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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2026.02.23 EDAM02/23/26 -1- MINUTES OF THE PROCEEDINGS OF THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY OF THE CITY OF BROOKLYN CENTER IN THE COUNTY OF HENNEPIN AND THE STATE OF MINNESOTA REGULAR SESSION FEBRUARY 23, 2026 CITY HALL – COUNCIL CHAMBERS 1. CALL TO ORDER The Brooklyn Center Economic Development Authority (EDA) met in Regular Session called to order by President April Graves at 7:40 p.m. 2. ROLL CALL President April Graves and Commissioners Dan Jerzak, Teneshia Kragness, Kris Lawrence- Anderson, and Laurie Ann Moore. Also present were Interim City Manager Daren Nyquist, Interim Community Development Director Jason Aarsvold, Planning Manager Ginny McIntosh, Economic Development Manager Ian Alexander, City Clerk Shannon Pettit, and City Attorney Siobhan Tolar. 3. APPROVAL OF AGENDA AND CONSENT AGENDA President Graves moved and Commissioner Jerzak seconded to approve the Agenda and Consent Agenda, and the following item was approved: 3a. APPROVAL OF MINUTES 1. March 24, 2025 2. December 1, 2025 3. January 12, 2026 3b. RESOLUTION APPROVING THE AWARD OF A GRANT UNDER THE MICRO-GRANT FAÇADE PROGRAM FOR MI TIENDITA SUPERMARKET LLC Motion passed unanimously. 4. COMMISSION CONSIDERATION ITEMS 4a. EDA UPDATE Mr. Nyquist introduced Interim Community Development Director Jason Aasrvold to give the EDA update. 02/23/26 -2- Mr. Aarsvold noted that, as discussed at the last meeting, his intent was to come ot the Council with a written update for development activities that are occurring in the City. He said there is a written memorandum in the packet that the Council could read through. He added that he would highlight a few things that have been happening with discussions around the Opportunity Site, including the addition of potential market-rate housing. He said there is also work occurring around several vacant lots that need to be filled around the City. He added that there is also work happening in the business community, specifically the Social Security project that is happening next to HOM furniture, which is in progress and should be open by spring. Ms. Aarsvold said future activities in 2026 have some initiatives listed right now, but he will come with a full and descriptive list of those efforts that he would like to undertake and make sure the Council concurs with them, and use that to guide the work of the EDA in 2026. He added that each month, he will try to pull the most relevant items and bring them to the Council. He said if there are questions, he is happy to answer those now during this time, and does not want to take up too much time in the meeting. Commissioner Lawrence-Anderson asked about the market-rate housing on the Opportunity Site, and would presume it is part of the 2040 Comprehensive Plan and that it would meld with that plan. Mr. Aarsvold said the simple answer is yes, there is a master plan approved for that whole area, but any projects that would come forward that are feasible would need to be consistent with all the plans that have been approved. Commissioner Jerzak asked about the two parcels on pages 25 and 27. He said perhaps Mr. Aarsvold has signed an NDA, and that is understandable, but he is assuming that those two parcels that are in initial discussion are not in the Opportunity Site. He asked Mr. Aarsvold if that was correct. Mr. Aarsvold said he does not have the page numbers, so he asked for clarity. Commissioner Jerzak said it was regarding the housing development updates. Mr. Aarsvold said that Commissioner Jerzak is correct. Commissioner Jerzak asked about the former CL and Homes development, which he thought at the time were going to be rentals, but it has never been clarified whether or not those will continue to be rentals or part of the development agreement. He asked if they shed the development agreement, and what their intentions are. He said he went to the CL and Homes website, and it stated there were two houses and five lots listed for sale for $2.6 million by Remax. He said he gets questions about what those houses are going to be. Mr. Aarsvold said those homes and lots are for sale, and they have gone through the process that needed to happen there, and they are being marketed for sale. He said the advice he got from legal was that the development agreement still needs to be dealt with. He added that the affordability restriction was removed from the property, but there is still a development agreement in favor of the EDA. He added that whoever might buy that property would need to come and deal with the development agreement with the EDA. He added that if there ever were a buyer and there were to be changes, those would be things that the Council would need to be apprised of and approve. Commissioner Jerzak asked if there was any EDA exposure, and if that is still connected with the parcel across from Culver's, or if that was peeled off separately. Mr. Aarsvold said as far as EDA exposure, there is none. The developers 02/23/26 -3- have obligations to do certain things on those properties, build infrastructure, and future things of that nature, and are still required to do that. He said he did not know the status of the north property that Commissioner Jerzak was referencing, and asked if Planning Manager Ginny McIntosh could provide some information regarding that. Ms. McIntosh said as of right now, they have only been focused on the south side, which is just south of Lancaster Commons. She said she has been working with the owner's representative, trying to get all of the paperwork done, and just filed a number of documents at Hennepin County, including the plat for the south site only, which is partially constructed. She added that the for- sale piece is trying to make as clean a deal as possible, and get agreements filed and finish out the common site improvements. She said this spring, the owner will wrap up landscaping, lighting, and any other outstanding items that are left. The owner is trying to make it so that a developer can come in and have five triplex pad sites left with initial connections, and it will just be a matter of building. She added that the two triplexes on the north end are effectively done, other than finishing their stairs and a few other small items. Ms. McIntosh continued that the north site did not file a plat because the City Council determined that they did not want to proceed at that point. She added that the current property owner, which is the lender, CCM Mf1, would need to go back to the drawing board, and as a result, is solely focused on selling the south site. She added that once the south site is sold, the owner will deal with the north site. She stated the owner has asked that the City Attorney begin working on the purchase and development agreement, because they are in default and need to split the north and south sites as they were combined under the agreement. She stated the reason the lots need to be split is so they can find a buyer who will know what they are getting into, and that they have to come before the EDA to renegotiate that agreement. Commissioner Jerzak said the reason he asked about the north site is that there was a tremendous amount of resistance by the neighborhood because Hennepin County will not grant access from the county road. He continued that on page 26 of 27, he asked about the plans for Resurrecting Faith daycare and a conference center at the Opportunity Site that included an apartment, and if that would have an affordability component. Mr. Aarsvold said those are unrelated items, and as of now, there is no plan for a housing affordability component, and the developer has left and will not be coming back. Mr. Aarsvold said that, as far as Resurrecting Faith was contemplated to be on its own parcel, but it would need to develop in conjunction with some other kind of housing, because there would need to be infrastructure brought into that site in order for that to be served. He added that until something happens that will allow infrastructure to be brought to that site, they are in limbo, and the City will have to vet out what will be around Resurrecting Faith to know what can be done. Commissioner Jerzak said the Senate Bonding Tour talked about the potential of getting money to finish that project, but if there is no infrastructure there, it probably is not going to work out. He asked about a billing permit issued for Fit Butters, and asked to explain what type of business that is. Ms. McIntosh said Fit Butters are nut butters that are enhanced with protein, and are fitness- inspired nut butters. She added that they have been distributing at Los Campionas Gym and had a partnership there, and have relocated to Brooklyn Center, but are based out of Minneapolis and 02/23/26 -4- are sharing space that they have outgrown. She added that their new space is 13,500 square feet, and they have been working to get it open, and had hoped they would be open sooner than they are, but that is what happens when dealing with state plumbing. Commissioner Jerzak stated that because CVS is privately owned, he frequently gets comments from constituents asking about who owns the property. He said the property is not owned by the City, but constituents think the City controls it. He said he is often asked if that location will become a Krispy Kreme or something else. He asked if Mr. Aarsvold could even disclose what possible intentions that property could be used for, or if it is strictly retail. Ms. McIntosh answered that currently, the CVS is actually a planned unit development, it is PUDC2, which is the City's old commercial zoning, which has been changed and was approved for a pharmaceutical retail use; however, the development agreement on file does not include any of the underlying C2 uses that were permitted previously under the old zoning code. She added that without any changes, it could become another retail space, or a restaurant, or anything that would be permitted in the C2 commercial district. She added that the location has options, and it is not as restrictive as some of the other PUDs in the City. She stated that there has been some interest in commercial or mixed- use, with discussions for a grocery and a restaurant space, but she is not sure where things stand, as she has not heard from that applicant in a while. She noted that there has also been interest from some cannabis retailers, too, but nothing has stuck yet. Commissioner Jerzak asked if either Ms. McIntosh or Mr. Aarsvold could give an update regarding the status of the Chamber of Commerce and what the City's role is, if any, on who oversees this. He said he understands this is private, and when he looked at the web page this morning, the Chamber of Commerce had 20 followers, but it has been very quiet. Economic Development Manager Ian Alexander responded that there has been a healthy discussion with the Chamber of Commerce, and he has assisted in recruiting new members of the Chamber and told those new members to contact the Council directly. Mr. Alexander said the Chamber took longer than he ever could have imagined, and he stated that this was due to the person attempting to set it up being a very busy individual. He said a number of people have been spearheading that project. Commissioner Kragness asked how one becomes a candidate for a possible Krispy Kreme, and said she was asking for a friend. Mr. Aarsvold said typically Krispy Kreme finds sites based on the location criteria, which is 100 percent demographic-based, with enough traffic and spending that is happening in that area. He said the City could reach out to the brokers that work with them and figure out what that criteria is, and figure out to what extent some sites in the area do or do not meet it, so if that is something that Commissioner Kragness would be interested in, he could find out that information. Commissioner Kragness said it would be worth a shot, especially with one of the comments during the Informal Open Forum about developing the City and bringing more people into the City to spend money, so reaching out to get the information would not hurt anything. She said she would be open to seeing what that information would look like. Mr. Aarsvold said he would reach out to Krispy Kreme. President Graves said most of her questions had been asked by Commissioner Jerzak already, but she was curious about the triplexes, as they are right across the street from her. She said if she is understanding correctly, whoever decides to purchase those has to purchase the other plots as well. 02/23/26 -5- Ms. McIntosh said those triplexes are PUD developments, so for the south side, which is closest to President Graves, that is partially under construction, would be sold as one development. Ms. McIntosh continued that there are seven lots there, and each of the buildings is on its own lot, but they have shared access, parking, trash, lighting, landscaping, and storm water. She said the intent is to sell to one developer who can have residents move into each of the two triplex buildings and get some income flowing, because each triplex building is three units each, and each unit is 1,200 square feet, three bedrooms, two baths. She added that the former developer was not able to get anyone into those buildings because there were questions about access and the stormwater, and the developer was trying to construct five additional buildings, so no one wanted to live on an active construction site. She stated that now that the work has been completed on Brooklyn Boulevard, which removes a big hurdle, and the parking lot is in, it should make it easier to generate some income, and then hopefully the remaining five units could be developed. President Graves said the list prices are for seven lots. Ms. McIntosh responded that the list price is for the entire site; there were supposed to be seven triplexes, and two are essentially done. President Graves said she was just curious because if she is trying to pitch the property to somebody, she wants to give out the right information. President Graves thanked all of the City Staff for their presentation and hard work. She added that at the Northwest Tourism meeting, she talked to several folks from Brooklyn Park about the economic and community development that they are doing. She noted that staff there are continuing to work across jurisdictional boundaries to make sure that they are lifting up advisory- type bodies of businesses to make sure that everyone is thoroughly engaged with Brooklyn Center businesses, and they have been having good success doing that in Brooklyn Park. She said it may have been off to a slow start, but she was happy to hear that things are picking up and working more intentionally around coordination and collaboration across the cities. Commissioner Jerzak said this EDA plan is very helpful, and he appreciates the effort going into it because it allows the Council to answer and get accurate information. He said the City Staff are the experts, and he was recently asked if the CVS could be turned into a cannabis dispensary, but he would not know that type of information, so he appreciates these EDA updates. Commissioner Moore thanked City Staff for this update, as this is something Commissioners have been asking for a few years, as the City has continued to see businesses exit and very large parcels of vacant land are scattered throughout the City. She noted that the Staff was able to do this update pretty efficiently in a meeting, and although the Council gets a weekly update, she appreciates what has been presented during a Council meeting so residents can go back and watch it if they so choose. 4. ADJOURNMENT President Graves moved, and Commissioner Kragness seconded the adjournment of the Economic Development Authority meeting at 8:02 p.m. Motion passed unanimously.