Developer Seeking Approval to Swap 218 Townhomes for 160 Single Family Homes in Waters Edge Planned Unit Development

(KNSI) – A plan to replace more than 200 attached townhomes with single-family houses in St. Cloud goes before the Planning Commission Tuesday night.

Capstone Homes is asking the city to amend the Waters Edge at Donovan Lake Planned Unit Development to allow 160 detached single-family homes on roughly 35 acres west of the current end of 7th Street Northeast and Cherry Park. The land is currently approved for 218 attached units, a mix of row homes and urban townhomes.

The change would thin out the neighborhood considerably, dropping the density from 6.3 dwelling units per acre to 4.6. Capstone says the shift reflects a demand for more affordable housing and growing interest in its detached townhome product, which would be built on 40-foot lots using the company’s Liberty Series designs. Six different models would be available, ranging from a 1,373-square-foot one-story home to a five-bedroom plan with more than 2,800 square feet of living space. Every home would include a two-stall attached garage.

The proposal also scraps the private drives called for in the original plan in favor of a network of looped public streets, with two cul-de-sacs and a future extension of 7th Street Northeast to the property’s western edge. That unimproved right-of-way could one day connect the neighborhood to the St. Cloud Regional Business Park to the west. City engineers estimate the 160 homes would generate about 1,520 vehicle trips per day.

The Waters Edge at Donovan Lake development was first approved in 2003 with plans for 1,285 total dwelling units across 10 housing categories, and it has been amended several times since.

Staff is recommending approval with conditions, including 60-foot rights-of-way, 32-foot-wide streets, and sidewalks on one side of all local roads except cul-de-sacs. The developer would also owe more than $266,000 in combined sewer, water, and storm trunk area charges before final plat approval or building permits could be issued.

The meeting starts at 6:00 p.m. Tuesday at St. Cloud City Hall.

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