HomeMy WebLinkAboutItem 08a - Sketch Plan reviewCity of Lakeville
Planning Department
Planning Commission
Tina Goodroad, Community Development Director
September 10, 2025
Packet Material for the September 18, 2025 Planning Commission Work Session
Sketch Plan Review
Staff received a sketch plan application from Norsq Companies for the 25-acre property formerly
part of the George Warweg estate, located south of Kenwood Trail and east of Ipava Avenue. The
property is currently under contract, and the applicant is seeking preliminary review and
feedback.
The site is currently split-guided and zoned: the western portion is designated OP, Office Park,
and the remainder is zoned C-3, General Commercial. Due to site constraints, including limited
visibility, restricted access points, and traffic circulation needs, future development as
commercial or office/industrial is considered challenging.
In February, the applicant presented an initial concept plan to the City Council during a work
session, which included apartments and townhomes. At that time, the council directed the
applicant to preserve as much commercial area as feasible, while recognizing the site limitations.
The council also expressed support for retail uses that would complement Antlers Park.
In response, the applicant has submitted a revised concept plan. The updated plan proposes
10.23 acres of commercial development in the southeastern portion of the site—an increase
compared to what is currently guided and zoned as commercial. Proposed uses within this area
include entertainment, restaurant, and retail opportunities, with a focus on “experiential retail” at
the corner of Ipava Avenue and Kenwood Trail. More specific details regarding these uses will be
shared by the applicant during the work session.
The remainder of the site is proposed for market-rate townhomes with a clubhouse and multiple
on-site amenities. Additional details are provided in the applicant’s narrative.
Discussion
Staff is seeking for Planning Commission input on the sketch plan and potential land use/zoning
amendments that could be required with a future application.
Attachment
Narrative
Land use exhibit
Concept Plan
Experiential retail images
Townhome images
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LAKEVILLE 25 ACRE MIXED USE APPLICATION
10 ACRES COMMERCIAL & 15 ACRES MARKET RATE TOWNHOME COMMUNITY – 165 UNITS
Comprehensive Plan Amendment – Mixed Use PUD
Project Narrative
20xxx IPAVA AVENUE, LAKEVILLE, MN 55311
September 2025
Developer: Nörsq Companies: 2201 Meeting Street, Wayzata, MN 55391
Architect: Practic Design : 510 S 17th St, Ames, IA 50010
Engineering: Measure Group, PO Box 10 , Wayzata, MN 55391
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1. DEVELOPER BACKGROUND
Nörsq Companies is a fully integrated real estate development company with ownership possessing over 20
years of real estate development experience totaling over $2 Billion in total development value across the
nation. Based in Plymouth, Minnesota, the company builds and operates communities across the Midwest,
with ownership in over 46 multifamily projects across the US. They take pride in the communities they
build in and seek to build long term relationships with the cities and neighborhoods they invest in. The
companies name bodes homage to the strong Norwegian heritage that is engrained in the culture of their
home state of Minnesota and community designs are influenced by Scandinavian architecture.
2. PROJECT VISION
Nörsq Companies is proposing a 25-acre mixed use commercial project consisting of 10.5 acres of
commercial/retail and 15.6 acres of a new construction single family housing community directly to the
East of Antlers Park in Lakeville, MN, a city highly regarded for its great schools, park systems, retail, and
close proximity to major employers. More specifically, young families are seeking communities like
Lakeville to start families, but America is currently grappling with the widest housing cost gap for owning
vs. renting a home on record since the federal government started tracking in 1954. The average house
payment for a newly purchased home in Q3 2022 was 57% more expensive than the average monthly
rental, the widest cost gap on record. With record high single family home prices in the for-sale market,
coupled with low inventory and high mortgage interest rates, this project seeks to provide the same
benefits of homeownership, including larger living spaces, personal 2-car garage, and outdoor patio space
without the headaches, upkeep and expense of homeownership. This community helps to diversify the City
of Lakeville’s housing stock product type availability which is one of the key housing land use goals in the
2040 comprehensive plan.
Subject to obtaining final development plan approvals, we anticipate commencing construction in the
Spring of 2026 and proceeding continuously to completion by late winter of 2027, with first occupancy
expected in the summer of 2027.
Townhome living options range from a 3-story 2 BD home with 1,338 SF of living space with a 2-car garage
and outdoor deck area or a 2-story 3BD townhome with 1,883 SF of living space, 2-car garage and outdoor
patio. Residents will be greeted with a prominent entrance with a tree lined boulevard leading to the main
clubhouse that will provide ample amenities for residents.
The planned community amenities for this market rate project include:
• Fitness Center- An approximate 1,000 SF fitness center with state-of-the-art equipment
overlooking the outdoor pool/courtyard area.
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• Community Lounge- Large open shared community lounge that can accommodate private events
(birthday, holiday, and other event parties) and overlooks the outdoor pool/courtyard area to
engage residents and create a sense of community.
• Outdoor Patio- An outdoor patio area will be situated near the pool and have outdoor seating and
grill stations to encourage outdoor resident engagement.
• Coffee Bar- A gourmet coffee machine will be provided for residents to use for residents with on
the go lifestyles and to bring residents to common areas to further the community engagement.
• Pet Spa- A large majority of our residents have pets, and this amenity space will include a stand up
pet wash station, dryer, and treats for their loved ones.
• Outdoor Pool- large outdoor pool will be provided for the residents use during the hot summer
days.
• Business Center- An approximate 1,000 SF business center/ WiFi lounge will be provided to the
guests for their use as residents leverage a more integrated work from home environment.
• Pickleball court – An outdoor pickleball court will be provided for the residents of this community
to encourage active participation and engagement of residents of this community.
3. LAND USE
The land is currently one large 25.01 Acre parcel zoned AG- Green Acres (agricultural) and is currently being
used as farmland to grow crops. As part of the City of Lakeville 2040 comprehensive plan, the future land
use is guided between two land uses: 1) Commercial use guided for 9.94 Acres and 2) Office Park, guided
for 15.96 Acres (see Exhibit 4.1).
During the February 24, 2025 city council work session meeting, we presented our initial design concept,
which included 15 acres of medium density with 165 townhomes, 8 acres of high density residential with
200 units of apartments in a 4 story structure, and a 2.8 acre commercial site. During that work session, we
heard from numerous individuals from both the city staff as well as the public expressing their feedback
and concerns. Some of the most frequent feedback heard was :
1. City should purchase the 25 Acre Warweg site for public benefit.
2. Opposition to the 4-story apartment building. Primary concerns being height of project and traffic.
3. Public desired “experiential retail” and suggested indoor pickleball courts, slide park, trampoline park,
and uses aligned with the new Antlers Park (restaurant use with patio, brewery, ice cream, kayak
rental, etc.)
4. Townhome use – public liked the design and landscaped boulevard entrance mimicking the Antlers
park entrance to bring uniformity. No other major concerns for or against apart from that feedback.
We heard staff and the public’s concerns and did our best to incorporate all the feedback we could
reasonably accommodate into our latest plan before you today.
Specifically, we are seeking to amend the 2040 Comprehensive Plan to re-guide this parcel as “PUD – Mixed
Use” at a concept level to support more commercial at 10.23 acres of commercial to accommodate
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experiential retail and 15.67 acres of medium density residential across the site and specifically seeking
development stage approval for the 15.67 acre townhome site.
Upon consulting with local commercial brokers regarding retail viability in this location, the location of the
proposed commercial has been moved from the Southeastern section of the site where the commercial use
was originally guided to the NW section of the site due to 2 primary accessibility concerns: 1) railroad
crossing and 2) signalized intersection. Regardless of whether the commercial is on the SE or NW side of
the site, this site will always have the railroad encumbrance as a negative benefit to retail vs our
neighboring retail at the Cub Foods anchored Heritage Commons location, which has direct access via a
signalized intersection and no railroad crossing encumbrance. Heritage commons was developed in the
late 1990’s and early 2000’s and is still not fully developed after 25 years. This helps speak to the
commercial viability of commercial in this area, especially when stacked railroad cars sit in front of this site
for days/weeks on end.
Additionally, the comprehensive plan was established pre-pandemic, when office parks were more
commercially viable and economically feasible, when post-pandemic office performance has reduced
significantly. We feel our proposal balances the most economically viable projects that can be built for
today’s market that incorporates feedback on what the public is looking for.
Additional Exhibits provided:
• Exhibit A –Original site plan presented to staff and public February 24, 2025
• Exhibit B – Current proposed site plan incorporating Mixed-Use
• Exhibit C - Visioning images for “Experiential Retail” commercial use. Highlights general intent of
situating retail and restaurant(s) around an open grassy area.
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Exhibit 4.1 - 2040 Comprehensive Plan – City of Lakeville 2040 Land Use Plan
PRO
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ANTLERS PARK
2 0 2 N D S T R E E T W
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WARWEG SITE
LAND USE EXHIBIT
LAKEVILLE, MN
EXISTING LAND USE
SEPTEMBER 9, 2025
measure
P R O P O S E D C O M M E R C I A L
1 0 . 2 3 A C R E S
2040 COMPREHENSIVE
PLAN COMMERCIAL AREA
9.94 ACRES
EXEPTION PARCEL
.83 ACRES
CONTROLLED
AREA
9.4 ACRES
P R O P O S E D M E D I U M D E N S I T Y
R E S I D E N T I A L
1 5 . 6 7 A C R E S
DRAWING KEY
ENTRANCE MONUMENT
LAND USE SUMMARY
COMMUNITY RECREATION AREA
STORMWATER BASIN
SIGNALIZED INTERSECTION
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3
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TOWNHOMES- 165 UNITS
COMMERCIAL -10.23 ACRES
PRO
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DAYCARE
ENTERTAINMENT/
RESTAURANT CONCEPT
TOWNHOMES
2 & 3 STORY
165 UNITS
ANTLERS PARK
2 0 2 N D S T R E E T W
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WARWEG SITE
CONCEPTUAL
DEVELOPMENT PLAN
LAKEVILLE, MN
SEPTEMBER 9, 2025
measure
COMMERCIAL ACREAGE : 10.23 AC
RESIDENTIAL ACREAGE : 15.67 AC
SITE NET ACRES : 25.90 AC
TOTAL RESIDENTIAL UNITS: 165
PROPOSED DENSITY: 10.53 UNITS/ AC
EXEPTION PARCEL
.83 ACRES
Experiential Retail
Lakeville Warweg Site –
Visioning Images
Copyright – Confluence Architecture
Copyright – RSP Architecture
Avienda Chanhassen