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| Marketplace plan at Northland Mall gets green light |
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| Wednesday, 14 May 2008 | |
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Jennifer Larson Staff Writer The development of Marketplace was given the green light by the Forest Lake City Council. The council unanimously approved the final plans for changes to Northland Mall during its regular meeting on Monday. They granted approval of the Marketplace 1st Addition Final Plat and Planned United Development, as well as the final site plan for Pace Development. Some site work will begin as early as next month. Keith Johanneson, of Pace Development, said in an interview on Tuesday, that they will close on the property in June. After receiving the council’s approval, he said Pace Development will accept bids from subcontractors to undertake work to the parking lot, utilities, entrance and exits, lighting, sidewalks, drive lanes and signage. Significant soil correction and storm-water infrastructure improvement will include a new holding pond and infiltration through a large rain-garden area. “The amount of work that’s got to be done there is enormous,” Johanneson said, referring to drainage. He said construction of the first building, which is a multi-tenant one adjacent to Winnicks, will start late this year. Upon its completion, tenants of the Northland Mall will be relocated to that building, he said. The remodel of the mall will commence early in 2009. The development of Marketplace, 1432 S. Lake St., is a major undertaking with construction of two freestanding 8000 square foot buildings, one on the northern border of the property and one of the east side, next to US-61. Two additional building pads will be available on the eastern border to be sold or leased by Pace and developed by others. The north end of the mall that once housed Johnson’s Super Valu, will be remodeled and utilized for two Johanneson-owned businesses, the Hungry Bear Buffet and Marketplace Liquor, an off-sale liquor store. The center area of the mall will be razed as the new home for Marketplace Foods, which will relocate from its current location at 935 S. Lake St. Some 90,000 square feet are involved with the three businesses. Councilwoman Susan Young asked if the existing tenants would be able to stay as she understands that is not the case in the old mall. “It’s our intent to keep as many as possible,” Johanneson said. He noted that The Dance Factory and Anytime Fitness have long-term leases. Johanneson said the site will be beautified substantially with landscaping, including 150 trees and 1000 shrubs. A traffic study recommends improvements including a new traffic signal on US-61 and additional turn lanes. That study is still under review by MNDOT and the city. They also agreed to provide a trail easement to be dedicated to the city for a trail along US-61 in the future. Pace requested several PUD flexibilities such as the building setbacks, parking areas and signage. City Community Development Director Doug Borglund highlighted the PUD flexibilities. Those are: •Allow proposed building to be constructed at 30 feet from US-61 right-of-way or eastern property line instead of the required 40 foot setback. The developers had requested the setback be at 25 feet previously. •Eliminate all building setbacks for the internal proportions of the development on all lots. Setbacks shall only apply to the perimeter of the property as a whole or external lot lines. Borglund said the right-of-way will be very wide, with the property line 82.5 feet from the US-61 pavement. •9 feet by 18 feet stall dimension throughout the site for head-in parking where a landscape area is not present to allow a 2-foot overhang. •9 feet by 16 feet stall dimension throughout the site for head-in parking where a 2-foot landscape area is present that will allow for the overhang. •Construct two development identification signs and two multi-tenant commercial monument signs that meet the zoning ordinance requirements. Social Bookmarking ...       |
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