Rochester's $110 million question was answered at about 1 a.m. today — the proposed 13-story Alatus apartments and commercial project near Saint Marys Hospital took a major step forward after months of intense debate.

The Rochester City Council gave the Alatus project preliminary plan approval on a 4-3 vote after hours of public testimony.

There was little disagreement during the discussion — at the council meeting and in previous public forums — that the proposed project offered a compelling vision for high-density residential development and commercial space in Rochester. But concerns remained that the site, at the corner of Second Street Southwest and between 14th and 15th avenues, may not be suited to the scale of the building.

At the conclusion of the council's deliberations, the Twin Cities-based developers had done enough to mitigate traffic concerns and ease the building's transition to a historic neighborhood to earn at least the approval to proceed. The project will now continue into the final plan approval process with two more public hearings, the first at the City Planning and Zoning Commission and the second in a return to the city council.