Why did the developers move forward with a mix of townhomes and multi-family housing on this land? Why wasn't it developed into single-family homes?

Given its proximity to existing residential uses, the land being developed has largely been viewed over the years as a logical place to address Community housing needs. In 2017, the annual Citizens Survey ranked housing as the second most critical issue to residents (second only to safe drinking water), and feedback gathered for the Comprehensive Plan further established housing as a main goal for the City. Two community workshops, a series of online surveys, various pop-up events throughout the City, and multiple Commission and Council meetings resulted in the final draft of the new 2040 Comprehensive Plan. The new plan, which will guide the Community's development for the next ten years, calls for a diverse and well-maintained housing stock to support people of all socioeconomic, age, ethnic, race, and religious backgrounds. To this end, the Midtown Village area was identified by the Community as one of three areas in the City appropriate for a "Mixed Use Neighborhood." This new land use classification is meant to accommodate medium to high-density housing ranging from 8 to 40 units per acre with stacked housing and townhomes predominantly being used.

While the new comprehensive plan was the primary reason that a mix of townhomes and multi-family housing is currently being built, a second (but equally important) factor driving these land uses is the economics of redevelopment in the metro. Land this close to Minneapolis and St. Paul, especially within a quality City like New Brighton, is expensive. The parcels within Midtown Village had a total market value of approximately $3.8 million according to Ramsey County prior to this redevelopment taking place. Development of single-family homes was economically unfeasible as demonstrated by the response to Requests for Proposals (RFPs) received by the City at the beginning of this process. Of the development proposals received by the City, two developers proposed all single-family homes, and that was only an option if the land was free and the City was able to provide additional avenues of financial assistance.

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1. What is the history of this property and why is the City involved?
2. Why did the developers move forward with a mix of townhomes and multi-family housing on this land? Why wasn't it developed into single-family homes?
3. Traffic is already a problem and this will only make things worse, won't it?
4. Why did this project come out of nowhere?
5. Why wasn't more of an effort made in informing the public about the Comprehensive Plan and the New Brighton Elementary Redevelopment Project?
6. Did the Metropolitan Council force this development on New Brighton?
7. What is the value of the land pre-project?
8. Could the site have been developed with single-family homes?
9. Why were Dominium and Pulte selected as the developers?
10. Don't build more section 8 housing in New Brighton or near my home!
11. What replaced section 8 housing and why is it different?
12. Are there local examples of Dominium's product using LIHTC?
13. If the housing is that nice, how can it possibly be "affordable"?
14. Will these new buildings bring additional crime to the area?
15. Will these new buildings bring additional crime to the area?