Minutes

New Brighton Economic Development Commission

Regular Meeting – March	13, 2001

7:30 a.m.

Members/Liaisons Present:

Bob Benke, Eugene Delaune, Dennis Flahave, Linda Harmon, John Kaufhold, Maxine Pierson, Char Samuelson, Jeanne Smith.

Members/Liaisons Absent:

Rakesh Agarwala, Ken Johnson, Steve Larson, Mark Nelson.

Staff Present:

Matt Fulton, David Black.

Others Present:

Phil Carlson, Craig Rapp, John Shardlow.

Call to Order

Bob Benke called the meeting to order at 7:40 a.m.

Approval of Minutes

The minutes of the February 13, 2001 meeting were presented for approval. All approved.

Brighton Village Planning Study

Carlson showed four alternative layouts, plus the Kraus-Anderson concept, which will be presented at the 2nd Community Planning Forum on Thursday evening, the 15th. The starting point was to provide access to the neighborhood to the east to replace Pike Lake Drive, which would be closed at the southern end of the shopping center. Two concepts suggested that the road be realigned through the center of the site, north to south. The other two suggest a new east-
west street, extending the entrance off Silver Lake Road to Thorndale Ave. All plans assume that there will continue to be a right-in, right-out access, at approximately the same location.

Champps has about 6000 square feet, and could eventually expand into the liquor store space. The Sinclair station is an older building which could be replaced by a newer building in the area of nearby. The Firstar Bank building is obsolete, with substantial vacant space upstairs, and could be downsized at some point.

Delaune noted the problems with access to and from the Wells Fargo branch bank on the west side of Silver Lake Road, and asked whether their staff had been contacted. Carlson indicated that he had not made contact. Delaune indicated his preference for concepts A and B, the ones showing Pike Lake Road realigned north-south through the middle of the site.

Samuelson questioned whether additional parking for Champps had been considered. Carlson indicated that the lot had not been expanded on any plans, but that there would be opportunities for using adjacent lots if peak hours are staggered. Benke asked whether mixing uses within the same building had been considered. Carlson suggested that residential over retail would not work here, but perhaps residential over office would be feasible.

Fulton noted that neighborhood residents had expressed a desire for small shops, and suggested doing something creative to accommodate them. Carlson noted that the exact tenant mix was unknown, and suggested that we should be cautious about assigning specific uses. Harmon favored the plans clustering the buildings (B and D), suggesting that this layout would naturally slow through traffic. Samuelson favored Concept B.

Carlson indicated that he would discuss plans with other property owners in the area, and report back to the next meeting.

Northwest Quadrant Update

Master Development Plan: Rapp indicated that the plan had been further refined, but cautioned that is was still as the conceptual level. He noted that housing was shown close to the streets, with a "grand boulevard" through the center. Buildings along Old Highway 8 would also be pushed close to the road, which would provide a much different impression. Truck traffic from developments on the east side of Old Highway 8 would be encouraged to use 1st Ave. NW for access to and from the north. Shardlow added that there would be two-story office buildings along the east side of the highway.

Rapp noted that market research had shown that the housing market for the area is very deep and strong. Two-thirds of the construction on the 1990s was built in the last five years, indicating growing strength. There would be about 500 housing units here, a combination of condominiums, townhomes, senior-oriented, and stacked flats. There would be for-sale and rental units, perhaps both at market rate and below. Shardlow suggested that it would be critical to create sufficient "critical mass" through appropriate phasing and streetscape enhancements. Rapp agreed, noting that a larger property than Midwest Asphalt would be needed for marketing purposes.

Delaune asked whether there had been additional discussions with the County about trading some land with the regional park. Rapp indicated that he had talked to Commissioner Jan Wiessner, but he would be uncomfortable going further until there is firm commitment on the part of the City. Black suggested that additional information on costs and refinement of the financial plan would be needed to take to the Council. Noting that the Ramsey County Library had discussed consolidating its nearby branches, Rapp suggested that the bowling alley site would be an excellent fit.

Delaune asked whether consideration had been made for high-speed data connections for this development. Rapp indicated that it would be a "high-bandwidth community." Smith asked how redevelopment would affect traffic on Old Highway 8 and on 10th Street. Rapp noted that all traffic in the area will be affected on decisions on a Highway 10 Bypass, and indicated that all these issues would be studied as part of a traffic analysis.

Adjournment

The meeting was adjourned at 9:15 a.m.