A group of Minneapolis residents opposed to the height of a future 40-story condo tower near St. Anthony Main have lost their latest appeal, likely clearing the way for developer Alatus LLC to break ground this fall.

The Minneapolis City Council’s Planning and Zoning Committee on Thursday unanimously denied an appeal from the Neighbors for East Bank Livability, who claim the height doesn’t fit with the historic character of the neighborhood.

The group had appealed the Minneapolis Planning Commission’s Sept. 1 approval of a conditional use permit and variance for the project, which would allow Alatus to construct the 483-foot-high condo tower at 200 Central Ave. SE.

The project’s “excessive height will create a precedent for future development, resulting in a bleeding of downtown into the residential Marcy-Holmes and Nicollet Island East Bank neighborhoods,” according to a letter from attorney Bill Griffith of Bloomington-based Larkin Hoffman on behalf of the group.

But City Council members on the Planning and Zoning Committee weren’t swayed.

“We’ve heard a lot of thoughtful feedback from folks who have a lot of opinions” on the project, said Council Member Lisa Bender. “I think it’s important to recognize and remember that with the small area plan and the comprehensive plan we do have a lot of policies in place supporting a building like this one.”

Minneapolis-based Alatus intends to break ground before year’s end on the site at the northeast quadrant of Central Avenue Southeast and Second Street. The developer will raze the Washburn McReavy funeral home and the adjacent St. Anthony Athletic Club to make way for a tower offering 214 luxury-style condos, about 6,500 square feet of first-floor retail space and 389 parking spaces.

The full City Council still needs to sign off on the committee’s decision to deny the appeal.

Alatus principal Bob Lux said the project aims to fit in with the neighborhood. The design calls for a four-story limestone podium at the tower’s base, a nod to the former Pillsbury Library building immediately north of the property.

The Marcy-Holmes Neighborhood Association, which endorsed the project, “wanted us to be respectful of the heritage of the neighborhood by doing a podium that reflects the surrounding buildings,” Lux said.

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