Council approves 58-unit Harvest Pond apartment project at 900 Ash Street NE

The Lonsdale City Council approved a development agreement, preliminary and final plats and a site plan on Feb. 12 for the Harvest Pond Apartments, a three-story, 58-unit residential project proposed at 900 Ash Street NE.

Community Development Planner Cory Hinz-Ibarra told the council the project would be constructed on 4.146 acres for the apartment building with an additional 2.144 acres to be platted as nine single-family detached lots. The apartment building is described as L-shaped, three stories, with 10 studio units, 15 one-bedroom units, two one-bedroom-plus-den units, 28 two-bedroom units and three three-bedroom units. Site amenities include a lobby, office, mail room, business center, community room, unit balconies, a courtyard with a gas fire pit, barbecue grills, a pet park and a public trail connection between 8th Ave and Birch St. NE to improve connectivity to the library.

Hinz-Ibarra said the project will provide public improvements including water and sewer connections, trail, crosswalk and stormwater retention ponds constructed per City Code with City construction observation; as-built drawings are required to be submitted by July 1, 2027. He told the council the City Engineer had signed off on the project and staff recommended approval. Parking on the site totals 162 spaces (59 standard, 3 ADA, 71 garage and 29 proof-of-parking) against a code requirement of 141 spaces.

Council comments were brief. Councilmember Brian Wermerskirchen said the development helps put long-vacant land into productive use and expands the tax base; Councilmember Kari Miller said she looked forward to new residents supporting local businesses. The council approved the development contract, plats and site plan by unanimous vote.

The approved plat was submitted by BJB Holdings LLC (applicant Brian Bruggeman) as Land Use Application 2025-08 and will create Block 1, Lots 1–10 and Outlot A of the Harvest Pond 4th Addition. The council record shows the preliminary and final plat approval and the site plan approval as separate motions taken and passed during the same meeting. The minutes record the plat approval as Resolution 2026-09; the site plan motion in the meeting minutes references the same resolution number for the site plan vote. Because the minutes list the same resolution number for both actions, the official resolution number for the site plan is not specified in the meeting record and should be confirmed in the city clerk's official resolutions list if needed.

Next steps: the developer must meet the contract conditions, post required securities, provide insurance, complete public improvements to City specifications and submit as-built drawings by July 1, 2027. Construction timing was described as beginning in spring 2026.