Talks continue on proposed 34-unit dwelling 

By Robert Williams

Editor

Talks continued between the Frazee City Council and Turnkey Solutions & Development Vice President Jason Francis to discuss a proposed 34-unit apartment complex in the city-owned lot next to Dollar General on Tuesday, July 21, at the fire hall.

Francis submitted a site design concept of the building, parking and surrounding green areas for the Council to peruse.

“We’ve got a lot of stuff to do to it yet, take some elevation shots, things of that nature,” Francis said. “For right now, we’ve got a footprint, a schematic design for a site that I think can work. Now, we’re collectively putting a concept design together.”

Concept design and specific room sizes will allow for an estimated cost put together to collectively move to the next step, which is what kind of program exists to bring the building to a reality.

Of the 34 units, the plan includes mostly 24 two-bedroom units, eight one-bedroom units and a pair of three-bedroom units. 

“Again, it’s a concept,” said Francis. “The biggest part for me was getting the unit count to where we can really say we can feasibly get to a point where the numbers can flush out and work.”

The current design includes one garage bank for each unit and an outdoor parking lot.

Francis will finalize the design and meet with a civil engineer to factor in dollars that will be spent on electrical connections, design changes

“I feel pretty comfortable about this layout,” Francis said. “I feel like we have a conceptual site plan to work with at this juncture.”

The size of the lot created a limited space for parking, along with setting a limited space for the building itself. Engineering changes may allot for two to three more parking spaces, while maximizing green space wherever possible.

Impervious surface coverage and stormwater management will be examined by the civil engineer. There are numerous retention ponds in the vicinity that would be useful. An estimate of 4-6 weeks will be needed to complete engineering and another meeting is penciled in for October for Francis to visit with the council again.

The next step will be working on a development agreement between Turnkey and the city this fall to move forward.

Turnkey is currently completing a project in Mahnomen and will have a grand opening for another complex in Barnesville in September.

Assuming everything meets approval and both parties come to an agreement construction on the complex would begin in the spring of 2027.