Last Monday, the St. Paul Board of Zoning Appeals signed off on a pair of variances that clear the way for Presbyterian Homes and Ryan Companies to add a fourth Marvella building at the Highland Bridge redevelopment. The decision opens the door for a pedestrian connection across Woodlawn Avenue and lets the team tuck in an underground garage and revised setbacks along the park edge. According to Presbyterian Homes and Ryan Companies, the new building will fold into the existing Marvella campus and grow the neighborhood’s senior-housing options.
As reported by myVillager, the BZA’s vote formalized two variances that allow construction of a skyway over Woodlawn Avenue, which will link the new structure to the existing Marvella building at 820 Mount Curve Blvd. Maureen Michalski, regional senior vice president for Ryan Companies, told the board the variances were sought "to provide flexibility in building design" as the campus grows. According to coverage of the hearing, this was the third and final set of variances needed for this phase of the project.
Developer and master-plan context
Ryan Companies, the master developer for Highland Bridge, built the original Marvella campus and is partnering with Presbyterian Homes & Services on this next building. Highland Bridge planning materials point out that the Marvella site sits next to Gateway Park and other public amenities, which have driven some of the requested setbacks and design tweaks during review, according to the Highland Bridge stakeholder update. The expansion is one more piece in the long-term remake of the former Ford assembly site and plugs into the broader neighborhood buildout.
Units, parking, and schedule
The new four-story building planned for 821 Woodlawn Ave is set to include 71 independent-living apartments above an 80-space underground parking garage, with a projected groundbreaking in September 2026 and first move-ins targeted for November 2027, according to myVillager. Presbyterian Homes officials said the additional units are aimed at older adults who want to stay close to Highland Park’s services and green space. Those plans advance now that the BZA has cleared the remaining design and setback hurdles.
Utilities, easements, and the Ford site
Project filings note an easement held by Xcel Energy that covers ground above an electrical tunnel running from the Ford Dam powerhouse to the local grid, and that utility corridor came up during the variance discussion. The Ford Dam, also known as Lock and Dam No. 1, and its hydroelectric powerhouse date to the 1910s and 1920s, and the powerhouse portion has in recent years been owned by Brookfield Renewable interests, according to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Those long-standing utility lines, along with the public park next door, are among the constraints the development team had to juggle in finalizing the design.
Next steps for the project
With the BZA approval in hand, the developers now shift into permitting, preconstruction, and site work ahead of the planned September 2026 groundbreaking. City rules allow residents and other interested parties to follow or challenge BZA decisions through the standard appeal process outlined by the City of Saint Paul BZA. Stakeholder materials indicate earlier Marvella phases are fully occupied or pre-leased, and this fourth building is the next scheduled step in Highland Bridge’s multi-year rollout. Neighbors can expect more public notices as building permits are issued and construction timelines are locked in.
