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HomeMy WebLinkAbout4.e. Viewing of Cottages Inc. Video - Verbal * * * CONFIDENTIAL MEMO * * * TO: Chair Dunn Commissioners Anderson, Carroll, Edwards, McMenomy, Sinnwell, Wippermann FROM: John Miller, Economic Development Coordinator DATE: December 16, 1993 RE: Project Update With Some Frank Observations About Development in the City I've been somewhat negligent in getting you written project updates and I would like to partially rectify that situation with the following report. In addition, I've recently visited with persons in other communities about marketing land and have become privy to some insights that reflect on the future development of Rosemount. You may be interested in them as well. Miller's Grocery Store: Recently Pve had a couple of brief conversations with "Grocery John" about the future of the downtown grocery store. Miller and his partners concede that the Carlson Properties' development w�ll be completed and that competition from a Gateway grocery store will be a fact of life. The owners of the downtown grocery ha�e also reached the conclusion that they must change their operations. They can't continue to operate the store as in the past. Presently they are trying to determine internally whether they should expand the store at its present location or move to a new site. There's also a third option but I don't believe that's being seriously discussed. My guess is that the commissioners will be approached by John Miller and his partners in 1994 regarding the future of the store. Commissioner Sinnwell has done a fine job in working with Mr. Miller, discussing with him some options the partners may have and in getting technical information. As a result of Don's work, Miller has not developed an attitude that "the city° is working against him but rather believes there is concern at city hall for the well being of the downtown. Auto Mall: John and Jim Anderson along with a "partner" with considerable auto-mall experience have discussed with the Carlson family development of an auto-mall on the Carlson's "tractor" site. Presently the Andersons are waiting for completion of a concept plan showing how the Carlson land might be utilized. I have visited with both Andersons on separate occasions and encouraged them to study the project. John Anderson told me he first began thinking about the auto-mall when he read several articles in the local paper about the port authority and development activities in the city. This is further proof that development is contagious and that new development begets more new development. I believe the Andersons are interested in providing an altemate location for some of the main street auto related businesses as well as attracting some chain franchise holders. Carlsons appear to be serious about relocating their equipment business. About a month ago, I asked David Drown to meet with them and discuss how redevelopment TTF districts work. I have discussed with the Cazlsons the possibility of creating one of the districts on the tractor site. Other people have suggested a redevelopment district that would include the bus garage but I have not yet followed up on the idea with the school district. The Carlsons have said on several occasions that if they are able to sell the tractor site, a move in 18 to 24 months would be possible. In my discussions with them about a new site, they have indicated some interest in land in the business park. It's also come to my attention, however, that a Carlson move to a site closer to the interstate highway would put the family- owned business in a more strategic location to serve both Minneapolis and St. Paul contractors. There should be some movement on the auto-mall/Carlson site in January. Libra : When the scoping committee was completing its work on the future of the downtown, the issue of the library was discussed at some length. The members agreed that Rosemount was beginning the development of its own "culture corridor" with city hall, the post office, catholic church, community center, and schools all in close pro�mity; entities which are in themselves not retail or commercialland uses but which none-the-less provide trip attractions for the downtown area. With the city having no library, the members further agreed that not only would a library be of benefit to the city's 10,000 residents, but in addition, that a downtown location would be of benefit to the retail and service businesses located there. This would be especially true if the campus development option were implemented and if shoppers were encouraged to spend more time in the downtown. After all of this, however, the scopers reached the conclusion that getting a library in the downtown was impossible and for the most part dropped the idea.. A few weeks ago I was eating lunch in Apple Valley when I met Ed McMenomy Sr. Mister McMenomy was interested in the library issue and said he was going to promote it. As you are aware, he recently made a proposal public -- you got copies directly from him -- to locate the library in the downtown. Now let's face reality. Libraries are tough to get. Princeton, my home town, has a group that has spent the last six years in trying to get a good quality facility. The group is about to get the new building, but it was a long and difficult task. The library issue is one the commissioners may want to address as a long range project. 2 Cotta es Inc.: The site favored by the senior housing builders was the Broback industrial park on Diamond Path. Purchase agreements were drafted with a 90 cent per square foot offer and submitted to the Brobacks contingent upon the usual city approvals and upon acceptance by each of the individual owners. Some family members wanted to sell while others believed the land should be sold only if Cotta.ges Inc. paid $1.25. Cottages Inc. is presently visiting with the Carlsons about purchasing land that family owns near Wachter Pond. At this writing I do not believe purchase agreements have been submitted to the Carlsons. Cottages' third choice is the Behren's property east of the community center. Repairs. Inc.: Holst Excavating will begin demolition work on December 27. Arlyn Cope has removed all of the old vehicles from the property, one with a 1988 license plate. Ron and Kerry Johnson are on your December 21 agenda with a request to "refinance" their project. Some salvage work has been completed. Rosemount Village Square: A site plan for the strip center has been submitted to the planning people at city hall. My guess is that approval will be considered in January. While the plan is for the most part set, there are still dra.inage and traffic issues to be fine tuned; e.g. how will access to the Holiday station be handled? I have referred some businesses seeking sites to the Carlsons. I've been told they have had success with some of the referrals. Business Park: There has been little activity in the last few weeks, a condition I blame on the calendar. My guess is that after New Year's Day, businesses will start evaluating their situations and we will have some activity. The Arlo Rhoads proposal, on your December 21 agenda, is the exception. Concast Inc.: Art Oja1a is considering a move of his business from the University property to 160th Street. Mr. Ojala and his consultant Heather Baum have made inquiries about the creation of a tax increment finance district to aid their move and expansion. At this time, Ms. Baum is preparing a business plan for Mr. Oja1a both to aid Art in his decision about expansion and to use in the "but for" test if ta�c increment financing is sought. I visited with Baum again on December 15 and she expects Concast will make a decision after the first of the year. Oja1a was visiting with the assessor on the fifteenth about property taxes and is still negotiating the purchase agreement with the property owner. CMC Heartland: I've been fortunate in that in other places I've warked have had the political will to build quality communities. Lino Lakes, for example, changed itself from a rather low density red-neck exurb to the city having the highest average home values in Anoka County. And in the process, that city lowered its tax rankings in the Twin Cities area from tenth to 45th. Mapie Grove was featured in the most recent Real Estate Journal and its community development director was extolling the viriues of very tough development standards, most of which I drafted in the mid-1980's (I do take some pride in that). 3 The Maple Grove experience has been that tough standards actually promote development rather than hinder or slow it. For me, and I think for all of us, the CMC Heartland project is the litmus test for Rosemount. What's the city going to permit there and how will it facilitate that development. In visiting with some of the commissioners, Pve heard that "If there's city money in the project it had better look good." Following up on this, I've visited with CMC's John Lamoreaux and suggested that his firm upgrade proposals and plans to be made to the city. Emphasizing that the port authority wants and needs the taY increment money at least as bad as CMC, I have none-the-less suggested that approvals for rezoning and the like might be difficult to come by unless there is near universal support - endorsement - of the project. How many council votes does it take to rezone? That the effect of the CMC development in the Rosemount downtown will be significant is a truism. It will certainly have an immediate and positive effect on many of the downtown businesses, but in the broader picture CMC will determine the city's future development. I believe that we all know that many new residents are attracted to the city by Rosemount's downtown, it's viewed as quaint and has some symbolism that separates Rosemount from some of the more bland suburban communities. If the CMC project is completed in a neo- traditional design, for example, that accentuates the unique features of the downtown, it will have a positive effect on the entire city. Tlus is a concept that I think downtown scoping committee chauperson, Bernie McGarrigle, understood and promoted. I look forward to the decisions of the port authority, planning commission, and city council on this issue. It will be of personal interest to me to see if there is the political will to build a qualiry community. Dakota Electric: On December 7 I attended the Dakota Electric Partners in Progress award proceedings. At the dinner a representative of ea.ch Dakota County city reported on the progress of the last year. This was done in alphabetical order and as a result Rosemount was last. I really wasn't as prepared as the other speakers - they had stuff actually written out - so I paid close attention so that I could pretty much mimic what they said only substituting Rosemount "progress." It was depressing. I really felt like a citizen of Mexico listening to a bunch of United States Chamber of Commerce types. One city built 600 homes in 1993 and another built 400. Bob Erickson boasted that average new home values in Lakeville had increased from (I think) $101,000 to $160,000 in only four years. Some other city has attracted the largest Coca- Cola plant in the Midwest. There were litanies of retail franchises coming to the different cities. And, praise was given to the Dakota County HRA for its efforts in senior housing development. Farmington was represented by its mayor, several council persons and staff inembers. The city's presentation told of approval of more than 1000 residential lots in 1993, purchase of 175 acres for parks and trails, approval of a neo-tra4litional housing development near the downtown, and other such improvements... What �vas I to do? Tell'em that some resident had told the HRA people "that was the worst presentation I've ever seen?° 4 � �', Instead I complimented the other communities on their progress over the year and confessed that Rosemount could not make similar claims and that in fact, over the last five years the only new commercial structure that I knew of was the addition to the McDonalds hamburger stand. I also stated that Rosemount had a rather checkered history in promoting good development, although it had provided a good trade area for Apple Valley (the Apple Valley table applauded at this). After this I changed direction, noting the creation and good work of the port authority and the chamber of commerce under the presidency of Diane Pinkert. I touched on the theaters, community center, Carlson's center, and Kerry Johnson. The little ad-libbed speech ended with a summary that in 1994 Rosemount will construct more than 100,000 square feet of retail space, not much in comparison to the other cities but for Rosemount a signal that the city had turned the corner and was on its way to being complimentary to other Dakota County cities. So what's the point of all of this? Well there are several: • There has been a lot of real quality development in Dakota County and Rosemount has lagged behind. The city has a long ways to go to catch the others in both quantity and quality. • Rosemount has had a bad reputation, e.g. too much politics, poor business climate, etc. After the speech several people approached me with their congratula.tions for candor and action. Not a single person contradicted my early statements about Rosemount's problems. I should emphasize too they were genuinely glad that the city was now addressing and reducing its past problems. � Rosemount will have increasing competition from Farmington. Those folks are doing a very good job. And while they don't have the location that Rosemount has or the population base, the Fannington people are well organized and working toward common goals. They will compete with us strongly in the future. For example, their thousand lot inventory is about nine or ten times larger than ours. Orf'ield Bill: Last week I visited with some staff people I know who wark for the city of Blaine. They informed me the North Metro Mayors Association had recently met with'all of the north side legislators. The result of the meeting was simple and direct: there will be some kind of legislation in 1994 that will limit infrastructure extension on the south side. The city's inability to get approvals of large infrastructure expansion will limit development opportunities, I would guess, for the rest of the decade. dw 5 finance district in which the Property is located exists . 3 . FORFEITURE AND TERMINATION. In the event that Developer fails to provide satisfactory evidence of financing as reguired in Paragraph 1 (C) by the close of the business day on February 21, 1994, the following events shall occur: A. FORFEITURE OF EARNEST MONEY. Developer shall forfeit to the RPA, the earnest money submitted to the RPA under the provisions of Paragraph 1 (A) . B. TERMINATION. This Agreement shall terminate and, except as otherwise provided in this Paragraph, neither the RPA nor the Developer shall bear any responsibilities or obligations to the other. 4 . TERM. This Agreement shall be effective on the date first above written and, unless terminated pursuant to Paragraph 3, shall continue in effect until all the terms herein have been fulfilled. 5 . ADMINISTRATIVE PROVISIONS . A. ENTIRE AGR�EMENT/AMENDMENTS . This Agreement constitutes the full and complete understanding of the RPA and the Developer regarding the subject , matter thereof. Any amendments to this Agreement must be in writing and must be executed by the parties to this Agreement or their successors in interest. 5 B. SURVIVAL OF COVENANTS . The promises made in this Agreement shall remain in effect until all such promises have been fulfilled. C. DEFAULT/REMEDIES. The failure of a party to fulfill all of the terms and conditions of this Agreement shall constitute an event of default by that party and, upon such occurrence, shall entitle the other party to seek specific performance of the provisions of this Agreement and recover any costs incurred in obtaining that remedy, including reasonable attorney's fees . D. GOVERNING LAW. This Agreement shall be governed by the laws of the State of Minnesota . IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the RPA and the Developer have executed this Agreement intending to be bound thereby. ROSEMOUNT PORT AUTHORITY DEVELOPER By: gy; Ed Dunn Kerry L., Johnson Its : Chair By: Ronald L. Johnson By: Ron Wasmund Its : Executive Director ' Rosemount\PA-Johnson.Agreement 6