HomeMy WebLinkAbout1986/09/09 - ADMIN - Minutes - City Council - RegularMINUTES
SPECIAL CITY COUNCIL MEETING
EXCELSIOR BLDV. REDEVELOPMENT
September 9, 1986
Mayor Hanks called the meeting to order at 8:00 p.m.
He asked that the first developer making a presentation for the Excelsior
Blvd./Hwy. 100 redevelopment project begin.
Jim Ryan, Ryan Construction and his associates gave a presentation of their
proposal. He said there would be no potential for conflict in their doing
this project as they plan to develop and own the project themselves. he
said they were familiar with tax increment districts having projects in
Brooklyn Center, Edina and are currently completing a project in Plymouth.
Members of the Ryan team presented their proposal.
Mayor Hanks asked about the bonds for the Boisclair project. Mr. Ryan stated
that outside of those bonds, totalling $6,280,000, they would require no
additional bonding.
Councilman Strand asked why no housing was included in their proposal.
Mr. Ryan said they felt there were sites available in the City for housing,
that this was a premiere site for commercial development, office, retail
and hotel. He felt a mix of housing and commercial was more often than
not unsuccessful.
Councilman Strand asked if their proposal provided for any covered community
space that could be used by community groups.
Mr. Ryan said the open spaces as seen on their design proposal could certainly
be used for that sort of thing, public meetings, gatherings, etc.
Councilman Friedman asked if Ryan had ever developed a complex of this
size and at this cost.
Mr. Ryan said their project in downtown Minneapolis, International Center,
is part of a three-phase project which will amount to over 1.2 million
sq. ft. Their project in Plymouth is over $100 million and they are about
to commence a $30 million project in Eden Prairie. He said they're doing
approximately $50 million per year in Class A product.
Councilman Friedman noted the hotel was a future plan and asked if the
other buildings in the plan would be built. Mr. Ryan said their plan would
be construction of the center office building first, the office building
closest to the Med Center second and the premiere office/hotel site third
depending on what the market decides. Mr. Ryan explained the staggered building
and thusly, they would not be asking for all the funding at once unless
all the buildings were started at once.
Councilman Mitchell asked about parking requirements, and Mr. Ryan said
if the hotel were built there would be 1650 total.
2.
Councilman Strand asked how the retail/office mix was arrived at, and Mr.
Ryan said the retail was decided upon after conversations with retailers
who have indicated a desire to come in .
The next presentation was by Quantum Development Corp. Tom Masters, owner
of the company, addressed Council and a presentation was made by members
of his team. In summary, this project would be 175,000 sq. ft. of office
building, 125,000 sq. ft. of retail, a 100 -suite hotel of approximately
80-85,000 sq. ft. He said ample parking was provided and a bus stop has
been incorporated into the plan. He said they had met with the Excel Neighbohood
group and have incorporated some of their concerns into their design.
Councilman Strand asked about removal of the water tower. The City Manager
said staff had speculated on its removal but nothing concrete had been
decided as yet. He felt it could be relocated which would be expensive
but not unsurmountable.
Mr. Masters said Quantum is prepared to allocate $10 million for the acquisition
of the site, for the relocation of Park Center Blvd., the relocation of
the water tower and any other costs relative to acquisition and title to
the site.
The City Manager said the City had issued $6.5 million in bonds primarily
for a parking ramp, but that the second issue contemplated never took place,
which was earmarked for a second parking ramp and site acquisition.
Councilman Mitchell asked Mr. Masters what type of assistance they sought
from the City and Mr. Masters said none.
In answer to a question from Councilman Mitchell, Mr. Masters responded
they were planning slightly over 1100 parking spaces.
In response to a question from Councilman Strand relative to market studies,
Mr. Masters said they had not done full market studies or analyses, but
that they had canvassed the area, polled the surrounding communities to
determine what types of spaces are available for each building type to
see what the absorption rate is. They have investigated levels of activity
in the last 7-8 months in particular building types to try to get a feeling
of how much product can economically be put on the site.
Mayor Hanks asked what total value - a ballpark figure - Mr. Masters would
place on this development. Mr. Masters responded $20 million of value for
the purposes of taxing. He said a market value would be close to $50 million.
Councilman Strand asked how do they determine the intensity of the project,
i.e. what the area can handle with respect to the neighborhood and other
commercial properties.
Masters said his development philosophy is mixed use, but they do not
believe in mixinghousingand those types of functions with the intensity
generated by comercial y
projects. He felt a traffic/transportation study
should be ordered to quantify autos leaving the project, number of lanes
required, how long cars would be detained at stoplights, etc. He said
after that information is gathered, it becomes a
the City. He said the input of the neighborhood would judgmentaldecision
decisions
about intensity. He said the input of the neighborhood would influence
decisions about intensity. He said the site could accommodate a larger
2.
Councilman Strand asked how the retail/office mix was arrived at, and Mr.
Ryan said the retail was decided upon after conversations with retailers
who have indicated a desire to come in .
The next presentation was by Quantum Development Corp. Tom Masters, owner
of the company, addressed Council and a presentation was made by members
of his team. In summary, this project would be 175,000 sq. ft, of office
building, 125,000 sq. ft. of retail, a 100 -suite hotel of approximately
80-85,000 sq. ft. He said ample parking was provided and a bus stop has
been incorporated into the plan. He said they had met with the Exce I Neighbohood
group and have incorporated some of their concerns into their design.
Councilman Strand asked about removal of the water tower. The City Manager
said staff had speculated on its removal but nothing concrete had been
decided as yet. He felt it could be relocated which would be expensive
but not unsurmountable.
Mr. Masters said Quantum is prepared to allocate $10 million for the acquisition
of the site, for the relocation of Park Center Blvd., the relocation of
the water tower and any other costs relative to acquisition and title to
the site.
The City Manager said the City had issued $6.5 million in bonds primarily
for a parking ramp, but that the second issue contemplated never took place,
which was earmarked for a second parking ramp and site acquisition.
Councilman Mitchell asked Mr. Masters what type of assistance they sought
from the City and Mr. Masters said none.
In answer to a question from Councilman Mitchell, Mr. Masters responded
they were planning slightly over 1100 parking spaces.
In response to a question from Councilman Strand relative to market studies,
Mr. Masters said they had not done full market studies or analyses, but
that they had canvassed the area, polled the surrounding communities to
determine what types of spaces are available for each building type to
see what the absorption rate is. They have investigated levels of activity
in the last 7-8 months in particular building types to try to get a feeling
of how much product can economically be put on the site.
Mayor Hanks asked what total value - a ballpark figure - Mr. Masters would
place on this development. Mr. Masters responded $20 million of value for
the purposes of taxing. He said a market value would be close to $50 million.
Councilman Strand asked how do they determine the intensity of the project,
i.e. what the area can handle with respect to the neighborhood and other
commercial properties.
Masters said his development philosophy is mixed use, but they do not
believe in mixing housingand those types of functions with the intensity
generated by commercial rojects. He yfelt a traffic/transportation study
should be ordered to quantify autos leaving the project, number of lanes
required, how long cars would be detained at stoplights, etc. He said
after that information is gathered, it becomes a judgmental decision of
the City. He said the input of the neighborhood would influence decisions
about intensity. He said the input of the neighborhood would influence
decisions about intensity. He said the site could accommodate a larger
i
3.
project, but he did not know if the City could. He said he would not build
this project if it were to be 10-15 percent larger than he had designed
it.
The next presentation was made by the St. Louis Center Partners, a partnership
of Adolphson b Peterson, Pineapple Management and Rosewood Corp. Fred
Gatter, Rosewood Properties, made the presentation.
In this design the water tower as it stands today was removed but incorporated
into the design of their main building.
Councilman Mitchell asked how long they had been working on their proposal,
to which Mr. Gatter said since early July.
In answer to a question from Councilman Mitchell as to whether or not
they had met with the neighborhood group, Mr. Gatter said they had proposed
a meeting, but the neighborhood declined, saying they did not want to
be prejudiced for one plan over another, preferring to see all proposals
at one time. They said they had talked to the medical foundation and other
neighborhood businesses. They were looking forward to meeting with the
Excel neighborhood group.
The last presentation was from Frantz Klodt & Son, developers, with Lois
Bredahl as presenter.
Councilman Strand asked why the mix they proposed would work better than
some of the other proposals.
Mr. Klodt stated they feel the subject property is a good retail corner,
that it has been in the past. He felt this type of boutique center was
particularly well suited to the site, and the reason they were requiring
Target's presence in the development area was because of that store's
fantastic drawing power, along with the presence of Byerly's. He felt
the office building as they proposed it would compliment the area, as
opposed to a small office building, and the hotel as they conceived it
would service the other needs nicely.
Councilman Strand asked if they had seen the BRW traffic study. Mr. Klodt
said he had, but that he didn't have too much to say in terms of traffic.
He said the way they have designed the center it can move one way or another
to eliminate some of the roads or develop another road on either side.
They would prefer to work with the neighborhood group and the City on
how the traffic should be developed.
Councilman Strand asked if he had thought about the expense for removal
of the water tower.
Mr. Klodt said the tower was relatively inexpensive to remove, that the
Pumping station would cost the most. He said he would not partake in that
114 part of the project, it would be the City's responsibility. Anything else
on the site would be their responsibility. He said they were offering
$500,000 for the site and would take it as is.
Councilman Strand asked how many liquor licenses the other projects envision
wanting.
4.
Mayor Hanks said that would probably depend on what the other developers
plan to put in.
Councilman Mitchell asked about parking requirements, and Mr. Klodt said
there would be 800 planned for the first phase, 700 in the second phase
and 200 surface.
Mayor Hanks said he didn't see much difference in the parking provided
by all four proposals. He asked if parking were determined by what is
in a development or is it determined by the amount of parking spaces needed
by the development that determines what the trip generation would be.
The Planning Director did not think parking numbers were developed simply
because of what the site could accommodate based on a given proposal.
The difference in proposed parking spaces could come because of peak uses
which are not identical in all the proposals. Parking demand will be
determined by the uses and the peaks of the individual uses. He said there
would likely be a 20-30 percent reduction from the requirements in the
zoning ordinance because of the mixed use concept.
Mayor Hanks asked how an accurate study of generated trips would be arrived
at without looking at each proposal individually.
The Planning Director said this is standard and relatively easy to do:
they will look at individual uses, parking demand, peak parking and parking
capacity for each facility in a proposal. They will also take into account
such things as availability of transit, carpooling and also take into
consideration such things as, for example, Med Center employees going
to Byerly's for lunch, etc. walking instead of taking cars. The design
will be to encourage people to use the facilities on a joint basis without
getting into their cars. Based on the City's previous experience in the
DDD area and in Shelard, this is a fairly easily calculated process.
Mayor Hanks said he was referring more to trip generation.
The Planning Director said the number of trips is a function of that.
He said you can look at it as trips and any trip to the site by a vehicle
would then have to be parked. Both trips and parking will be looked at.
Councilman Strand asked how a parking study can be accurate if you don't
know what the entire redevelopment district is going to look like when
it is fully developed.
The Planning Director said when calculating this sort of thing for the
future, we calculate out 10, 20 years and then we go back and analyze
how well the previous projections came out. He said they'll make some
assumptions about each of the sites in the area, just as was done in 1980.
He said they could do that again in 1986 and they have the knowledge of
what exists and what the potential is. Each of the land uses has a known
travel behavior and each land use would generate so many trips per day
and they are assigned to roadway networks, and from the roadway networks
to the interchanges at which point you can test the capacity. These are
standard kinds of calculations that exist all over and are relatively
easily done.
Mayor Hanks thanked the developers for their presentations.
5.
Chris 0ietzen, attorney for Wilkins Pontiac, said they had opposed the
Boisclair project on the grounds it would result in the destruction of
the Wilkins dealership. He said this dealership was franchised by General
Motors, and that Minnesota Statutes limits them from relocating within
10 miles of an existing dealership which is a severe limitation on their
ability to relocate. They are also concerned about the environmental effects
of the project. Their goal is to stay in business; however, Wilkins wishes
to advise the City and the HRA that they are willing to discuss with those
two bodies a mutually agreeable relocation site within the immediate vicinity
that will take care of their concerns and resolve their concerns with
the C i ty.
Councilman Mitchell said it was a difficult task to weigh the economic
impact and costs that are being suggested. He said it's hard to determine
what the current value of the property is, the current taxes, what taxes
would be generated by a given proposal, etc. He didn't see in any of the
proposals an attempt to weigh those items. He said he'd like to see an
effort to get more into the financial aspect and a realistic analysis
of what the cost of a proposal means, i.e. what is it costing the City,
what the cost would be to the school district which is not involved in
tax increment financing.
Mayor Hanks said it was his understanding the HRA has asked for that infor-
mation and staff is studying it at this time.
Mr. Sperazza, representing the Excel Neighborhood, spoke to the Council.
He said his group is gathering information at this point, just as Council
is, digesting it and determining what it means and then making their assump-
tions. Based on all of that, they have come up with the following six
areas of concern:
1. Potential Comprehensive Plan amendment
2. Water tower project redevelopment concerns
3. Auto traffic
4. Pedestrian and bike traffic
5. Crime and security
6. Parking
In addressing those concerns, Mr. Sperazza made the following points:
This proposed redevelopment is an idea trying to be put into words. Excel
terms it a neighbohood impact factor which affects each redevelopment
project, not just this one. They define this as any change within or directly
adjacent to a neighborhood or residential community which will result
in a direct effect on that neighborhood. They feel such impact must be
studied and weighed along with the concerns of any redevelopment project,
and be included in any Comprehensive Plan amendment to carry as much weight
as any other factors.
He said redevelopment of the water tower area is favored by a majority
Of the residents. He said there are many aspects of redevelopment which
concern their neighborhood: they have strong negative reactions to some
types of businesses, i.e. the number of liquor establishments, that there
be no X-rated theaters, no subsidized housing, no excessive office space.
The neighborhood does favor development with taller buildings and buildings
on Excelsior Blvd. should be limited. They desire a development that won't
overpower the area, but that will blend in. They want a community area
6.
with greenery and an area for sitting where people can gather. In the
case of traffic, they expect the City to resolve this by new and innovative
methods using as its base a new and complete traffic study. They want
assurances that the surrounding neighborhood does not offset the benefits
to be accrued from the tax increment development and become an undesirable
place to live. He said adequate security must be included in the development
to discourage crime and vandalism. Currently, on -street parking is becoming
a major problem. They want to be assured of enough parking within the
development so that spill over will not occur onto City streets. He ended
by saying the neighborhood very strongly wants to be a part of the
decision-making process and to work with the City, especially the Housing
and Redevelopment Authority, to that end.
Mayor Hanks adjourned the meeting.
Pat Smith
Recording Secretary