WINONA, Minn. – The City Council voted 5-2 to allow a five-story apartment house to be built overlooking the Mississippi River at Huff Street. The decision settled a long-running controversy about relaxing architectural standards that forbidding structures that limit river views. The development company, Whitewater Properties, had argued originally that it needed 63 units to make the building economically feasible on a narrow plot, which meant five stories and 60-plus feet of height. Whitewater jiggled the plan in a repeated applications to the zoning board. The final plan, as approved by the City Council, allows a height variance. It is rare for the Council to overturn a negative recommendation from the zoning board. The zoning board had been steadfast against a variance. The zoning board also had a concern that the building would create a blind for eastbound motorists at the 90-degree Riverview Drive turn into Huff Street at the Union Pacific rail crossing.
Early architect’s schematic. A 63-unit mix of three-bedroom, two-bedroom, one-bedroom and studio apartments.
Problem corner. The Riverview Flats apartment building would be squeezed behind Riverview Drive and Union Pacific’s spur that serves East End elevators and factories. The building will create a blind corner.