Developer Tom Wartman asked the Minnetonka City Council for a one-year extension on site approvals for the Kinsel Point condominiums to be located on Glen Lake.
The council granted the extension at its Dec. 17 meeting. Council Member Bob Ellingson voted against it.
"We really hit some strong headwinds in the market for condominiums," Wartman said, calling the market over the past year one of the worst markets he's seen in his 30 years as a developer.
"The condominium market obviously has a notable decline in recent years," said City Planner Julie Wischnack. "And this really is the reason for the request."
Kinsel Point is proposed to be a 45-unit luxury condo building overlooking Glen Lake on the southern side of Excelsior Boulevard. It has an 18-month construction schedule.
In a letter to the city requesting the extension, Wartman notes that 12 sales had occurred by early fall, and that four to six more were necessary to begin the project.
"I am disappointed that we have had to delay the start of the building, but I am hopeful that the market will stabilize and provide us the opportunity to be actively selling through winter and into the historically active spring season," according to Wartman's letter.
At the council meeting, community organizer Grace Sheely and Ivan Fox asked the council to grant a six-month extension.
"Tom Wartman is back in front of us hat in hand," Fox said.
Fox stated his displeasure with other parts of the project.
