Ed092302
CITY OF NEW HOPE
4401 XYLON AVENUE NORTH
NEW HOPE, MINNESOTA 55428
Approved EDA Minutes September 23, 2002
Regular Meeting City Hall
CALL TO ORDER
President Enck called the meeting of the Economic Development Authority to order
at 8:01 p.m.
ROLL CALL
Present: W. Peter Enck, President
Mary Gwin-Lenth, Commissioner
Sharon Cassen, Commissioner
Don Collier, Commissioner
Pat LaVine Norby, Commissioner
APPROVE MINUTES
Motion was made by Commissioner Gwin-Lenth, seconded by Commissioner
to approve the Regular Meeting Minutes of September 23, 2002
Collier, .
Voting in favor: Cassen, Collier, Gwin-Lenth, Norby; Voting Against: None;
Absent: None; Abstained: Enck. Motion carried.
POTENTIAL President Enck introduced for discussion Item 4, Discussion Regarding Request by
REDEVELOPMENT Armory Development II LLC, to Coordinate with City Staff and Financial
OF 5620 WINNETKA Consultant on Potential Redevelopment of Frank’s Nursery Site at 5620 Winnetka
IMP. PROJECT 733 Avenue North.
Item 4
Mr. Kirk McDonald, Director of Community Development, stated staff has been
conducting discussions with Armory Development on a periodic basis since the
spring of 2002 regarding the potential redevelopment of the Frank’s Nursery site.
Armory Development would like to move forward and present the proposed project
to the Economic Development Authority at this time. He shared that Armory
Development is prepared to introduce their team and proposed project.
The project that Armory Development has planned is comprised of 56 townhomes
on the site. The units will be two or three stories tall and will range between 1,100 –
1,400 square feet. The sales plan calls for the units to be marketed between
$150,000 - $190,000 depending on final development costs. The target demographic
will be the young professional and first-time homeowner.
At this time, Armory Development has come to an agreement on the land purchase
price with the owner, a large insurance company in Iowa. Negotiations are ongoing
with Frank’s Nursery on the buy-out of their lease. If successful, construction could
occur next spring.
Because this is a redevelopment site, there will be additional costs in the demolition
of the site, refitting of the infrastructure to meet the new development, as well as
costs associated with watershed issues. Armory Development expects these
additional costs to be approximately $350,000. They are requesting that the City
include this site in the TIF District in order to offset this cost.
Mr. McDonald indicated that staff started meeting with the developers prior to the
time that the Developers’ Roundtable was conducted in June for the Livable
Communities Task Force, although the developers agreed to participate in that
process. Their redevelopment proposal for the Frank’s site was reviewed by the
Livable Communities Task Force at the August 21 task force meeting and the task
force was very supportive of the proposal. Due to the fact that work on this project
started prior to the roundtable, staff and the developer are requesting to move this
New Hope EDA
project along to the EDA for consideration. It is anticipated that the proposals for
Page 1 September 23, 2002
the remainder of the Livable Communities sites will be presented to the City
Council by the end of the year.
force was very supportive of the proposal. Due to the fact that work on this project
started prior to the roundtable, staff and the developer are requesting to move this
project along to the EDA for consideration. It is anticipated that the proposals for
the remainder of the Livable Communities sites will be presented to the City
Council by the end of the year.
Staff has requested that the financial consultant review this request on a preliminary
basis and that analysis shows that the project could generate enough revenue that
the City could provide some assistance for site development. Staff is requesting
EDA approval to move forward in working with the developer and financial
consultant to develop more definitive numbers, discuss the type of assistance and
develop potential terms of agreement. Owner-occupied townhomes are a specific
type of housing that are needed in the City, according to both the Comprehensive
Plan and the Life Cycle Housing Study.
Staff supports this proposal and recommends that the EDA authorize staff to move
forward with this request.
Mr. Charlie Nestor, GSR Real Estate Services, was recognized. He explained their
objective to locate sites similar to Frank’s Nursery within inner-ring suburbs. He
noted the largest hurdle has been negotiations with Frank’s Nursery. Mr. Nestor
explained that some units would be two bedrooms and some would be two
bedrooms plus a den.
The EDA expressed support of the concept. President Enck requested the following
information be presented at a later date: amenities of structure, quality of
construction (to reduce maintenance costs), and history on past projects as well as a
list of prior projects. The EDA asked the developer to consider inclusion of
playground equipment within the plan.
Commissioner Gwin-Lenth questioned the storm water drainage issues.
Mr. Vince VanderTop, Assistant City Engineer, stated water quality is a
consideration with any redevelopment. He stated one option being considered is a
financial contribution for construction of a regional pond downstream. He noted
property is available north of the site which could be modified to handle drainage
from multiple properties.
Commissioner Cassen cautioned that the City needs to limit its liability and consider
the timeframe it would take to recoup any financial assistance.
The EDA directed staff to proceed to meet with the developer on preliminary plans.
ADJOURNMENT
to
Motion was made by Commissioner Collier, seconded by Commissioner Norby,
adjourn the meeting
. All present voted in favor. Motion carried. The New Hope
EDA adjourned at 8:21 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Valerie Leone
City Clerk
New Hope EDA
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