Neighborhoods

'A city within a city'

By Steve Lange

Kascades, the residential-meets-commercial-meets-lifestyle development slated for the city’s northern edge, has been called “the next construction revolution in Rochester” and “a subdivision that’s changed the thinking of the city.”

And the commercial side hasn’t even broken ground yet.

Kascades currently consists of just six houses (three of them occupied) and a community center set in the middle of 89 acres of a development that so far exists chiefly in watercolor artist renditions of cobblestone-pathed walking malls in a mini, self-contained city.

But if and when those renditions turn to reality—if happy, well-dressed shoppers are eventually walking through one million square feet of specialty stores in a one-stop lifestyle community—Kascades would be Rochester’s first foray into that ‘city within a city’ trend that has been called “the future of New Urbanism.”

‘People need to see it to understand it’
“For any new development, the hardest home to sell is the first,” says Marci Simmons, the president of operations of the Nelson Companies, the developer of Kascades. “No one wants to be the first to buy. Especially with a concept as cutting-edge as this, people need to see it to understand it.”

And while the first few houses may be the hardest to sell, those early buyers have been able to take advantage of what is basically their own private community center, a 2,000-square foot gathering place that, alone, separates Kascades from the standard subdivision. Inside the center, residents can watch movies in the mini theater (with 13 theater-style seats and a 120-inch screen), hold parties in the community room, get a workout in the exercise room.

Outside, the center features a small, outdoor waterpark (centered by a pirate ship), a lap pool, hot tub, and a basketball/tennis court that will convert to an ice rink in the winter.

“Eventually, we’ll have an activities director that will plan events for kids and adults as well,” says Simmons. “They may have craft parties or horse and buggy rides or bake cookies.”
And, eventually, the projected first phase of 99 homes would sit within walking distance of—and we’re quoting right from the brochure here—“a community that incorporates everything a family needs.” They’d be within walking distance of “a beautifully designed mall where the shops face a courtyard that has lush landscaping, a soothing water feature, and the aroma of delicious foods.”

If the all-encompassing community idea sounds slightly like the The Truman Show, it is, a bit—the exteriors for the 1998 Jim Carrey movie were filmed in Seaside, Florida, a mixed-use community whose 1979 founding is often cited as the first of the city-in-city developments of New Urbanism. In 1990, Time magazine referred to Seaside as “the most astounding design achievement of its era and, one might hope, the most influential.”

“We started things rolling here [at Kascades] in 1999,” Simmons says, “but in Jerry and Nancy’s mind [Jerry and Nancy Nelson, the owners of the Nelson Companies and Simmons’ dad and step-mother] it started way earlier than that. As they would travel and look around in the United States, they saw some of these types of developments and thought it would work here. One of the first ones that caught their eye was Celebration, Florida,” the (literally) Disney-connected master-plan community that now houses nearly 3,000 people on 10 square miles.

Like nearly all of the mixed-use communities that have eventually flourished in the United States, the property values for those early buyers have skyrocketed.

“If you judge by real estate values,” according to Travel and Leisure magazine, “the New Urbanist approach to making new old places has been a smashing success: local agents report Seaside, Florida, houses going for $1,300 per square foot—nearly double the price in the more ordinary Seagrove, next door.”

Looking to the future, looking to the past
While Kascades itself might be the future of Rochester development, the home styles are a nod to the city’s past.

“The overall theme is the prairie style home, the home you would think of when you went to your grandma’s, or maybe the home you grew up in,” says Simmons.

The houses—which range from 1,500 to 5,000 square feet and from $350,000 and up—come in four basic styles (see sidebar), although Kascades’ on-site architect will custom design your home as long as it conforms to the style of the neighborhood.

“We wanted to bring in the home style from Rochester’s past,” says Simmons. “If you would drive around Rochester and look at the homes in the older parts of downtown that were built in the 1920s or 30s, that’s the same theme that we’re bringing back, just with the modern amenities.”

One of those modern amenities is the option of geothermal heating and cooling.

“All of the homes right now and the community center are geothermal,” says Simmons. “It’s an option, and it’s about double the cost of the standard heating and cooling system, but you will get payback in four and a half years here in Rochester, which is an excellent investment, especially if you’re going green in any aspect.”

“It was a new technology for us,” she says. “Jerry and Nancy saw the gas prices were going to increase, and they chose a good system. We also looked into a wind turbine, but just didn’t have the land capacity for it. It seems like another example of being on the cutting edge.”

Early hope, continued optimism
And while prospective home buyers have shown some early interest—Simmons says the number of visitors to Kascades’ model home and the number of showings from Rochester Realtors has been very positive—the hoped-for interchange to 65th Street Northwest from Highway 52 has hit a MnDot roadblock that has slowed the commercial side of the development.

“Once we get 65th Street [interchange] done you’re going to see Kascades take off,” says City Council President Dennis Hanson. “The city has been very up front in pushing for the interchange. We think it’s crucial to the continuing growth of northwest Rochester. Our city decided to extend our sales tax to pay for the exchange. Now we just have to get MnDot on board with that.”

“I think Kascades and others like it will be the future of Rochester development,” he says. “This could be the next construction revolution in Rochester.”

Duane Sauke, the broker/owner of ReMax of Rochester, has seen his share of similar proposals that have never broken ground. So, when it comes to Kascades, the start itself means something.

“Their plan seems to me to be perfectly viable, interesting, and, for Rochester, has some unique characteristics,” Sauke says. “Their community center extends a concept that in Rochester would typically have been done at a smaller level. So they have already done something significant there.”

“I have every confidence that this kind of development can work in Rochester, when the lifestyle and needs of the community match the timing of making it available,” he says. “Whether this is the time will be determined.”

For Simmons, her sales pitch is more than just talk. She and her husband and their two daughters plan to move into the development this winter. “It’s kind of like having your own private resort,” she says of the community center. “It’s like a new version of the neighborhoods we grew up in. You can send your kids out and know where they are.”

“Who wouldn’t want it all within walking distance, all right there?”