Jul. 6—ROCHESTER — A proposed subdivision of 185 acres in northwest Rochester to create 454 single-family lots on 185 acres is up for review Monday.
The Rochester City Council will hold a public hearing on the request by Florida-based homebuilder Lennar, during its regular meeting at 6 p.m. Monday in council chambers of the city-county Government Center.
The proposal is part of a larger 470-acre plan for the national homebuilder, which plans to purchase the site west of 60th Avenue Northwest, and south of the 55th Street Northwest. The area, known as Pebble Creek, was initially planned for development by DeWitz Home Builders.
With its planned purchase of the site, Lennar is working through the process to annex 326 acres, which was approved by the City Council in June but still faces state review.
A portion of the larger property, which could eventually develop into a combined 900 to 960 homes, requires an environmental review before development can start, but Lennar is seeking to move forward with plans on the area that has already been approved for future development and sits within existing city boundaries.
The proposal involves an update to DeWitz’s original development plan, which was approved in 2003 and led to initial development in the subdivision, with 112 homes built on 21 acres already in place.
The updated development plan seeks to provide Lennar with the ability to construct a variety of housing types catering to various needs, from people looking for their first home to an area dedicated to residents 55 and older.
“They are proposing a variety of lot sizes, ranging from 45 feet to 75 feet wide lots,” Community Development Planner Desmond McGeough told the Rochester Planning and Zoning Commission in June.
Ryan Schoenfelder of WSE Massey Engineering said the variety of lot sizes reduces housing density allowed in the earlier adopted plan, but the change allows the developer to meet a variety of existing needs in the city.
“They want you to buy your first homes here and also your last homes, so it targets a wide range of buyers in the Rochester market,” he said.
In tandem with the review of the subdivision on Monday, the City Council will consider a request related to site preparations, due to the scope of grading needed.
The request points to plans for significant grading of roughly 160 acres, with the expectation of cutting approximately 702,000 yards of soil and material from high areas and filling low areas with approximately 844,000 yards of materials.
Permission could allow grading to start this year, but Steve Troskey, a land entitlement manager for Lennar, has said the developer will need to add utilities and streets to the site, meaning home construction could start in early 2026.
In addition to the two public hearings planned Monday for the Lennar project, the Rochester council will hold a hearing on a request to create 50 residential lots on 13.8 acres east of 37th Avenue Northwest and south of 65th Street Northwest. The site is part of the Mercy Hill development near Mercy Hill Church, 6301 34th Ave. NW.
The request to be considered by the council on Monday is the second phase of a 28.6-acre residential subdivision consisting of a total of 88 single-family residential lots.
Meetings scheduled to be held during the week of July 7 include:
Rochester
—City Council, 6 p.m. Monday in council chambers of the city-county Government Center, 151 Fourth St. SE. The meeting will livestream at rochestermn.gov/meetings/council-meetings and be available on Spectrum cable channel 180 or 188.
—Airport Commission, 1 p.m. Tuesday in the administration conference room of City Hall, 201 Fourth St. SE.
—Sustainability and Resiliency Commission, 4:30 p.m. Wednesday in room 104 of City Hall, 201 Fourth St. SE.
—Police Civil Service Commission, 3 p.m. Thursday in room 164 of the Development Services and Infrastructure Center.