what Northfield needs.
Thanks
Derek Haars
I wish you could ask the wildlife who call that forest home what their opinion on the development. This is how we lost world habitats, one piece at a time. The trees in that forest cleans our air and are homes for countless wildlife. Don't destroy this beautiful resource. The plan for this development has no area dedicated as a park or place for those children to play. It does not make sense that the largest apartment in Northfield should to be located here. I live in this neighborhood and am very concerned with the additional traffic and how it will impact the many children who walk or ride their bikes to school. I feel terrible for the quiet, peaceful neighborhoods surrounding this area. They don't want their neighborhoods ruined with hundreds of more cars and people.
Could Northfield benefit from having housing options such as those outlined in the Kraewood proposal? Sure! Is the best place for the purposed site best suited in the well-established, active, quiet and tight neighborhood of the Greenvale neighborhoods? Absolutely not. There are already huge safety concerns for pedestrians and children in the area with very little care or solutions from law makers. But yeah OK, let's add hundreds of more families and children into an already unregulated and unsafe area of town. Be smart and do no harm.
Please reconsider building the largest apartment complex in town directly across from the elementary school. My kids bike/walk to Early Ventures everyday and we already struggle with cars who don’t stop when we’re in the crosswalk. We’ve almost been hit a number of times from people who don’t slow down. The traffic congestion during “rush hour” is incredible, even during a Covid school year. I fear the increased traffic will have a detrimental impact on those of us who bike/walk to school and in the neighborhood.
The study done by HKGI for the city states we are in need of more affordable housing for first time homebuyers/townhomes and approximately 39 apartments, not 100+ apartments. Please do not build this large of a complex on this land.
Sincerely,
Melissa Haars
Test comment.
Mikayla
Our pioneer founders were innovators and abolitionists; not the type who sought to inhibit opportunity or promote exclusivity through an HOA mentality. Northfield is not in the boondocks, nor was it built to be. Our founders platted this area to be a connector to other cities and economies.
The proposed development site is not only already on a road that is a major thoroughfare into a city which handles large logistical and manufacturing traffic each day, it connects multiples cities.
For proper decision-making here, we need to remove our parochial blinders and realize that Northfield is a nerve center; just off a major interstate, connecting commerce in the western part of the state to the Mississippi River cities and serving as a bedroom community and hub between the Twin Cities and Rochester.
Pollinator opportunities can be engineered. A parking lot is a small price to pay for opening our community to newcomers and extra revenue to schools and elder services to keep taxes low.
My concern has to do with the size of the apartment complex and the traffic it will add to our neighborhood. Specifically, I’m concerned about future traffic congestion on Lincoln as it intersects Linden and Greenvale Ave.
As the northwest part of town has been developed over the last 40 years it seems that no thought has been given to how this part of town will connect with Hwy. 3 and downtown. I fear that as more development occurs we will face a situation much like the one the roundabout recently solved at the intersection of Jefferson and 246. Almost every time I was stuck in traffic there, I thought to myself, “How could someone not have foreseen this?” I’d like to avoid having those same thoughts as I approach the intersection of Lincoln and Greenvale at some future date.
I think we would be wise to address the lack of connectivity to Hwy. 3 and downtown before adding a large apartment complex and several hundred more cars to this neighborhood. Or we can kick it down the road.
The proposed development has caused a strong, expected and understandable reaction from neighbors. In many ways this has been exacerbated by the fact that our Northfield community lacks a true urban plan that identifies areas of need and match them with areas that could be developed. It seems that many developments in town are ad-hoc and created in a piecemeal fashion rather than a plan that members in the community understand in terms of affordable housing needs, workforce needs and so forth. Adding more expensive homes to the proposed area lacks the goal to help community members access affordable housing options, including homeownership.
It would have been great that this plan would have included the option to buy the apartments and build houses that teachers, nurses and many others, including people of color, can afford. In one of the meetings with neighbors and developers, teaming up with Habitat was offered. It would be great to get creative about affordable housing in town.
We enjoyed living in our residential, family-oriented neighborhood on Green Meadow Court for seventeen years, and we especially enjoyed having the Paulson woods in our back yard. The woods made the air cleaner, the noise level lower, and the neighborhood much more pleasant. They also provided sanctuary for many forms of wildlife. Wooded areas within city limits are a very precious gift and once lost cannot easily be replaced.
We realized that the woods might very well be developed some day, but we were expecting the development to blend in with the single-family, residential neighborhoods on all sides of the property. Instead the current proposal calls for depositing a large apartment complex in the middle of this single-family neighborhood. Several hundred new people will move into a very tight space, creating dangerous traffic conditions on Lincoln Parkway, and air, noise, and light pollution.
Please protect us from this devastation!