A developer is considering turning a former Burnsville elementary school property into more than 100 housing units, a proposal that has left many community members with a sour taste in their mouths.

M/I Homes of Minneapolis/St. Paul wants to redevelop the former Sioux Trail Elementary School site in the River Hills neighborhood to include 93 townhomes and 23 single-family homes.

“When I look at this, it is so incompatible with the neighborhood and it doesn’t fit,” Burnsville Mayor Elizabeth Kautz said Tuesday at a city council work session where council members were asked to consider the project.

More than 100 Burnsville residents at a Jan. 30 meeting voiced concerns ranging from density and traffic to the removal of the school building and playground equipment.

Citing declining enrollment and a budget deficit, the Burnsville-Eagan-Savage School Board voted to close Sioux Trail Elementary School in 2020 along with two other schools, Marion W. Savage Elementary School and Metcalf Middle School.

The Burnsville-Eagan-Savage school district, ISD 191, has signed a purchase agreement with M/I Homes to the tune of $3.5 million for the nearly 12-acre site at 2801 River Hills Drive, according to school board documents.

The school building, which remains on the lot, was built in 1971 and totals nearly 80,000 square feet. In the year after the school closed, the building was used for childcare and “other district uses as-needed,” Southwest News reported.

Sketch plans

(Courtesy of the City of Burnsville)

According to the project sketch plans, the 93 proposed townhome units would be three stories tall with front elevations facing courtyards or open spaces. The townhomes would be two- or three-bedroom units and span up to about 2,100 square feet.

The property is currently tax exempt, but should the redevelopment come to fruition, an estimated $470,000 would be generated annually in property tax with an estimated $190,000 going to the city.

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A neighborhood homeowners’ association would be responsible “for maintaining the overall common elements of the development, including landscaping of shared areas and upkeep of private streets,” according to the sketch plans.

The property, which is located near the intersection of River Hills Drive and Minnesota Highway 13/Sioux Trail, is currently zoned for low density residential, which permits schools under a conditional use permit.

If the project were to move forward, the comprehensive guide plan would need to be amended to allow medium density residential, community development director Jeff Thomson said at Tuesday’s meeting.

Council concerns

“It’s just too dense,” Kautz said, adding that she has concerns about traffic and utilities.

“I understand we haven’t done a traffic study, but I’d be willing to bet that would reveal some additional concerns,” council member Vince Workman said, adding that he would “be a hard pass” on any development plans that required an increase in density for the neighborhood.

At one point during the work session, council member Cara Schulz asked the developer if they were able to back out of their contract with the school district if needed. The answer was yes.

“We’re a city that values redevelopment, but I don’t think we need to redevelop to the point where we hurt a neighborhood by redeveloping,” council member Dan Gustafson said. “I would encourage you to look at single family homes or look at another site,” he said to the developer.

Next steps

M/I Homes now says it will engage in further talks with the city and school district.

“After the neighborhood meeting, we got a feeling that surrounding residents felt it was too dense,” said Emily Becker, land development and entitlements manager at M/I Homes, in a phone call with the Pioneer Press on Wednesday. “Under the direction of council, they want to see single-family and less density.”

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As a result, Becker said the developer will go back and have conversations with the city and the school district “to figure out a (housing unit) number we can come to an agreement on.” While it is still too early to predict total cost, Becker did say it would cost $800,000 to $1 million to demolish the school building on the property.

“Now it’s in the developer’s and the school district’s hands to determine how they intend to move forward with the site,” Thomson said in a Wednesday phone call with the Pioneer Press.

Addressing the developer, Kautz said, “It’s unanimous here that we’re not in favor of this kind of development. We want single-family residential here. … It has to fit and it has to be a development people feel good about.”

Should the developer choose to move forward, the city would ask for an additional neighborhood meeting before the formal development application is submitted.