Eco-Concious Plymouth Apartment Project Delayed by Construction Costs
A cutting-edge apartment project planned in Plymouth will take a little longer for construction to begin.
The 4-story, 210-unit Parkera Plymouth apartment development is planned for the former Dundee Nursery site at the northwest corner of Highway 55 and County Road 9. The new Twin Cities Orthopedics facility recently opened next door.
The Parkera project is slated to be one of most energy efficient and sustainable buildings of its kind in the United States.
“It’s a really high standard,” said Mark Jepsen, CEO and co-founder of Parkera, at the most recent Plymouth City Council meeting. “It requires a 70 percent reduction in operating carbon, a 20 percent reduction in embodied carbon in the building, 50 percent reduction in water use and a whole series of other things around materials.”
The touted eco-conscious development, however, has run into delays due to increased construction costs and significantly higher interest rates.
The total building cost last year, not including site work, was close to $90 million.
“Prices at the time were up 40 percent just on a conventional build,” Jepsen said.
That figure has since dropped to $78 million, however interest rates have doubled, said Jepsen.
The Plymouth City Council initially approved the development in 2021. City staff granted an extension last March. Then at its Oct. 24 meeting, the Plymouth City Council approved a two-year extension that expires November 2025.
Rendering of Parkera Plymouth apartments
The developer has already spent $20 million to remove 55,000 tons of contaminated dirt and debris from the site and replace with fresh soil, city documents show.
In addition to apartments, a 2-acre private park is also part of the Parkera development.
Jepsen told council members that he expects construction to begin in late spring or summer.
“It will be a beautiful site when get there, we just need some more time,” he said.
