Bakery Flats zoning change sees Rochester Planning Commission support

ROCHESTER — Potential traffic increases related to the proposed development of an apartment complex on the site of a former Northwest Rochester bakery was the only concern voiced Wednesday amid review of a potential zoning change .

“It’s now really difficult to get to 11th Street,” said Dean Ricter, who owns a Fourth Street Northwest rental home west of the development being considered on nearly 2-acre property at 300 11th Ave. NW.

Preliminary plans for the site, dubbed Bakery Flats, owned by The Prow Co. call for adding up to 210 rental units — split between townhomes and apartments — covering a total of eight floors on the site, with a parking structure proposed to handle up to 140 vehicles.

Ricter told the Rochester Planning and Zoning Commission he worries the added traffic will create backups for his tenants and their neighbors.

Allison Sosa, Rochester Community Development planning supervisor, said traffic engineers looked at the potential use and determined 11th Avenue could handle the additional traffic, but an added review would be considered when final development plans are submitted.

Jose Rivas of CRW Architecture + Design Group Inc., who has been contracted by The Prow Co. and has a nearby office along 11th Avenue, said the traffic anticipated with an apartment complex would be less than what could be developed at the site under current zoning regulations.

Elliot Mohler, a Community Development planner, said the current “light industrial” zoning designation would allow the property owner to replace the current building with a car lot, automotive repair business or retail store at the site, which are considered the heaviest allowed uses available under current conditions.

Joe Ahlquist / Post Bulletin

The site is currently home to a nearly 100-year-old building that was originally the home of the former Rochester Bread Co., but the bakery operation has been replaced by a variety of commercial and nonprofit offices in the building.

Brad Krehbiel, president and CEO of the nearby Home Federal Savings Bank, which neighbors the property, said he supports the development.

Without additional comment from approximately 10 in-person meeting attendees and six online observers, the commission unanimously voted to recommend approval of the zoning change.

The request will move to the Rochester City Council for review as early as March 6, which will include a second public hearing regarding the request.

If the zoning change is approved, Rivas said it will likely take months to complete a formal design of the proposed apartments, which would be built with townhome-style units facing 11th Avenue and nearby Cascade Creek. An added six floors of apartments would be included above the potential two-story townhomes.

So far, Mohler pointed out the developer has only submitted a rendering that shows the amount of space that would be used at the site, if the planned apartment complex is built.

“This is not necessarily what the project might look like,” he told the planning and zoning commission.

A final development under the proposed zoning change would likely be approved at the staff level, using existing development requirements and restrictions as a guide. However, a future neighborhood meeting would be required to allow added public input regarding any development proposal.