Duluth Unveils $36M Housing, Retail Development

DULUTH - Plans are underway to develop an empty lot on 21st Avenue and London Road into something city leaders believe will better suit Duluth."This is the future of London Road," Duluth Mayor Don Ness said. A $36 million mixed-use, multi–family and retail project is what a Twin Cities-based development firm has in mind. "We couldn't be more excited and encouraged about the opportunity on this site," said Mark Bell with Harbor Bay Real Estate Advisors. On more than two acres of land, architects plan to build nearly 150 luxury mixed units -- studios, one and two-bedroom apartments for young professionals, to empty nesters."We did a housing analysis this past spring and found that there is a need for about 4,000 new units,” Duluth Economic Development Authority Executive Director Chris Eng said. “This will be a good start to help us continue to meet that need." In addition to the housing, the 31-foot tall building is designed to have a 270-space parking lot, outdoor kitchen and barbeques, green space and easy access to the Lakewalk."The nature of London Road has changed with the building of the freeway out to 26th,” said Ness. “So this type of development actually better reflects London Road's new reality." Developers also want to use nearly 1,300 square feet for commercial retail space on the bottom level of the development.The stores they are targeting were not announced Friday."We want retail that will not only be beneficial to the people that live around this neighborhood but also people that live within the building," said Tom Lund with Harbor Bay Real Estate Advisors. The asking price to live here is still being fleshed out."Our plan is to utilize design features in order to create a broad spectrum of price points," said Bell. The goal for the upper-end, market-rate apartment complex is to help free up more affordable housing options."There are folks that would love to be in these apartments that are currently right now in other more affordable units,” said Ness. “They’re gonna move up into these units and make those more affordable units available." Construction is expected to start in the spring of 2015 and take about a year to complete. The multi-million dollar development still has to go before the planning commission and through the permitting process