Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout2003-12-09 EDA MinutesCITY OF COTTAGE GROVE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY MINUTES December 9, 2003 Pursuant to due call and notice thereof, a regular meeting of the Economic Development Authority was held at City Hall, 7516 80th Street South, Cottage Grove, Minnesota on the 9th day of December 2003. CALL TO ORDER The meeting was called to order at 7:30 a.m. by EDA Vice President Shiely. Rni i r-n i i Members Present: Gerry Weingartner, Authority Member Glen Kleven, Authority Member Sandy Shiely, EDA Vice - President Mike Wennen, Authority Member Al Boche, Authority Member Dick Pederson, Authority Member Members Absent: Jim Wolcott, EDA President Others Present: Ryan Schroeder, City Administrator Ron Hedberg, Finance Director Scott Johnson, Management Analyst Colby Johnson, South Washington County Bulletin PROJECT UPDATES Scott Johnson informed the EDA that the City has not received any new leads or updates for projects since the last EDA meeting. GATEWAY UPDATE There is currently an approved development agreement between the City and a developer for the redevelopment of Cottage Square. A purchase agreement for the project is expected in the next couple of weeks. A developer is proposing a senior housing development at 70 and Hinton in Cottage Economic Development Authority - Minutes December 9, 2003 Page 2 Grove called Summerhill. Ryan Schroeder unveiled a concept drawing of the proposed development. Mayor Shiely asked why a similar development built by the developer in Bloomington was 90% brick and the proposal for Cottage Grove was not. Mr. Schroeder informed the EDA that the City of Bloomington had a 30 year old PUD that required 90% to be constructed of brick. He also informed the EDA that Presbyterian Homes proposed senior housing project is around 40% brick and stone and the remainder would be stucco and /or hardy plank. Dick Pederson said that he wanted good looking and high quality projects for both senior housing developments. Mayor Shiely said that she wants developers to put as much brick into their senior housing projects as in other Twin Cities communities. She also wants the project to end up looking like the proposed sketches. Glen Kleven mentioned that he liked what he saw from the drawings of the project. Mr. Schroeder also informed the EDA that the project has a lot of definition in the roof line. Ryan Schroeder informed the EDA that he has requested tenant contacts from the Cottage Square Mall owner. Once a purchase agreement has been signed on the property, the City will send out letters to the tenants at the Mall. The EDA concerns related to the Frattlaone property were forwarded to the developer and land owner. They intend to put together a design that works more with the current topography of the property. Aspen Grove is also working on how best to develop their property. They have a concept of building 20 to 30 homes with septic systems on their 40 acre parcel. Mayor Shiely asked if the land trust liked the idea of exchanging their property. Mr. Schroeder said they like the property on the hill better because of the type of trees and geography. However, a trust trading property seldom happens. The City is currently working with Clear Channel and their attorneys on the process of developing a purchase agreement for their property. Mr. Schroeder also informed the EDA that a restaurant was negotiating with the City on a parcel at the Oakwood Commercial site. The City is expecting a signed purchase agreement in the near future. The fee owner of the property is the City. Staff asked for the EDA's advice on the purchase agreement template. The restaurant would take 2.2 acres of the 3.846 acre parcel. The City is currently working with a developer on the 1.7 acres that are remaining from the parcel. Hardwood Court would be the entrance for any project built on the site. Access and drainage is covered in the covenant for the property. The proposed restaurant is in favor of food users to the north of the site. The restaurant user wants to restrict restaurants that serve similar foods from locating on the 1.7 acres next to the restaurant. The intent is not to saturate the market with similar food vendors. After the letter of intent with the remnant developer, a purchase agreement would need to be signed within 60 days. The closing for the property would occur on or before August 7 The site is expected to be graded on or before June 1 They want to open the same time as the Kohls Store. Economic Development Authority - Minutes December 9, 2003 Page 3 The City would receive $1.5 million from the sale of the Oakwood site. The proceeds from the sale will go directly to the Cottage Grove Park Trust Fund. Some legal fees and other costs will be subtracted from the sale. This proposal will go to the City Council next for approval. Mayor Shiely complemented Mr. Schroeder on his work in attracting what the EDA and Council wanted on the Oakwood site. GROVE PLAZA Remodeling is under way for the new MGM Liquor Warehouse space. Fantasy Cruise Bingo is also looking at the old Petter's site in Grove Plaza. Al Boche said the space is 18 SF and their current lease ends April 1 St at Cottage Square. Rainbow Foods must approve any leases for any tenants in the Mall. BRUHN /STOLTZ PROPERTY Currently, the owner is working on a concept for- this site. Significant grading of the site is needed. Staff will be meeting with the owners to discuss suggestions on the layout of a possible project. Ryan Schroeder thought the site would be good for a restaurant and /or coffee shop. HSS PROPERTY The HSS parcel will be owned by the three residential property owners that were purchased for the Kohls project. A 59 SF remnant parcel will be deeded to the three residential property owners by the City. There is sufficient space for a 6,000 SF project on the site. EAST RAVINE STUDY UPDATE The consultant for this project has the background information on the City in place to begin the preliminary design. There will be a Council workshop next week and a citizen task force meeting this week to discuss preliminarily where things ought to go in the community. The consultant has identified that between now and 2025 additional retail space will be needed at the intersection of 70 and Keats. The types of shopping available at this intersection will be different because of the high household incomes in this part of the City. According to the preliminary findings of the consultant, at least 90 acres of property will be needed for commercial market demand. Mayor Shiely mentioned that Jim Wolcott would like to keep as much commercial space available as possible in the City. Ryan Schroeder mentioned that the City may want to round up and keep more property available for commercial use. Mr. Schroeder also said that the consultant said that over 500 housing units per year would be needed beyond what the City already has for housing stock. The City has averaged 242 housing units over the past thirty three years. The City Council will need Economic Development Authority - Minutes December 9, 2003 Page 4 to meet the market demand or constrain the housing demand in the future. The consultant also said that 300,000 SF of commercial construction will be needed in the next 5 to 10 years. Glen Kleven was concerned about the lack of commercial spaces available in the City. Dick Pederson was concerned about filling the older commercial areas. Mayor Shiely commented about how the Kohls project made the City Council realize how little property was available for commercial development. Mr. Schroeder commented on how the Kohls Store has grown the market area for the City. The City is now hoping for a domino effect with commercial development and a positive impact on the community. BUSINESS BREAKFAST Scott Johnson informed the EDA that he spoke to Fred Luden at 3M about moving the business breakfast from a Monday morning to a Tuesday. Mr. Luden explained that the 3M staff uses the facility for a lunchroom Monday — Friday. The only time to hold the event and allow people to set up exhibits is on Monday morning. Invites will be sent out this week and RSVP's will go to Scott Johnson. US POSTAL COMPLEX The United States Postal service is looking for a 40 to 80 acre site for construction of a 500 SF to 1 Million SF facility. The facility would pay no property taxes and 100 would need to be expanded. The average employment wage is over $50,000. The architecture would be similar to Renewal by Andersen. The project would need to pay City fees and charges. There would be an expectation that the Post Office would be making payments in lieu of taxes. Ryan Schroeder said normally we could expect $567,000 per year and the City portion is $200,000 in tax return from a developed 40 acre parcel. Mr. Schroeder also told the Postal Service broker that a warehouse project would probably not receive a warm welcome and a campus look would be preferred. The truck impacts on local roads for this project would also be significant. Mr. Schroeder also explained that the broker suggested that this project would bring in about 2,000 jobs. Gerry Weingartner said that a similar project was mentioned a few years ago. He was not in favor of the project then and he is not in favor of the project now. Glen Kleven mentioned that truck traffic would continue 24 hours a day. The payment in lieu would only be good until the Federal Government changed its policy. Dick Pederson thought that there was not enough benefit to the community with this project. Mike Wennen thought it was worth discussing because of the jobs that it would bring to the City. Ryan Schroeder informed the EDA that a decision is contemplated to be made by the Postal Service within the next six months. Al Boche thought it would be a good idea to hear the Postal Service out on their proposal, but do not commit. Mayor Shiely said the project does not excite her, but she wants staff to hear out the proposal. Glen Kleven said that he was afraid of opening the door because the Postal Service may take that to mean it is a done deal. Economic Development Authority - Minutes December 9, 2003 Page 5 Mayor Shiely asked how many jobs would be for Cottage Grove residents. Ryan Schroeder said that suburbs do not usually make this type of demand, but our normal expectation in the industrial park is 10% to 20% of total employment as Cottage Grove residents. The City of St. Paul requires a certain amount of jobs for their residents with new commercial projects. Mayor Shiely was concerned about the possibility of giving up 40 to 80 acres of property for no tax dollars. Glen Kleven mentioned that the same 2,000 jobs would eventually come to Cottage Grove through other projects that pay taxes. Mike Wennen said he was not big on the project, but the City should not shut the door on the project. CALENDAR Subway Ribbon cutting to be determined Annual Business Recognition Breakfast January 12th ADJOURN The EDA adjourned at 9:15 a.m. Respectfully submitted, Scott Johnson Management Analyst