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A 150-unit apartment building located at 7200 France Ave. has been given the green light by the Edina City Council at its meeting last week.

The City Council voted Nov. 6 to approve the preliminary site plan and a zoning ordinance amendment for the property, according to city planning documents.

The apartment building is a second phase of an overall development, the first phase of which is located next door at 7250 France Ave. and will ultimately become an office property. Orion Investment and Afton Park Development are the developers on the property.

The approval of the 7200 France Ave. development comes more than two months after the property was originally put forward for site plan approvals and the first reading of the ordinance. At the Aug. 20 meeting of the City Council, the site plan and amendment were tabled over council members’ concerns around the number of stories on the property.

Council members suggested it be brought back at the first October meeting, though Ted Carlson of Orion told Finance & Commerce he was traveling, so the item was delayed until last week.

“We feel good about the opportunity to develop a site that really has languished for over 10 years,” Carlson said.

Carlson said the 7250 France Ave. building is scheduled to start in the next 30 days, while the 7200 France apartment building is likely to start in June or July of 2025. In an interview after the August meeting, Carlson said the plan was to start construction on the apartment building in spring 2025.

Before the building was solely apartment units, it was a mixed-use development, with 10,000 square feet of retail space as well as apartment units. Afton Park Development President Ari Parritz previously told Finance & Commerce the decision to nix the retail space was to reduce traffic to the site to match the “neighborhood’s preferences for something quieter” as well as the low demand for retail space.

The council approved the property with three votes in favor, Council Member Julie Risser voting against and Council Member James Pierce abstaining.

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