FCMC Narrative FINAL 7-3-08DEVELOPMENT APPLICATION FOR FAIRVIEW CHANHASSEN MEDICAL CENTER CHANHASSEN, MINNESOTA Submitted On July 3, 2008 ??
Fairview Chanhassen Medical Center July 3, 2008 United Properties LLC 1 Introduction United Properties LLC, on behalf of Powers Crossing Medical LLC, a joint venture between Dawne and
Timothy Erhart and United Properties Investment LLC, is pleased to submit this development application for a proposed medical office building located at the southeast corner of (new)
Highway 212 and Powers Boulevard in Chanhassen, Minnesota. This submittal requests approval of a Preliminary Plat under a phased development plan for the entire parcel, which includes
a Rezoning from Agricultural Estate District to Office and Institutional (OI) District, Site Plan Review, Subdivision, Sign Plan Review, finalization of a previous Wetland Alteration
Permit, and a Conditional Use Permit for work in the Bluff Creek Overlay District. United Properties, founded in 1916, has developed numerous, high-profile office, industrial, medical,
retail and multi-family buildings and business parks for its owned portfolio and for thirdparty clients, primarily in the Twin Cities metropolitan area. Representative projects include
Centennial Lakes Office Park in Edina, MN, as well as TRIA Orthopedic Center and portions of Normandale Lakes Office Park, both in Bloomington, MN. Contact information for the development
team responsible for this project is at the end of this narrative. Building The building, to be named Fairview Chanhassen Medical Center, will be a two-phase, 160,000 sq. ft., destination
medical center. Fairview Health Services will be the anchor tenant. Fairview's mission is to “improve the health of the communities we serve.” By extending its reach into the southwestern
Twin Cities metro area, Fairview accomplishes this mission by better serving the residents of Chanhassen and the surrounding communities. This facility will include an ambulatory surgery
center, diagnostic imaging center, and urgent care clinic, thereby reducing the need for residents to drive to Waconia, Shakopee, or Edina to receive these services. The first phase,
as proposed, will be a three-story, 72,000 sq. ft. building with a two-story, 16,000 sq. ft. link on the north end, providing a total building area of 88,000 sq. ft. The link will eventually
serve as the connection point to a matching three-story, 72,000 sq. ft. building in the second phase. We anticipate grading of the site and construction of the surface water management
system to occur during Spring 2009. We then expect to break ground on the first phase of the building immediately thereafter. Timing of the second phase will be determined by market
demand. The proposed building design includes brick, accent stone bands and piers, architectural metal panels, and both punched and curtain-wall windows. Each of the three-story buildings
will be 48 ft. high from finish floor elevation to the top of the roof parapet. Rooftop mechanical equipment will be screened from view using architectural metal panels. We demonstrate
all of these design elements in renderings provided with this application.
Fairview Chanhassen Medical Center July 3, 2008 United Properties LLC 2 After much thought given to the natural characteristics of the site and the needs of all constituencies, we placed
the buildings back from Powers Boulevard on the eastern edge of the site. We selected this location to: • Enhance patient privacy. Placing the buildings adjacent to Powers Boulevard
would allow passing traffic to see into patient exam rooms and surgical suites. In an era of increased healthcare regulation and patient privacy concerns, we felt it necessary to provide
a larger buffer between patients and passers-by. • Preserve natural views. The site has beautiful natural qualities, especially at the eastern edge near the adjacent hill and wetland.
One of the reasons driving Fairview to this specific site is the chance to enhance patient and employee satisfaction by offering a healing environment showcasing natural surroundings.
Placing the buildings at the eastern edge of the property maximizes these views. • Preserve site area. The Minnesota Department of Transportation (Mn/DOT) currently controls 2.67 acres
of right-of-way (ROW) along Powers Boulevard and Highway 212, which we currently show as proof of parking and intend to use for actual parking in phase two. Based on recent discussions
with Mn/DOT, we expect they will re-convey all or a portion of this ROW to the current landowner as soon as this fall, but we cannot be certain of this timing. If we locate the buildings
adjacent to Powers Boulevard, we would lose the ability to use the ROW for parking and limit our ability to develop and park a second phase. • Create dual entry points. Having two points
of entry allows for effective separation of patient traffic from employee and service traffic. It also allows for a separate postsurgical pick-up point at the rear of the building to
protect the privacy of patients leaving surgery and reduce the stress of patients arriving for surgery. Finally, dual entry points allows patient traffic to be separated from loading
docks, emergency generators, and other essential mechanical facilities typically shielded from public view. • Maintain effective drainage patterns. Most of the building site currently
slopes westward toward Powers Boulevard. Situating the building to the east near the hillside preserves the natural contours, allows the parking field to drain away from the building,
and minimizes the impervious drainage surface at the rear. This effectively reduces or eliminates drainage toward the building and prevents pooling near entrances and water entering
the building. The required building setbacks in the OI District are 35 ft. in the front, 30 ft. in the rear, and 15 ft. on both side yards. The proposed building setbacks are 215 ft.
in the front, 193 ft. in the rear, and 77 ft. on both side yards. Site The total site area is 14.14 acres. The building site is 10.31 acres, and a storm pond outlot to the south is 2.53
acres. Included in these totals are 2.67 acres currently held by Mn/DOT as a ROW along both Highway 212 and Powers Boulevard. Between the building site and the storm pond outlot is a
1.30-acre outlot which will be dedicated as a public ROW to accommodate an access road for this project and future development to the east. Please refer to the attached civil site plans
for alignment of the proposed access road. The surface water management design relies on a storm water detention pond south of the proposed access road to meet City and NPDES storm water
requirements for both quantity and quality. Drainage will be conveyed from the building site to the pond via a storm sewer pipe
Fairview Chanhassen Medical Center July 3, 2008 United Properties LLC 3 system. The storm water detention pond will serve the medical facility, the access road, and land directly east
to the drainage divide (a ridge at the eastern side of the development running north and south). The pond will discharge to the south in a ditch along the eastern side of Powers Boulevard.
The remainder of the 100 acres to the east will not be served by this pond. After pond construction, the drainage outlot will be dedicated to the City with a permanent drainage easement
for the building site. Regional drainage patterns for the property will remain unchanged. The large pond east of the medical site development will continue to drain to the east. The
emergency overflow elevation of this pond will be raised by approximately three feet to ensure that storm water will flow to the east. For additional details regarding storm water management,
please refer to the Preliminary Storm Water Report dated July 3, 2008. A previously-approved Wetland Alteration Permit calls for the construction of a wetland east of this site. Please
refer to the approved Wetland Grading Replacement and Seeding Plan dated November 14, 2006, for details. A depression in the land surface currently exists where wetland construction/restoration
will occur. A berm will be created to establish a normal water level, and an emergency overflow will be provided that drains west toward the medical site development. A culvert designed
for a 100-year precipitation event will be provided for the development should an outflow from the constructed wetland ever occur. A sanitary sewer lift station site will be accommodated
as shown in the drainage outlot. This lift station will serve the medical site development, future development to the east, and an existing sewer line located closer to Highway 101.
A force main alignment originating at this lift station and running to the north will be accommodated along the Powers Boulevard and Highway 212 ROWs or through the medical site via
a drainage and utility easement. A 16-inch water main stub, at the intersection of the proposed access road and Powers Boulevard, is available to serve the site and future development
to the east. We assume gas, electric, cable TV and other utilities are available to serve the development. Landscaping and tree replacement/canopy coverage have been designed in accordance
with City ordinances. Please refer to the Landscape Plan for canopy coverage calculations for further detail. The existing site does not contain any impervious surfaces. Full build-out
of all phases includes the creation of 6.1 acres of impervious surfaces such as roads, parking, and rooftops. This equates to an ultimate impervious-to-pervious surface ratio of 59 percent,
below the 65 percent maximum allowed in the OI District. Parking Our plans provide parking in accordance with the City ordinance requirements of 6.67 stalls per 1,000 sq. ft. based on
gross floor area of the specific uses, excluding the building common areas. For the first phase, the building area was reduced by 15 percent for building common areas. This area resulted
in a total of 499 required parking stalls. The plans show 413 surface stalls and 107 proof of parking stalls, providing a total of 520 parking stalls. This parking stall count translates
to a ratio of 5.91 per 1,000 sq. ft. of gross building area not excluding the common areas. To complete the second phase, we will construct a three-level parking ramp with one additional
level for proof of parking. The building area was reduced by 12 percent for common areas. This area resulted in a total of 940 required parking stalls. The second phase plans show 805
Fairview Chanhassen Medical Center July 3, 2008 United Properties LLC 4 total stalls and 160 proof of parking stalls, providing a total of 965 parking stalls. This parking stall count
translates to a ratio of 6.03 per 1,000 sq. ft. of gross building area not excluding the common areas. Traffic We enclosed our preliminary traffic study for your review. Our study used
trip generation and traffic assignment to forecast peak hour traffic volumes. It showed that the proposed access configuration can effectively accommodate the forecasted traffic demands
and provide adequate capacity for future development. Signage Our signage plan calls for one monument sign at the intersection of Powers Boulevard and the new access road, directional
signage at the site entrances, and wall signs on the north, west, and south faces of the building. Please see the attached signage plan for further details. Variances The Community Development
Department asked us to specifically call out the zoning variances assumed in our development plan. As such, we request the following variances: • Bluff Creek Overlay District. On-site,
we request a variance to grade and construct a driveway surface within the secondary zone of the Bluff Creek Overlay District. Offsite, south of the access road, we request a variance
to construct a storm water detention pond and site for the City’s lift station in the both the Primary and Secondary Zone of the Bluff Creek Overlay District. • Signage. In lieu of providing
two monument signs, one for each building, we request a variance for consolidation to one monument sign with a combined area and height 95 percent larger than currently allowed in the
OI District. As medical office buildings have signage needs more similar to retail than traditional office, we feel this will provide for the signage needs of the tenants while still
holding to the spirit of City’s signage requirements. The sign base will be constructed of similar materials used on the building to compliment the architecture. • Building Height. The
proposed phase one and phase two buildings (principle structures) are three stories high, and the phase two parking garage is three stories high with one additional level for proof of
parking. The OI District allows for a maximum height of two stories for principal structures and one story for accessory structures. Because Community Development Department staff recommended
rezoning the current site to the OI District, we request a variance from the height requirements. Our submittal includes civil related plans, a storm water management report, a traffic
report, a buildable acreage /access graphic, a concept sanitary sewer plan, a Bluff Creek Overlay District exhibit, architectural site plans and exterior building/signage elevations
for phase one and phase two, phase two parking garage elevations, an artistic rendering, and a materials board. We welcome any questions that may arise as you review this development
application. We appreciate the assistance received to date from the City of Chanhassen Community Development Department and look forward to working with the City through the approval
process.
Fairview Chanhassen Medical Center July 3, 2008 United Properties LLC 5 CONTACT INFORMATION Developer and Fee Owner Representative United Properties LLC As agent for Powers Crossing
Medical LLC 3500 American Boulevard West Minneapolis, MN 55431 Attention: Bill Katter 952.837.8525 | Phone 952.893.8206 | Fax william.katter@uproperties.com Architect Pope Associates,
Inc. 1255 Energy Park Drive St. Paul, MN 55108-5118 Attention: Paul Holmes 651.789.1582 | Phone 651.642.1101 | Fax pholmes@popearch.com Civil Engineer Westwood Professional Services
7699 Anagram Drive Eden Prairie, MN 55344 Attention: Dan Parks 952.906.7435 | Phone 952.937.5822 | Fax dan.parks@westwoodps.com