Media Coverage
Star Tribune, April 14, 2004
Ninety-six condos and 45 assisted-living units will be a short walk from downtown
"A college town . . . has a lot of things that seniors are interested in," said Jon Petters, the chief executive officer of Collegeville Development Group.
The St. Cloud company hopes to start construction this June on "Village on the Cannon," 96 condominiums for seniors at the site of the closed Petricka's County Market, on 7th Street along the Cannon River. The former grocery store is being torn down.
Forty-five assisted-living apartments also will be built on the site by Three Links Care Center.
It's right on the edge of downtown, so residents will be able to stroll along the river and easily walk to coffee shops, a farmers' market and grocery and drug stores, Petters said.
Ross Currier, executive director of the Northfield Downtown Development Corporation, said downtown businesses were happy to see the grocery store site developed. "Having a big building sitting there vacant has been discouraging," he said.
"We think [the planned housing] will bring about more economic stimulus, bringing more people downtown," Currier said.
The condos will range from studios to three-bedroom penthouses and will sell for between $150,000 and more than $400,000. Eighty percent of the condos must have a resident age 55 or older. The other 20 percent must have someone age 35 or older in them.
Three Links Care Center, a Northfield nonprofit, expects to begin construction in March 2005 on its Mill Stream Commons, an assisted-living rental facility on the same site, according to chief executive officer Patricia Vincent. The staff at Mill Stream Commons will be available to provide care to the condominium residents next door.
Petters said a restaurant will also be located on the site.
He said he thinks residents will be eager to take advantage of cultural activities in Northfield, including classes at the colleges or with the Cannon Valley Elder Collegium, which offers classes aimed at older adults.
"There's a lot more life when you're where all the activity is," Petters said.
