Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutCity Council - 06/18/2019 - Workshop APPROVED MINUTES CITY COUNCIL WORKSHOP & OPEN PODIUM TUESDAY,JUNE 18, 2019 CITY CENTER 5:00—6:25 PM, HERITAGE ROOMS 6:30—7:00 PM, COUNCIL CHAMBER CITY COUNCIL: Mayor Ron Case, Council Members Brad Aho, Kathy Nelson, Mark Freiberg, and PG Narayanan CITY STAFF: City Manager Rick Getschow, Police Chief Greg Weber, Fire Chief Scott Gerber, Public Works Director Robert Ellis, Community Development Director Janet Jeremiah, Parks and Recreation Director Jay Lotthammer, Administrative Services/HR Director Alecia Rose, Communications Manager Joyce Lorenz, City Attorney Maggie Neuville, and Recorder Katie O'Connor Workshop - Heritage Rooms I and H(5:30) I. ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT UPDATE Economic Development Manager Lindahl provided an economic update on the Strategic Plan, City leases, infrastructure projects,high profile building vacancies, Southwest Light Rail Transit (SWLRT) business communications, workforce initiatives, and special economic development events. The current Strategic Plan was approved for 2017 to 2020 and addresses key projects and initiatives. The recent Strategic Plan included incorporating a distillery and brewery in Eden Prairie. In order to move forward with this, liquor ordinance revisions took place in 2016 and 2017. Flying Dutchman Distillery received a Moving the Market grant from Hennepin County to help offset some of the startup costs. Fat Pants Brewery will be opening in the former Panino Brothers building in fall of 2019. Lindahl stated co-work and collaborative office space has been a priority in the Strategic Plan. It has proved difficult to attract developers for this purpose, specifically in the suburbs. The City issued a request for proposal (RFP) for a vertically integrated use on a MnDOT property, and there was no market interest for the concept at the specific location. Council Member Aho inquired if Staff are aware of why there was no interest. Lindahl replied many felt it was too far from the active areas of Eden Prairie. Council Member Narayanan inquired how large the MnDOT property is. Lindahl replied about four acres. Lindahl stated the type of co-work concept that could be successful in Eden Prairie is half private offices and half shared open space, similar to The Reserve in Edina. Mayor Case inquired about a similar co-work location in Hopkins off Main Street and if there are known municipal partnerships with co-work locations. Lindahl was not familiar with the Hopkins location or municipalities who financially partner with these locations. Lindahl stated the first Transit Oriented Development(TOD) and vertically integrated Mixed Use redevelopment was Elevate. Elevate's anchor tenant is Brick and Bourbon, opening at the end of 2019. Another TOD project is the Hampton Inn in the town center area. The City Council Workshop Minutes June 18, 2019 Page 2 project has proved challenging because of watershed related issues. The initial approved project was too expensive to build, so plans were altered. With the six stories, there will be move visibility than the previous uses. Lindahl stated there are two potential TOD and Mixed Use Redevelopment sites near the golden triangle station area. The previous Supervalu site and West 70t" Street extension would likely be redeveloped with SWLRT. Liberty Property would like to sell their properties together. Staff have been fielding calls about these properties already. Nelson inquired if this would be an ideal location for a tall apartment or condo complex. Jeremiah noted the TOD zoning requirements allow for this. Lindahl stated currently there are many office buildings in the location,but one project could lead the redevelopment of the area. Lindahl stated there is potential for redevelopment in the town center station area. This is dependent on whether or not current businesses decide to stay. In regards to Eden Prairie Mall, in 2016 mall owners purchased Sears and began redevelopment. Initial conversations were had about housing and a hotel off the perimeter. Ideally these uses would be physically attached to the mall. Scheels reached out to Eden Prairie Mall to show their interest in the site and began developing. Nelson noted hotels next to and physically attached to malls are doing well. Narayanan inquired how many staff Scheels is projected to employ. Klima responded about 150 full time and 150 part time employees. Lindahl added the location is set to open in the fall of 2020. Lindahl stated with malls being affected by online retail, there is a need to diversify their uses with housing and entertainment. Ridgedale has incorporated I-Fly as entertainment and is looking at creating a small City park. Aho inquired if Eden Prairie Mall owns the JCPenney location. Lindahl noted JCPenney leases the space. Nelson added there may need to be some updates to restaurants as well in the future. Lindahl stated initial conversations with the owners of Winter Park discussed a full-service hotel. The owners considered housing options, and the housing development initially proposed was low density, mid-rise apartments. They decided to temporarily lease the space for three years to Lifetime Fitness. Long term there is still potential for a hotel or housing development, and discussions will likely continue in the next year or two. Nelson added the Council would have more interest in something larger on this site. Lindahl stated the City is in discussions with the SWLRT project office about deeding their property at the Eden Prairie convenience center site at Eden Road. The site, near SWLRT, could possibly include entry signage, a public plaza, and trail enhancements. Jeremiah added it is still uncertain how much property the City could acquire. Therefore, it is still uncertain what the exact use would be for the location. Lindahl provided leasing updates for City-owned buildings. At the Den Road liquor building, Chuck and Don's signed a ten year lease and recently opened. Lotus Nails, also at the Den Road liquor building, has a ten year lease through June 2024. The Eden Prairie Montessori School has a five year lease through June 2022. This property, acquired during the 2008 expansion of Singletree, has potential to be assembled for a larger redevelopment in the future. Supervalu, now UNFI,has leased a portion of the City Center building through June 2022. Staff, along with Mayor Case and Council Member Aho, will be meeting with their City Council Workshop Minutes June 18, 2019 Page 3 CEO tomorrow. The Eden Prairie School District's lease at the City Center is through May 2024,but they are likely to move out prior to the end of their lease. Legally they are obligated to pay rent through the remainder of their lease,but a seamless transition with another tenant could be considered. Smith Coffee and Cafe is leased through December 2027 at the Historic Smith Douglas More Home. Nelson inquired if they are now making a profit. Lindahl replied they have been doing well in their space and have been considering expanding their kitchen in the future. They have found a solution to make improvements to cold storage and to expand their business. Case stated if the City could pay the initial costs of the kitchen expansion, the difference could be recouped through their lease. Aho noted they could utilize cold storage outside the building and screen it. Lindahl added screening would prove difficult with the architecture of the building. Lindahl provided an overview of economic development assisted infrastructure projects. Singletree streetscape has been a collaborative effort with public works. This has included proactive property and business owner outreach and communication. Freiberg inquired about the outcome of Jake's City Grille. Lindahl stated if there isn't a liquor license submitted in the upcoming months, the City will likely see a different business occupy the space. Lindahl stated the City received a grant from Hennepin County to help with the West 70t" Street extension connecting the golden triangle SWLRT location. The project included trails and a bike path. The City also received a Hennepin County TOD grant to make a pedestrian connection from Singletree to the Town Center Station. The exact path is still being determined, but the project is anticipated to be completed by 2021. Narayanan inquired if the tall antennae on the water tower near the Bowlero location is new. Ellis responded there is a railing on top of the water tower with four poles but no antennae. Lindahl provided an update on high profile vacancies. A proposal has been submitted for building changes to subdivide the former Sports Authority space. There is a potential new tenant to fill one of the two retail spaces. The two Burger King locations were part of a nine- store franchise bankruptcy. The Burger King Corporation owns the properties and leases it to their franchisees. They have a potential franchise owner to take over the Eden Prairie properties,but they need to do a lot of renovations and landscaping in order to reopen. Due to lack of maintenance from the Burger King Corporation, the City has been maintaining the grass and assessing the property. There is no firm date on the reopen. Lindahl stated there have been many meetings with Redstone about the changes with SWLRT construction. Redstone is losing an access point and potentially losing 12 to 20 parking spots. The City anticipates opening up on-street parking off Eden Road, and there is potential for parking at the Eden Prairie convenience center site and valet parking. Freiberg stated it isn't too far of a walk across the street for parking. Nelson noted lack of close parking could inconvenience customers enough to go elsewhere. Lindahl stated there have been numerous meetings with Southwest Station retail owners, Southwest Transit staff, and Evine Live about SWLRT construction and how to best accommodate the businesses. The City has also been involved in workforce initiatives. The Eden Prairie Chambers, in collaboration with the City and Eden Prairie School District, hosts an Annual Career Expo at Eden Prairie High School. The City is also involved in the Career and Technical Education (CTE) Advisory Committee and District Business Round Table. City Council Workshop Minutes June 18, 2019 Page 4 Additionally, the City hosts special events such as the Realtor's Forum, the Business Survey Presentation and Reception, and meet and greets with local businesses. Case noted in May he attended the Kauffman Mayors Conference on Entrepreneurship. The Mayors each selected a focus for entrepreneurship. He selected addressing how to apply for federal grants and to work with the Economic Development Administration (EDA) to benefit entrepreneurship. He would like to see the City build its economic system environment so it is conducive to entrepreneurship startups. He suggested a needs assessment could be conducted by the City and Eden Prairie Chambers for entrepreneurs currently in the City and those who would like to be. Once the need has been determined, various stakeholders could review the problem and suggest solutions. The vacancy the School District would leave at the City Center could provide an opportunity for an economic development center. Open Podium - Council Chamber (6:30) II. OPEN PODIUM Steve Stuckel, 8908 Flesher Circle, stated the Community Drop-Off Day was a bad experience. He spent a lot of time in long lines just to be turned away by 2 p.m. His suggestions would be to consider solutions such as multiple days, longer hours, a larger site, or more staff for the event. Case stated Staff are reviewing options to make the experience better. Getschow added last year and this year the amount of materials dropped off has increased,but Staff are reviewing solutions. III. ADJOURNMENT