Rochester City Council Ready to Vote on Buckeye Project

Rochester, MN (KROC AM News) - Work on a planned downtown Rochester apartment building could begin soon.  

The City Council is scheduled to vote Wednesday night on a proposal to establish a tax increment financing district for the project, which would be built at the corner of 3rd Ave and 4th Street SE.  The project would consist of a 6 story building containing 92 apartments, ground floor commercial space and underground parking.

The financial assistance would be used to help cover the cost of land acquisition, demolition and utilities. The request is for just over $1.7 million. If work begins as planned this spring, it’s expected the $17 million project would be completed by the end of 2017.

The developer has also apparently decided to change the name of the project. The original plan was to include “Buckeye” in the name as a reference to the liquor store that had occupied the site for years. There was some criticism of the name and the developer recently told City Councilmember Mark Bilderback it is being dropped in favor of another.  Bilderback wasn’t told what the new name will be.

During its Wednesday afternoon committee meeting, the Council is scheduled to review the latest plans for the new parking ramp that will be part of the Broadway at Center project being assembled by local businessman Gus Chafoulias. The ramp will be owned by the city and include space for the Chafoulias project.  

The city is still waiting for Chafoulias to complete his financing arrangements for the large project, which will include a large hotel and other businesses.