Yellow Tree plans Whittier rentals near Eat Street'.

Byline: William Morris

Minneapolis-based Yellow Tree Development Corp. can't get enough of the city's Whittier neighborhood.

The company recently completed The Whit, a 74-unit apartment building at 2201 Blaisdell Ave., and in March it presented plans to the city for a 63-unit building at the southwest corner of 28th Street West and Garfield Avenue.

Now it's going even bigger with an as-yet-unnamed 147-unit market-rate project on the northwest corner of 26th Street West and Blaisdell Avenue. The project will get its first hearing before the city Planning Commission Committee of the Whole on Thursday.

Currently on the corner, one block east of the popular "Eat Street" corridor on Nicollet Avenue, are several small commercial buildings and a house owned by Gold Realty Group and occupied by Goldstein Law PLLC. Yellow Tree has been discussing redevelopment opportunities with Gold for several years and is partnering with them on the new project, Yellow Tree co-founder Robb Lubenow said in an interview. The project plays well into Yellow Tree's strengths, he said.

"We're really focused on small infill development sites, but also trying to provide units at entry-point market-rate housing," Lubenow said. "There's a segment of the market that isn't being built to, so we're looking at doing that."

A majority of units in the new building will be in a micro format, Lubenow said. Although the project is not receiving any subsidies, he estimated most of the units will be affordable to renters making 80 percent or less of the area median income.

Affordable housing is a major need in Whittier, says Kaley Brown, executive director of the Whittier Alliance. Brown declined to comment on the new project, which Yellow Tree will present to the neighborhood council on Tuesday. In general, though, she said the neighborhood is working to more proactively engage with developers and planners as development continues up and down the Eat Street corridor.

"I definitely think we need more housing...