St. Cloud Moves Forward With 40-unit Housing Plan

ST. CLOUD (WJON News) -- An affordable housing project is moving forward after getting approval from the St. Cloud Planning Commission.

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During Tuesday night's meeting, the commission voted unanimously in favor of Center City Housing's request to amend the St. Anthony's Catholic Church PUD to allow construction of a 40-unit apartment building west of 25th Avenue North. A public hearing on the issue was held last month, but the commission delayed its vote until Tuesday night.

Read More: St. Cloud Housing Project Faces Delay Amid Local Concerns |

Commissioner Clare Richards says that during the public hearing, some neighbors voiced concern about the nearby school.

In terms of the concern with the Montessori school, I've had a couple of conversations with school administrators over the last month, just trying to gauge their reaction to something like this.  They did not seem particularly concerned.  I think there was more concern about being near a busy road when it comes to the safety of children than a project or housing situation like this.

Michelle Buehrer is the Executive Director of the Montessori School.  She spoke with WJON News and disputes the claim by Richards.  She says she's never met with Richards about this project.  Buehrer says, while they are supportive of this type of project in the city, they are not fine with this proposed location.  Buehrer says she's worried that people will not come to their preschool if this facility is built nearby.

The property has long been used as additional off-street parking for St. Anthony of Padua Church. Occasionally, it's also been used to sell Christmas trees.

Center City Housing currently runs a permanent supportive apartment for single adults in East St. Cloud called River Heights. The proposed building would offer the same services. The proposal would allow the construction of 40 apartment units for extremely low-income people who were previously homeless or experiencing mental health, chemical dependency, or other disabilities.

The next step for the project is another public hearing in front of the St. Cloud City Council.

Back in June, the St. Cloud City Council approved a similar project by Center City Housing on the former YMCA property along Northway Drive, but that project never happened.