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<br />There are better looking townhomes. Although they may not be applicable, the architecture may <br />be applicable. <br /> <br />Councilmember Olson stated she agrees the twinhome is a much different product than a <br />townhome. It appeals to a different set of buyers and is a product that is underrepresented in the <br />City. The other thing is that they have looked at meeting the needs of the younger Ramsey <br />residents as they move out of their parents homes and get their first apartment and discussed how <br />there is nowhere for them to move in Ramsey. The same thing is true on the other end as baby <br />boomers age and want to move out of their 2 ~ acre lots. This single level living with an <br />association is a product they need in this town. <br /> <br />Mayor Gamec asked if there will be architectural design in the back of the buildings. <br /> <br />Mr. Murphy replied there will porches on the back that are about 12' by 14'. <br /> <br />Mayor Gamec noted the three to four houses behind this were concerned about the appearance of <br />a wall being built up back there. <br /> <br />Mr. Murphy indicated if there were to be a general consensus of what is wanted he could <br />complete some renditions of the architectural features more carefully. Regarding <br />Councilmember Look's earlier comments, the market is soft; there are a lot of townhomes, but <br />not a lot of competition for what they are doing. He sold 17 townhomes last year in Ramsey <br />Town Center Gardens and believes he is qualified to know what works and what does not work. <br />His experience with those townhomes allowed him to find out what people are looking for. He <br />sat in the Parade of Homes every weekend and talked to dozens of clients. This concept came up <br />from concern he heard from 90% of the people he talked to. He is willing to risk his capital to do <br />this project because he believes he can make it work. This is a transition area, but he has seen <br />much worse and good things done with worse lots. With fencing and things they will be able to <br />take Super Bowl out of play there. He believes this is the right transition from that commercial <br />property to the residential neighborhood. <br /> <br />Mayor Gamec suggested a lot could be done with trees and shrubs instead of fencing. He <br />informed the Council in the past he had abstained from voting on this project because his <br />daughter was working with Generation Homes. She is not working for them any longer so he <br />can be involved with the vote on this project. <br /> <br />Councilmember Elvig stated this is a challenged piece of property. People have commented <br />about their million dollar homes on the river, but these legs going up from there are not million <br />dollar homes. The houses around this property would be challenged to be over $200,000. He <br />believes it would be difficult to sell a single family home behind Super Bowl. He does not doubt <br />this project will need to be built on the lower end and be practical because it will be difficult to <br />sell. He expressed his preference for the staggering included in plan no. 2. He stated the <br />staggering creates the break and shows they are different structures so they appear more like / <br />single-family homes than a wall. The floor plan cannot be changed enough to add a lot of <br />architecture, but it can be added to. Color will be a big issue; variety will be helpful in breaking <br /> <br />City Council Work Session I March 20, 2007 <br />Page 8 or 13 <br />