Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout2026.04.27 EDAM04/27/26 -1- DRAFT 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 APRIL 27, 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 7:43 p.m. 2. ROLL CALL President April Graves and Commissioners Dan Jerzak, Teneshia Kragness, and Laurie Ann Moore. Also present were Deputy City Manager Daren Nyquist, Planning Manager Ginny McIntosh, City Clerk Shannon Pettit, and City Attorney Siobhan Tolar. Commissioner Kris Lawrence-Anderson was absent and excused. 3. APPROVAL OF AGENDA AND CONSENT AGENDA Commissioner Moore moved and President Graves seconded to approve the Agenda and Consent Agenda, as amended, and the following item was approved: 3a. APPROVAL OF MINUTES 1. March 23, 2026 – Regular Session Motion passed unanimously. 4. COMMISSION CONSIDERATION ITEMS 4a. PROPOSAL: SCOOTER’S COFFEE (6245 BROOKLYN BOULEVARD) Planning Manager Ginny McIntosh explained that there is a concept review for a Scooter's Coffee located at 6245 Brooklyn Boulevard at an EDA-owned property. The property is quite small at 0.36 acres and has a triple frontage off of 63rd and Brooklyn Boulevard, and is zoned as a neighborhood mixed-use. The property is currently vacant to the west of the ETA, probably is. The former use on that property was an automotive and a service station use. The neighboring land uses include a commercial strip mall to the south, multi-family residential townhouses to the 04/27/26 -2- DRAFT west, and the West Fire Station to the east. She added that this is a very small commercial property and is basically an oversized R1 or residential lot. Ms. McIntosh explained that the property has great visibility with three frontages and is situated at a signalized intersection. Drive-thru eating establishments are a conditional use in the MX-N2 district. The EDA purchased these two properties for $280,000 in 2013, and they were purchased as vacant property. The former autorotative use had underground tanks that were removed, and cleanup was completed in 1991. There is an MPCA letter on file that indicates adequate cleanup of the petroleum release. The property was acquired by the former owner in 1993 for the same price, and when it was purchased by the EDA in 2013 that was the justification and the resolution as part of the acquisition of this property it facilitated some improvements along Brooklyn Boulevard including the installation of a new right turn lane on 63rd Avenue North, a new sidewalk, new trail, and a new bus stop also on 63rd. The median land value of neighboring properties is between $8 to $10 per square foot, or $108,000 or $135,000 for a similar-sized property. City Staff also had some CoStar recent sales data pulled with Ehlers just to review for comparables. The Hennepin County Assessor's Office did prove a 2025 payable, 2026 valuation of $133,000 for the property, and the offer amount at this time, with the letter of intent, was for $150,000 for the property or approximately $10.20 per square foot. There is a 90-day due diligence to study the site, with three optimal 30-day extensions for the concept. She added that City Staff did work with a broker on numerous fit plans. The Scooter's Coffee location would operate similarly to a Caribou Cabin or a Starbucks drive-thru, with no seating for customers inside the building. There would be a walk-up window with an outdoor patio, a drive-thru with queuing for eight vehicles, and a private curb cut access off Ewing Avenue North. She noted that there were discussions around consolidating access with the strip mall, but it did not work in the end, as there was a need for the parking. Ms. McIntosh asked if there were any concerns regarding the concept layout that the Developer/Buyer should take into consideration. She asked if the EDA is amenable to the concept and project, and the City Attorney would draft a Purchase and Development Agreement to be brought forward at a later date. In order to process, the Developer/Buyer would need to submit a Planning Commission application and receive City Council approval for proposed development and a conditional use permit at a minimum, in order to proceed to a closing. Ms. McIntosh noted that the representation for Scooter's, as well as the broker, is in the audience and online for any questions. Commissioner Jerzak noted he absolutely supports this project, and utilization of this lot has minimal uses, and it has been mowed and maintained by the City for years. He noted his only concern was the apartments on Ewing Avenue, as there is not a lot of parking there, so if there is snow and there is no parking on both sides of the street, making a right or left turn there might be difficult in the winter. He added that it is his only concern, and he wanted to bring it to everyone's attention as it is not a problem that can be overcome. Commissioner Moore asked Ms. McIntosh to clarify the issue with going south into the parking lot. Ms. McIntosh stated that Engineers and Planners are always looking to consolidate curb cuts, 04/27/26 -3- DRAFT and if it can be avoided, they are going to avoid it. One of the big goals was to consolidate all these curb cuts so that people are not slamming on their brakes, rear-ending people, and creating additional safety hazards. Initially, there was a conversation about sharing access on the north curb cut on Ewing that is owned by the strip mall, to save space for that EDA site and have access shared, but ultimately that was not a path forward as the strip mall would lose some parking spaces, and needs the parking and did not want to give it up. This is why City Staff then started to look at the location having private access on their own property. If the strip mall had agreed to shared access, there would have been some kind of shared access agreement negotiation between the two parties in order to have it. President Graves asked to know a little bit more about Scooter’s Coffee and if they have tea, food, or if it is strictly coffee. Ms. McIntosh noted that there is representation online, and both Stephanie and Marissa with Scooters coffee are available if they would like to speak. Ms. McIntosh stated that she would unmute both Stephanie and Marissa if either wanted to speak about the products that Scooter's Coffee has. Ms. Tracy noted she is on the real estate team for Scooter's Coffee, based out of Omaha, Nebraska. She stated that Scooter's Coffee is open 5:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. and sells coffee, espresso-based beverages, smoothies, teas, Red Bull infusions, pastry items, breakfast danishes, and afternoon food offerings. President Graves thanked Ms. Tracy for the information, because she does not drink coffee and was hoping there would be other options. Ms. Tracy noted there are a lot of options for non-coffee drinkers, including smoothies and milkshakes that are phenomenal. President Graves asked how many Scooter locations are in Metro Minneapolis. Ms. Tracy stated there are eight at this time, and there are 912 locations nationwide across 32 states. Commissioner Moore moved and President Graves seconded to have the City Attorney prepare a Purchase and Development Agreement and schedule a Public Hearing regarding the sale of the Subject Property located at 6245 Brooklyn Boulevard. Motion passed unanimously. 5. COMMISSION DISCUSSION ITEMS 5a. ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT UPDATE Ms. McIntosh noted that she would give a quick update, as there is nothing major to update at this time. The former Brown College site at 5951 Earle Brown Drive was under discussion around a 04/27/26 -4- DRAFT proposed market-rate development that would consist of two, five to six-story multi-family buildings that would be adjacent to the former Target site that the City owns, and at least 20 modern townhouses. There was interest from a developer, and while this is a privately owned site, there are some adjacencies with the EDA on the property. So there is some interest coming to the May EDA meeting to discuss their plans with the EDA, but nothing is for sure at this time. Ms. McIntosh noted there have also been discussions around 6200 and 6300 Shingle Creek Parkway, which are the two large indestructible concrete buildings across from Shingle Creek Parkway, just north of the former Target site, that have largely sat vacant for quite a while. Those buildings were constructed in the 1980's by Ryan Companies, and there has been a general struggle to get tenants in those buildings, specifically the north building. There is a developer interested, however, in converting these buildings into housing, and City Staff has been waiting for a formal application and some documentation, while monitoring the financial aspect of converting those properties. Ms. McIntosh added that City Staff have had additional meetings with Pastor Lewis of Resurrecting Faith World Ministries, who was one of the proposed developers for phase one of the Opportunity Site. There were specific discussions around the ability to locate within the 6200 or the 6300 building on the ground floor, so this would be a mixed-use project if that were to occur. Ms. McIntosh continued that Tommy McNiel of the Flame development has been in ongoing discussions around moving forward on the development agreement for a portion of the site at 57th and Logan. Ms. McIntosh explained that both she and Economic Development Manager Ian Alexander have been in discussions with two geothermal groups for district energy that include Cordia and Centerpoint, and there has been some progress with one of them. She added that she and Mr. Alexander are not allowed to disclose more at this time, but will let the EDA know more when they can. Ms. McIntosh noted that City staff have been having discussions with Health Partners regarding the possibility of consolidating the Healthcare dental clinic and Urgent Care facilities in Brooklyn Center on the opportunity site. Their current dental clinic, which is off of John Martin Drive, is in a quirky location with a perpetual easement agreement on the City's EDA-owned property for parking because they cannot fit their own parking and need more space. The Brookdale Clinic property is under a trust and is not owned by Health Partners, so there has been discussion around consolidating those two operations into one location and keeping it in Brooklyn Center. President Graves asked if the Dental Clinic would merge with the clinic by the Post Office. Ms. McIntosh stated the clinics will remain separate. Ms. McIntosh added that the Brooklyn Center Chamber of Commerce has been meeting with Staff about holding their first event here in the summertime on the former Target site, so there will be more to come on that. She noted that some quick updates for new businesses were summarized in the EDA update, but those include a new honey wine business, which is an Ethiopian honey wine 04/27/26 -5- DRAFT that is operating out of a space off of Shingle Creek Parkway. Another new business is Favorite Creation Bridal, located in Shingle Creek Center, which provides multicultural bridal and event services, as well as retail space. The other business, as the Council knows, is Fit Butters, which had a grand opening and ribbon-cutting ceremony. Ms. McIntosh noted some recent construction and developments include Brookdale Luther Honda, which is underway and expanding its dealership by an additional 2,200 square feet to add a six- service bay. The valuation of the work is a $1 million. She added that she wanted to provide some clarification, as there were some discussions with Commissioner Jerzak, and when she states the valuation of any project, that does not mean the City is receiving $1 million; that amount is used to determine a permit calculation. With this particular project, the $1 million valuation equates to $10,000 in permit revenue on the building permit alone. Typically, if the builder is doing a full- scale edition or a building, they are also looking at electrical permits, plumbing permits, mechanical permits, fire permits, and other additional permits that all generate revenue, and the value of the building itself goes up eventually. When the City calculates the building permit fees, the amount the City keeps is going to be the building permit fee and the plan review fee, or the commercial plan review fee. There is also a potential stack charge, which comes from the Metropolitan Council, and requires the City to collect it on their behalf for sewer access. If the City turns in that charge on time, the City gets one percent of whatever the value was on that charge. Ms. McIntosh continued that the Staff recently had a pre-construction meeting for 5831 Brooklyn Boulevard for the dental clinic that requested a 780 square foot expansion last year and interior and exterior remodel work to the whole building. The dental clinic in question is hoping to start construction in the second week of May and finish by the end of September, with an estimated valuation of $500,000. Ms. McIntosh added that 5930 Earle Brown Drive is the Hmong Shopping Center that was recently acquired by Benderson and is the former Slumberland and Kmart site. As it stands now, the owner would keep Dollar Tree as a tenant for the time being and is currently looking to remodel the space directly adjacent to the Dollar Tree space. She added that this is a phased project, and the owners are still working through what to do with the rest of the building, as it is 115,000 square feet. More meetings will follow as discussions continue with City Staff and the owners to figure out what to do with the rest of the property. At this time, for the grocery store space that is being remodeled, there is planned interior renovation work, concrete and paint work, and bathroom additions totaling a $4.2 million valuation project, and possibly a $31,000 permit for the City. Ms. McIntosh stated the last and final construction project is at 3900 Lake Breeze Avenue North, which is the Caribou Coffee Headquarters, and they are looking to undertake a $1.5 million interior build-out of their first and second floors, specifically their reception and break areas, open and private offices, and meeting rooms. A few years ago, this same building underwent other renovations, so they are continuing to invest in their building at this location. 04/27/26 -6- DRAFT Ms. McIntosh added that EDA Staff continue to work with funding partners on various grants to help pay for development costs in the City. The EDA has historically had a good track record on getting grants, and that is something the Department will continue to go after. President Graves thanked Ms. McIntosh for the update, and it is good to see some momentum building in the City. Commissioner Jerzak added so people understand that the building fees are shared with the state, and they get their cut for plumbing and such too, so they are not just gross numbers to us, but there are definite values, and that is the reason he asked for clarity. He noted he is very appreciative of these recaps, and knows at one point there were three different proposals and discussion of not only grocery stores but also relocating Restaurant Depot and adding other grocery stores like Sun Foods, Empire, and a number of things like that and it is not for the City to do that, but it becomes a question of capacity in a phased project like this. He asked about the property at Lake Breeze because, at one point, Caribou Coffee had indicated they were going to Maple Grove and leasing 100,000 square feet. He asked if that deal fell through. Ms. McIntosh stated that the deal did not fall through, and Caribou Coffee is leasing that additional space in Maple Grove for warehousing. Commissioner Jerzak stated that the City ran into the perpetual easement issue like the one with the dental clinic, when a business was renting a space to park cars and stuff in there, but there still needs to be some infrastructure there. He asked if that plan could be accommodated without the easement. Ms. McIntosh stated she would have to check with Mr. Alexander, but the Opportunity Site is not limited to one location, and different locations could be looked at. Commissioner Jerzak stated that was all he wanted to know, and that other considerations could be made. He added that these updates are very helpful. President Graves agreed, and it is important for community members to know what is happening and how people are investing in the City. 6. ADJOURNMENT President Graves moved and Commissioner Jerzak seconded the adjournment of the Economic Development Authority meeting at 9:12 p.m. Motion passed unanimously.