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HomeMy WebLinkAbout7.a. Project Updates EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Port Authority Meeting Date: July 19, 2022 AGENDA ITEM: Project Updates AGENDA SECTION: Old Business PREPARED BY: Eric Van Oss, Economic Development Coordinator AGENDA NO. 7.a. ATTACHMENTS: None. APPROVED BY: LJM RECOMMENDED ACTION: Information Item. ISSUE Previous discussions with the City Council and Port Authority indicated a desire for more information regarding completion of workplan activities. The following highlights some of the project and economic development activities since the last Port Authority meeting. After meeting with the new Port Chair, staff is changing the format of Port meetings. In order to facilitate new discussion regarding local economic development, the Chairperson’s Report and Commissioner Reports will be moved after the Consent Agenda. This is envisioned to be a brief 10-15 minute discussion among Commissioners regarding economic development projects, ideas, news, or concepts that they encountered over the pervious month. New Business will follow the Commissioner Reports. The meetings will conclude with a brief update on Old Business and Discussion. Projects in Progress Breweries/Tap Houses: OMNI Orchards: OMNI’s building permit has been pulled and total grading work has started. The City has approved two deferral agreements related to their building permit fees and SAC charges in June. Tap Society: Ron Clark is working with Tap Society to gauge interest in moving forward with the project. If a decision is not made by early spring, Ron Clark will begin to look for new users in partnership with the City. Dave Schmitz/North 20 Brewing: North 20 opened the July 4th holiday weekend to a strong turnout. The City held a ribbon cutting on July 14th. Israelson properties: Rosewood Commons at Highway 3/42: Plans have been submitted for the memory care and senior housing facility along with approvals needed for additional multi-family housing planned for the site. Rosewood Crossing: A building permit was issued for the next 32-unit apartment building in June. Rec Center/Life Time: The purchase agreement for approximately 26 acres of land and other relevant agreements were approved by the City Council on April 5th, 2022. The City’s website has a page dedicated to this project for additional information. Staff has begun to meet with the developers interested in portions of the eastern portion of the intersection. Staff expects conceptual proposals to begin to filter in this summer. Additionally, the Council and Port will likely see requests for residential projects on the northern end of the site. Staff is working with a housing developer on the Lennar owned western portion of the intersection. Life Time will move forward at the July Planning Commission meeting with applications for a Preliminary Plat, Major PUD Amendment and Site Plan Review. UMore Residential/Amber Fields: Maplewood Development is working with individual developers on the different housing types across the property. Grading and infrastructure work is underway. Staff has received applications for the first several phases of development totaling more than 1,000 housing units. Additional phases are currently being finalized for application. Currently there are plans for 422 units of single-family homes and 811 units of townhome or multifamily. Super America/Speedway: The property was placed in receivership with Lighthouse Management. Their role is to find care for the liability, assets and property etc. The City will require underground storage tanks be removed. Staff continues to meet with Lighthouse Management to discuss next steps. Currently the site has several interested parties both related to a C-store use or redevelopment. The Home Depot/Project Osprey: Exterior utilities in progress. The extension of Boulder Avenue is taking place this summer. Scannell Project: Initial site work has begun on the 585,000 square feet FedEx facility. CDA Property: Schafer Richardson signed a purchase agreement with the CDA on the Akron property. Staff met with Schafer Richardson on July 6th to discuss submittal requirements and process. Part of the project will be affordable units and the developer will be utilizing CDA TIF and grants to cover a portion of the cost. Sweet Harvest Building: A lease agreement has been signed and building permit approved for work on this facility. The new tenant is Stonebrook Equipment Inc and they create custom vehicles and fleets for businesses. They will use the entire space in addition to making some further site improvements. Highway 3 and 46: Both sites on the eastern and western side of Highway 3 have prospective projects that are likely to submit plans this summer. Plans have been submitted for the Frana for a second Rosemount facility on the Western section of this site. This is expected to go before the Planning Commission in July. Mr. Wish: Mr. Wish opened the week of July 4th and staff held a ribbon cutting on July 14th. RFI and Inquires (February/March) Housing: Staff met with 3 developers interested in multifamily sites in Rosemount. The developers are at various stages in the site process, but all are focusing on the high-density sites near the Akron/42 intersection. Commercial/Services: Staff met with 2 developer interested in retail or commercial projects. Staff will provide an update on an RFI meeting that some Port Commissioners attended in May. Restaurant: Staff met with 1 restaurant user this month. Industrial: Staff had 3 inquires or discussions regarding Business Park, UMore, Opus, and County Road 46/Hwy 3 sites. OTHER Downtown Façade Grant: Five businesses have fully executed grant agreements. As mentioned at the December meeting, getting bids from contractors are proving to be the biggest hurdle in moving forward with projects, so staff is trying to be flexible with the timeline on façade improvements as many will likely be completed in 2022. One project has been completed and has submitted paid invoices. One project is scheduled to start at the end of July. Another project is in various stages and one tenant is still working on an agreement with the building owner as of July. One business is amending their approved activities on the grant application. Small Area Plan Highway 3/46: The Council considered this proposal May 17th and the proposal will now move though the Met Council Comp Plan Amendment process. The land use change should be completed by the end of summer. Zoning Code Update RFP: Staff is working on an RFP for the previously discussed zoning code update. The Dakota County CDA Board recently approved the funding for this project utilizing Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) dollars. Staff sent out an RFP in June with a deadline for submissions by July 15th. Once a consultant has been selected the entire project should take 3-4 months. The process staff envisions would include working closely with the Community Development Department through the update process, a joint session of the Council and Planning Commission, and then a public hearing on the proposed revisions. Business Subsidy Policy: Staff is submitted on a final draft of this project which was approved via resolution at the June 21st Council meeting. The updated policy was sent to the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development to be officially recorded. Affordable Housing: Staff is working with two developers on affordable components on their projects. As the CDA is the County Housing Authority, staff is encouraging developers to seek financial assistance through CDA programs—namely TIF. Staff is also working with developers to pursue grant opportunities that would also offset projects costs. Interest in affordable housing has increased. In addition to the two projects moving forward, staff has fielded several inquiries about other potential affordable projects. The City’s strategy for financial incentives on greenfield sites will be to primary rely on the CDA, while also looking for other funding opportunities via grants. Direct assistance from the City will be prioritized for redevelopment projects, particularly in the downtown area.