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Home My WebLink AboutHRA MINUTES 01081985CITY OF ST. ANTHONY HOUSING AND.REDEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY MINUTES January 8, 1985 The meeting was called to order by Chairman Sundland at 8:45 P.M. Present for roll call: Sundland, Vice Chair Enrooth, Secretary/Treasurer Marks, and Commissioners Ranallo and Makowske. Also present: David Childs, Executive Director; William Soth, Attorney; Richard Krier, Consultant; and Brighton Development Corporation Repre- sentatives. Motion by Secretary/Treasurer Marks and seconded by Commissioner Makowske to approve as submitted the minutes of the H.R.A. meeting held December 18, 1984. Motion carried unanimously. Motion by Secretary/Treasurer Marks and seconded by Vice Chair Enrooth to approve payment of $140 to Dorsey & Whitney for legal work on the easement agreement for the 202 project and $35 to Tracy Printing for mailing materials for the H.R.A. Motion carried unanimously. Motion by Commissioner Ranallo and seconded by Commissioner Makowske to retain • Adrian Helgeson and Company for the 1984 H.R.A. financial audit under the same terms of payment as for the 1983 audit. Motion carried unanimously. The H.R.A. then took up the consideration of the designation of a redeveloper for the Old Highway 8 Redevelopment Project which had been referred to them for action by the City Council. Motion by Vice Chair Enrooth and seconded by Commissioner Makowske to proceed with the selection of a redeveloper for the 2.53 acre Walbon property under the Old Highway 8 Redevelopment/Tax Increment Plan proposed by the H.R.A. Consultant. Motion carried unanimously. As stated in his January 4th cover letter, Mr. Krier reiterated his recommendation \ that, based on the excellent track record of Brighton Development Corporation, that firm should be designated as the tentative redeveloper of the Walbon property under the four conditions set forth in that letter. President Richard Brustad and Vice President Linda Donaldson of Brighton Develop- ment Corporation, 620 Kickernick Building, Minneapolis, answered questions related to their proposal to erect a 32 unit townhouse project comprised of six, 4 to 6 unit buildings at an average cost of $82,000 per unit, to replace the trucking and excavation operations on the Walbon property at the intersection of Old Highway • 8 and 33rd Avenue N.E. Ms. Donaldson indicated that, following the meeting arranged by the City Manager with the other home owners in that area December 29th, -2 - her firm had decided to propose the townhouse project which would be developed in three phases. The first phase, which the developer anticipated could be started • in mid-April, 1985, would consist of six units of townhomes to be constructed on the 33rd Avenue corner of the site. The second phase, which would have to be governed by an August 1st tenant lease in the existing building, would consist of three buildings; two with four units each and one with six units. The third phase, consisting of two 6 unit buildings to be constructed on the south end of the site, could be started in the spring of 1986 unless the marketing is so strong for Phase I that Phases II and III could be built at the same time, Ms. Donaldson said. She told Commissioner Makowske Brighton would be handling their own marketing out of a trailer/model on the site. The development company official indicated on the site plans the green area which would be left in the middle area of the project with perhaps a "gazebo" type screenhouse located where it could be seen from all the units. Ms. Donaldson indicated the plans call for bay window treatment of the front of the units along Old Highway 8 to give some interest on the street side. Both ingress and egress would be off Old Highway 8 in deferrence to the wishes of the neighbors who had indicated they would not want traffic on 33rd Avenue increased, according to the Brighton developers. They presented the site and elevation plans for the project which included a schematic section of one of the two story units which could be adapted for a dormer, depending on whether there were two or three bedrooms in the unit. The preliminary plans called for 20 two bedroom units and 12 three bedroom townhouses with a single car garage and a parking space in front of each unit. Ms. Donaldson pointed out that the proposed 32 units would be a tight fit on that site, but indicated her company intended • to survey the property to determine whether at least some double garages could be provided, as suggested by one of the neighbors at the December 29th meeting. Commissioner Ranallo told her he understands some of the owners of the new town - homes across from Apache had found the mid-size car garages they had been provided were not large enough for the average townhome owners couple, both of whom work and drive standard cars. The developers reiterated that the contractors for the project would be Watson - Forsberg Construction Company and Ms. Donaldson pointed out that Mr. Forsberg was a St, Anthony resident and would no doubt want to construct a top quality project in his own community. The developer indicated .she had more or less decided on a "Prairie Home" design for the buildings which she perceived would fit well with other homes in the area. Brighton is looking for a low maintenance material for the exterior of the buildings, but if they are unable to find a suitable vinyl siding, the -exterior would be of wood. The firm's track record in obtaining financing for similar projects in and around Minneapolis was discussed with the Consultant who later commented that he per- ceived that record was "incredibly good". Mr. Brustad indicated he foresaw no problem with getting financing for a project as good as this one 6ncf both developers concurred wi-tFFFF--t�e`Chairman's perception that obtaining financing for townhomes was much easier than for condominiums. Commissioner Ranallo indicated he would anticipate there would be a potential market for these townhomes from the couples who had initially looked at the Kenzington but who had concluded condominium living was too drastic a change from • their single family homes. The Chairman reported his business experience with Brighton Development had been that "they always deliver whatever they promise". -3 - Motion by_Commi_ssioner Ranallo and seconded by Secretary/Treasurer Marks to. is designate Brighton Development Corporation as the tentative redevelopers of the proposed—old Highway 8 Redevelopment/Increment Tax Project on the -following conditions: a. the H.R.A. signinga Redevelopers Agreement with Brighton Development Corporation; b. Brighton Development providing additional information which would help assess c. the H.R.A.'s ability to acquire the redevelopment property on a voluntary basis; and d. the City Council's approval of proper zoning for the project after review and recommendation from the Planning Commission; Hennepin County; and School District #282. Motion carried unanimously. Mr. Krier reported he anticipated the acquisition of the Walbon property and the signing of the Redevelopment Agreement with Brighton could be finalized by the middle of February. He advised that the same surveyor the Walbons are using, because of a problem with boundary lines, would be retained by the H.R.A. When Commissioner Makowske raised some questions regarding the possibility of hazardous waste materials being left behind by the industries who now operate from the Walbon property, Mr. Childs told her it would be the responsibility of the • property owners to deliver the land all cleared of tanks, etc. Mr. Krier added that the Redevelopers Agreement would be written to hold the City not liable for any hazardous waste residuals in the soil. However, he said the soil borings would not necessarily detect any such wastes. Motion by Commissioner Ranallo and seconded by Secretary/Treasurer Marks to authorize the soil borings and topography map for the property which had been recommended by the Consultant. Motion carried unanimously. Motion by Vice Chair Enrooth and seconded by Secretary/Treasurer Marks to adjourn the St. Anthony Housing and Redevelopment Authority meeting at 9:25 P.M. Motion carried unanimously. Respectfully submitted, Helen Crowe, Secretary