HomeMy WebLinkAbout7.a. Project Updates
E X E C U T I V E S U M M A R Y
Port Authority Meeting Date: August 16, 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 project s, 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: Tap Society has decided not to move forward. Ron Clark Development will be
exploring other options in conjunction with city staff.
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’s applications for a Preliminary Plat, Major PUD Amendment and Site Plan
Review were recommended for approval by the Planning Commission in June and will be considered by
the City Council for approval on August 16th.
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 spoke with Lighthouse Management on August 11th and currently there are not new
updates as the senior secured creditor continues to consider its options related to the property moving
forward.
The Home Depot/Project Osprey: Exterior utilities in progress. The extension of Boulder Avenue is
taking place this fall / spring of 2023.
Scannell Project: Initial site work has begun on the 585,000 square foot FedEx facility.
CDA Property: Schafer Richardson signed a purchase agreement with the CDA on the Akron property.
Staff continues to work with the CDA and Schafer Richardson on financing strategies for the affordable
portion of their development. Part of the project will be affordable units and the developer plan to use
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 and will be considered by the Council this month.
Mr. Wish: Mr. Wish opened the week of July 4th and staff held a ribbon cutting on July 14th.
Thread and Clover: A new clothing boutique will be opening in Rosemount and a ribbon cutting is
scheduled for September 6th.
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. Of the 5 large greenfield sites that have been designated for multifamily, either though the
Comprehensive Plan or Commercial Visioning, 4 have active projects moving forward leaving just the
Emerald Isle site available.
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 2 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.
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 selected HKGi as the consultant. 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. Work should begin within the next few weeks.
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. Staff is working on draft agreements
and applications that will be added to the site.
Affordable Housing: Staff is working with two developers on affordable components on their projects.
As the CDA is the County Ho using 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 inc reased. 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.
Marketing: Staff has is scheduled to attend 3 events in the later half of 2022 focused on marketi ng
Rosemount. The City will have a booth at the annual MNCAR Expo in October and staff will be on two
panels for the Minneapolis Real Estate Journal—the Industrial Site Summit and the South Suburban
Summit. At these events staff will focus on marketing ind ustrial sites in Rosemount as well as the Akron
and 42 commercial corridor.