Cliff Buchan
News EditorAs city officials have gone about planning a community center, it has long been thought that development of adjacent city-owned land would stimulate the project.
After a report Monday from the cityís selected developer, the potential bounce from the adjacent development is wildly exceeding the expectations. And the plans could well be a new and badly needed spark for the community center.
Len Pratt, president of Pratt Homes, Vadnais Heights, outlined plans for a neighborhood housing complex on nearly 600 acres south of 202nd St. and west of the community center site. The plan would utilize 80 acres of city land earmarked for private development plus other properties to the west, including Taylor Farms land.
As many as 1600 housing units would be constructed over a five to eight year project schedule, Pratt said during the work session of council.
Pratt and project architect Thomas Kopf of DTJ Design, Boulder, CO, stressed the project would be far from a straightforward housing development and more the creation of a planned neighborhood that would be a centerpiece for the cityís prime growth area.
In previewing the plan, Pratt said he would pledge to listen and learn from the community, treat change with respect and keep the end product in mind.
The development would incorporate a parkway running from east to west starting at the community center and ending on the western border of the development area. It would be tied to existing housing and future developments to the north and south.
Kopf said the project design would place a premium value on existing wetlands and trees and incorporate natural drainage into the plan.
Pratt said the development would be his latest major housing project in the northeast metro area. Pratt said he got his start in Forest Lake 34 years ago and has a family history that has roots more than a half century old in this area.
ìI know your city. I know your township,î Pratt said Monday.
Community Center
The Pratt plan may be the shot of energy needed to spark the community center.
Under the proposal presented Monday, the Pratt development group suggested a major change in how the community center plan unfolds. Rather than incorporate all community center amenities on the center site that borders on US-61, the proposal would relocate some of the components throughout the housing development site.
Such a move, the developers said, would provide a greater sense of community to the entire neighborhood. On its eastern border, the community center site would continue as the heart of the development.
The main community center and ice arena would still find homes on the site along with Washington Countyís north service center, library and transit center. A small retail area could also be planned as an additional area benefit, developers said.
Amenities such as softball, baseball and soccer fields could be built to the west. They would provide valuable benefit to the neighborhood concept while maintaining the integrity of the nearby community center project, planners said.
Bakke elated
The prospect of the Pratt integrated plan and its impact on the community center was received with enthusiasm by Alan Bakke, co-chair of the Forest Lake Regional Community Center Task Force.
ìIím pumped,î Bakke said after hearing the report. He described the proposal as ìexcitingî and said it amounted to a ìquantum leapî of progress for the community center.
Bakke said the prospects outlined by the Pratt group would give community center planners a new way to approach the project. ìWe were thinking of the 160 acres (community center site) as one piece, one parcel,î Bakke said.
The redesign could translate into significant cost savings to the community center project, Bakke theorized. The once thought city bond referendum of $15 million for the community center could be dramatically reduced, he said.
ìThat bond issue could be for a whole lot less,î Bakke said.
The process
The council Monday voted 4-0 with one member abstaining to approve the action plan and authorize staff and committees to move forward with Prattís group on additional planning steps.
Pratt Homes was one of 24 developers that responded to a city request for proposals nearly a year ago for development of city-owned land adjacent to the community center site. A city committee that reviewed proposals narrowed the initial list to five and finally agreed on three firms as finalists.
Doug Borglund, community development director, said Prattís firm best fit the desires for the Forest Lake project. The selection was made, he said, after a comprehensive review of the firm and an examination of the companyís work in other communities.
He said the Pratt firm has established a solid reputation for its execution of housing plans. Borglund said Pratt was a good choice for a long term relationship with the city.
The key, however, is for the city to agree to the concept offered by Pratt. ìDo you buy into the integrated plan?î Borglund asked.
He said city officials were convinced the Pratt group had the passion and a strong interest in Forest Lake to do the project right. ìThey really wanted this project and wanted to be here,î Borglund said.
In its original planning process for the city-owned 80 acres, the successful developer would be asked to complete community center site grading as a contingent of the land deal.
That would be just one benefit to the city. The city would also receive a monetary gain from parkland dedication fees paid by the developer plus a sizeable increase in tax base. With a development that is now targeting just under 600 acres, the market value increase is far greater than at first envisioned.
A purchase price for the city-owned land has not been finalized.
Councilman Rick Ashbach said he was ìvery impressedî with the proposal and agreed the planning should continue. He said the proposal shed ìnew lightî on the community center and its future.
He joined with Mayor Ray Daninger and council members Tom Lynch and Bruce Carlson in the 4-0 vote to continue the planning process with the Pratt group.
Council member Susan Young abstained. She said she was not comfortable taking action on the cityís first look at the plan.
A financial analysis of the plan and a formal development agreement with Pratt are two of the big jobs that must be completed before the city can take action on a formal concept plan.
Borglund said the major development falls in the southern area of the cityís metro urban service area for sewer capacity.
Because the city is making inroads in its plan to reduce water infiltration rates in the metro sewer lines, Borglund said metro officials are increasing the number of sewer connections the city will be allowed.
He said the Pratt development should be doable with the new capacity rates and the fact it wouldnít start major building until 2006. Other existing and future developments in Forest Lake should have the sewer and water capacity that they need, as well, he added.
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