Commission recommends PUD, approves first-phase site plan for Northwind Test Minnesota Aerospace Complex

The Rosemount Planning Commission recommended city-council approval of preliminary and final plats and the PUD master development plan for the proposed Minnesota Aerospace Complex by Northwind Test, and it approved the final site and building plan for phase 1 subject to stated conditions.

Planning staff described the multi-application request for approximately 60 acres west of Blaine Avenue and about 0.5 mile south of County Road 42. Staff said the applicant requests flexibility on several standards for the PUD — maximum structural heights up to 120 feet with occupiable height capped at 75 feet, parking calculated from projected employment rather than strict code minimums, fencing and enhanced security features, and some flexibility on lighting levels measured at property lines. The staff presentation noted prior site remediation (primarily asbestos removal), required right-of-way dedication for future 151st Street, and that Xcel Energy will construct a substation in the northeastern site area to serve the development.

Applicant Justin Pearson, director of programs at Northwind Test, told the commission the project is expected to create roughly 200 jobs at full build-out and that peak water use for the first capability was forecast at about 35,000 gallons per day (with total usage across phases expected to remain under about 70,000 gallons per day). Pearson also said the project has been awarded a state forgivable loan of about $50 million conditioned on meeting local employment targets; a portion of that award is allocated to pay for the dedicated substation. He said the security fencing and lighting requests are driven by government and commercial testing customers and that the applicant’s noise study shows projected decibel levels will be within MPCA limits at nearby residential property lines. "We expect to be hiring close to 200 people in pretty high-capacity jobs," Pearson said.

Commissioners asked about cumulative noise with the adjacent Meta data center, the rationale for height flexibility (applicant described design and equipment needs and staff noted the 120-foot maximum mainly accommodates mechanical/exhaust structures), and whether nearby parcels could be rezoned for residential in the future. Staff pointed to existing university and covenant protections that limit proximate residential development and noted the city will continue to review any future proposals through the planning process.

Motions were made and recorded to recommend city-council approval of the preliminary and final plats, recommend approval of the PUD and rezoning to B-2 PUD employment, and to approve the final site and building plan for phase 1 subject to conditions. The commission recorded approval votes for the listed items; the final site-and-building-plan motion was announced as approved unanimously.