AudubonBusPk Narrative_2023-06-161
Project Narrative
Audubon Business Park
1650 McGlynn Road (Bldg A) & 1700 Coulter Blvd. (Bldg B)
Prepared By:
Edward Farr Architects and Rehder & Assoc.
June 16, 2023
For Application of:
Site Plan Review, Subdivision (Prelim & Final Plat), Vacation of Easements,
Variance, and Wetland Alteration Permit
Project overview
Mesenbrink Construction & Engineering, Inc. is pleased to propose the Audubon Business Park, a
Class A industrial campus consisting of two Office / Warehouse buildings totaling approx. 394,400 sq.
ft. on approximately 29.52 acres of undeveloped land located southwest of the intersection of Hwy 5 /
Arboretum Blvd and Audubon Road. The site is already zoned properly as IOP – Industrial Office Park
and is guided Office Industrial in the 2040 Comprehensive Guide Plan. The site is also in the HC-2
overlay Highway Corridor District along Hwy 5. The property is within the Riley Purgatory Bluff
Creek Watershed District. It is our intention to start construction this summer of 2023.
Basic Site and Building Data
Parcel Land Area Bldg Area Bldg Height Parking
Bldg A – Lot 1 Blk 1 16.38 ac 229,688 sq. ft. 40 ft.* 229 + 52 POP
Bldg B – Lot 2 Blk 1 11.96 ac 164,559 sq. ft. 40 ft.* 204
Development Subtotal 28.34 ac 394,247 sq. ft. 433 (485 w/ POP)
ROW dedications 1.18 ac
Total Land Area 29.52 ac
* Heights shown are for front and end elevations, typical wall height. Taller parapet features
extend up to 42 ft. The rear loading dock side is 4 ft higher for recessed docks.
Platting
The 30 acre property is being subdivided into two net developable lots totaling approximately 28 acres,
plus dedication of street right-of-way for Coulter Blvd, and the taking of the west half of McGlynn
Road. Both new development parcels will remain under current ownership. Private easements will be
created to document shared use agreements between the lots for vehicular access, signage, lighting,
maintenance, and utilities; plus, drainage & utility easements are provided for stormwater and utility
purposes.
Site Context
The property is in the northwest quadrant formed by the intersection of 35W and 85th Avenue NE / Co.
Rd J. The site is bordered by single family R-1 housing to the west; L-1 light industrial to the north;
35W and B-2 community commercial to the east. 85th Avenue NE defines the property’s southern
border, as well as the City border and Anoka County border. On the southern side of 85th Avenue NE is
L-1 light industrial. There are no permanent structures on the site.
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Screening to Residential Properties
Adequate landscape buffering from the Andrew Court residential townhouses is in place already. Those
homes are approximately 1,000 ft southwest from our development; and do not appear to have a
sightline through the dense tree line buffer along Coulter Blvd.
Impervious Coverage / Greenspace Areas
We comply with the minimum 30% pervious greenspace coverage and 70% maximum impervious.
Wetlands
There are 6 delineated wetlands on the site. The development will remove 4 of the 6 wetlands on the site
with one of the wetlands being an incidental wetland and thus the purchase wetland banking credits will
only be required for 3 of the 4 wetlands.
Landscaping
Landscaping across the site consists of a variety of deciduous, coniferous, ornamental trees, and native
prairie groundcover strategically designed to provide screening, minimize irrigation needs, minimizing
the heat island effect with shading of bituminous pavements, and create a unified aesthetic across the
development.
Site Setbacks / Variance Requests
Our building and parking setbacks meet or exceed the minimum zoning requirements for the IOP
district. However, the Arboretum Blvd Highway Corridor district HC-2 requires a 150 ft maximum
setback as well. Due to the necessary setback from the wetland along Arboretum Blvd, we can only
achieve the 150 ft max. building setback at the east end of Bldg A, then the setback increases further
west along our north façade, resulting in an average building setback of 155 feet. Technically this
requires a variance as part of our approvals. The parking setbacks are met except for the south parking
lot along Coulter Blvd. Parking is allowed within the setback, but we must provide 100% screening to a
height of 5’ where the parking lot is within the setback. Lastly, we are requesting a variance from the
15’ minimum wetland buffer accessory structure setback from Wetland 2. Due to the constraints of
meeting the 150’ building setback, there is a proposed retaining wall that falls within this setback.
Utilities
Utility stubs for sanitary sewer and watermain are available to both lots from McGlynn Drive; refer to
Civil Utility drawings. A water main loop is proposed through the site to avoid dead-ended water service
for hydrants and the services. A fire pump to boost pressure will be provided inside for each building’s
ESFR sprinkler system, if the available city water pressure is deemed insufficient (flow tests will be
confirmed). Stormwater runoff will be collected from roof drains and parking lot inlets and routed
through infiltration basins before leaving the site, all in accordance with the local watershed district
regulations. Electrical and natural gas utilities are readily available as well.
Vehicular Traffic and Parking Calculations
The projected occupancies for both Buildings A and B are 80% warehouse, 10% office and 10%
manufacturing. Parking calculations are published on the Site Plans. The lead tenant for Building A
(Federal Package) does not require all of those stalls, so we are providing Proof of Parking (POP) on
that site for future use if needed. In the meantime, the POP pavement area will be used for truck trailer
parking instead. Further, in the unlikely event that a building requires more parking due to increases in
office or manufacturing areas while warehouse areas decrease, we can easily add more car parking in the
truck dock area since the warehouse dock doors would not all be used. These ‘flex office / warehouse’
buildings offer good flexibility for parking.
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A traffic engineering consultant, SSTS LLC, was hired to analyze traffic impacts to the local road
system at key intersections. Their April 14, 2023 report is filed as part of our submittal. The traffic
engineer’s summary concluded that the road system will have adequate capacity to serve this new
development, with minimal vehicle back-ups.
Pedestrian Circulation
Sidewalk connections will be provided between the existing city sidewalk system and our building
sidewalks at tenant entrances.
Architectural Design and Building Materials
The buildings will be constructed with high quality, commercial grade, low-maintenance materials; and
are designed in a contemporary style with variations in color, plane, parapet height and window
treatment which offer visual interest to the public way. The two buildings have ‘reversed’ colors for
further variety and individual identity. Facade materials will include exposed natural stone aggregate
architectural precast concrete wall panels and energy efficient aluminum & glass windows. The
building includes multiple tenant office entrances articulated with recessed doors protected with an
architectural accent canopy and additional wall panel detailing to provide visual interest. More glass is
used at key corner entrance features. Refer to the ‘Materials Legend’ on the exterior elevations sheets
for a full breakdown of finish materials and glazing percentages on each elevation.
Both buildings will have a 32 foot ‘clear height’ inside, resulting in an exterior building height of 40 feet
measured from floor grade up to the top of wall. Accent parapet wall features along the façade bump up
to 42 feet tall. Along the back dock walls of all buildings, the grade is lowered 4 feet for truck berths, so
the wall height at the docks is 4 ft higher than the heights mentioned above.
The building height includes a parapet wall that serves to screen rooftop HVAC equipment from
ground-level views. Refer to our Site Sections for this screening graphic.
Pertaining to building codes and fire codes, the buildings will be constructed to Type II-B standards,
non-combustible, and protected with an ESFR sprinkler system. We anticipate tenants having high-piled
and racked storage of materials classified as commodity Types I – IV. With those commodity contents,
no smoke and heat vents are required, nor smoke draft curtains; however fire access doors will be
provided every 125 ft around the perimeter per MN Fire Code requirements.
Site Signage
One campus monument sign is requested, located near the intersection of Arboretum Blvd and Audubon
Rd. Directional signage at each driveway entrance is requested, to guide vehicles toward parking or
loading zones. We may also add stop signs at driveway exits, but those are not shown on the plan. All
ground signs will have standardized color, size and materials for consistency; however, our designs are
conceptual only at this point. Wall mounted tenant name signs are shown on the buildings; those
locations will be finalized / determined later. The Owner or Tenant will submit final sign drawings for
approval when applying for signage permits.
Site Lighting
Site lighting fixtures will use energy efficient LED lamps in architectural fixture housings with sharp
cutoff, down-cast light distribution features to contain lighting within our property. A combination of
pole-mounted fixtures around the perimeter plus wall-mounted lighting at the loading dock areas are
needed to provide adequate site illumination. Tenant entrances will have LED down-lighting to provide
proper exit illumination at the entry doors. Other exit doors will have small LED egress lights to meet
code. Refer to our proposed Lighting Plan.
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Trash & Recycling Storage
Trash and recycling material will be placed into fully enclosed weather-proof collection containers. The
containers will be stored within 4-sided, open air Trash Enclosures that provide 100% opacity of the
containers stored inside. Materials for the enclosures will be of the same materials as the building. Each
tenant will contract for their own trash and recycling service, as is consistent with this building type.
End of Narrative