Council leaves public hearing open on plan to convert Residence Inn at 3400 Edinburgh Way to 136 apartments

The Edina City Council heard a public hearing Nov. 19 on a proposal by Alpha Investment Group to convert the 133‑room Residence Inn at 3400 Edinburgh Way into 136 apartments. Addison Lewis, the city’s community development coordinator, told the council the conversion would add 7 studios, 122 one‑bedroom units and 7 two‑bedroom units and would trigger a site‑plan review and a variance because the multifamily code requires one enclosed parking stall per unit and there are none on the property today.

Developer Patrick Jutton told the council his company expects the project to be “attainable” for households in the 50–80% area median income range, said no city financial assistance is requested, and described a fast timeline that could allow move‑in by spring 2025. Jutton said the existing site provides roughly 185 surface parking stalls (the code calculation for the proposed apartments was listed as 170 stalls), noted an Edinburgh Park easement accounts for 86 of those stalls, and asked the council for a variance to allow 0 enclosed stalls while relying on surface parking screened with additional landscaping.

Why this matters: staff and the developer both said the conversion is adaptive reuse of an existing building and does not require new exterior work beyond landscaping; neighbors raised public‑safety and operations questions that the council said merited more time and written input.

Residents who testified raised safety and operational concerns. Will Reagert, a nearby resident, said the parking lot sits close to children’s play areas and urged rigorous tenant screening. Jan Bailey, another neighbor, urged visibility and suggested some covered or heated parking options for residents who rely on older car technology; she also asked whether existing trees in the lot would be removed. A virtual caller urged the council to approve the conversion without requiring enclosed parking because of citywide housing need. Supporters who spoke at the hearing said the project would provide more affordable, attainable rental options relative to new Class‑A buildings in the market.

Council action and next steps: after hearing staff, the applicant and public testimony, the council voted to close oral testimony that night, leave written comments open through noon Nov. 24, 2024, and continue formal action on the site‑plan review and variance to the Dec. 3, 2024 council meeting. The continued timeline gives staff time to compile written comments, request any additional renderings (including proposed landscape screening), and provide more refined information about parking use and tenant‑screening practices.

Details from the record: staff’s packet noted the planning commission recommended approval (9–0) and suggested a parks contribution be discussed but the city attorney advised against tying that contribution to the variance. Staff said a parking study submitted by the developer indicated a need on the order of about 97 stalls to serve building demand, and the parks department retains an 86‑stall easement for park users. The applicant described standard tenant screening that examines criminal histories for violent offenses, credit trends, rental histories and income verification; the developer said it plans to provide on‑site management and staff the property directly.

What’s next: written comments may be submitted through the city website before the Nov. 24 deadline; council action on the site plan and variance is scheduled for the Dec. 3 meeting.