Study recommends housing focus for Cedar Avenue corridor after BRT plan change

Community Development Director Tina Goodroad reported on a market analysis and design charrette for the Cedar Avenue corridor between approximately 185th and 200th streets. Goodroad said staff worked with consultant TKDA and some large property owners to develop a small-area plan intended to inform Lakeville’s 2050 comprehensive-plan update.

Goodroad told the council the Metropolitan Council’s Imagine 2050 transportation plan no longer includes the previously assumed BRT extension from Apple Valley through Lakeville, so staff need to align land use to present market realities rather than earlier transit assumptions. The study shows strong single-family and townhome demand on acreage-heavy parcels, limited retail absorption that should be concentrated at key intersections near major corridors, and a need to protect natural water and topographic features.

Staff described sequencing tied to sewer and water extension: initial windows of 2025–2030 and 2030–2040 indicate most demand will be for single-family and attached townhomes, with apartments limited to smaller acreages in later windows. Goodroad emphasized the study is informational and will not itself change the comprehensive plan; recommendations will feed into the 2050 update and staff will coordinate with Dakota County and Farmington on road alignments, including an anticipated county study of the 185th extension.

Councilors asked about preserving flexibility for retail and coordinating with adjacent jurisdictions; Goodroad proposed additional stakeholder sessions with brokers and the EDC before formal comp-plan work begins.