Workshop Item - Erik Thorvig, Community Development Director
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Blaine Town Square Property Future Use
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Background
The Blaine Town Square area planning began around 2000 when land was acquired for the current city hall site and other commercial and residential development along Radisson Road and 109th Avenue. The land was initially purchased by the Blaine Economic Development Authority (EDA). Various parcels were sold to private developers and any remaining vacant land has been transferred to the City of Blaine. The last property sale occurred in 2019 when the city sold land for the Synergy Center. Through the various property transactions, the Blaine EDA was made whole on the initial purchase costs.
The city owns 5.66 acres south of Town Square Drive, adjacent to City Hall. In 2016, this land was identified as the preferred community center site which failed via voter referendum. Since then, the city has been holding the land. The land was discussed during the 105th Avenue redevelopment area visioning discussion but no decisions were made regarding the future of the property. Recently there has been interest from multiple development groups along with a desire by the SBM Fire Department to have the city consider holding the land for a future fire station.
SBM Fire Department Interest
SBM Fire currently has five stations serving the three cities. Discussions began several years ago to identify a site for a sixth station to serve the northeast area of Blaine. Negotiations for a site purchase were paused this summer after leadership changes within the organization and a potential shift in operations of the department that would change the potential location of a new station. The following is a summary provided by Safety Services Director/Police Chief Brian Podany and Interim Fire Chief Dan Retka.
• There is a strong likelihood SBM will go to a duty crew model in the future with 1 or 2 larger stations in the district that are staffed vs. having volunteers having to drive to the station and then respond.
• The Town Square parcel is very centrally located with prime access in the geographic center of Blaine.
• The land is already city owned and an ideal size for a larger FD. The structure/FD could/would integrate as part of a larger ‘civic complex’ with specialty space, additional (larger) meeting rooms, etc. such as we use SBM Station 3 for now.
• We are in dire need of additional parking (preferably covered such as a ramp or indoor). Various city departments have vehicle stored offsite at other locations around the city. For instance, the PD stores multiple vehicles/equipment at the water treatment plant, the old fire station on Paul Parkway, etc. Ideally the PD would take over the current cold garage (and update it with minimal heating, etc.) as well as the specialty heated fire garage (‘station 5’). The FD would house trucks for the City Hall responders to respond out of, who are already on the South side of City Hall now. If possible, a skyway/connector could be built to make this a true city complex. We have our daytime responders (12) who respond from city hall currently. It this station is not adjacent; this creates response challenges (related to parking/vehicle storage challenges).
• We could have additional purpose-built space at the FD that could integrate with Tom Ryan Park steered towards community events and child related activities such as Safety Camp, a ‘Safety Town’, etc. This would merge well with the existing Tom Ryan Park facilities.
• This station, in addition to being centrally located, is also in close proximity to the airport, Highway 65, and I-35W, three locations with high-risk call load for rescue/fire.
• This proximity to SBMFD would strengthen/enhance the already collaborative relationship we have, solidifying this for the future.
Private Developer Interest
The city was recently approached by two separate developers interested in the property. The first developer is a major real estate development company in the United States interested in developing the property for medical clinic/office use. They are aware of the city’s potential need for a fire station and indicated willingness to partner with the city to accomplish mutual benefit. With that said, staff isn’t confident the site could accommodate both uses given the site size requirements for both users.
The other developer is new to Blaine however has experience in multi-family development in Minnesota and Arizona. This group is interested in constructing a multi-family building and partnering with various commercial/restaurant tenants for first floor space. City staff have met with this developer several times and they have the potential to bring new excitement and creativity to the design and development process that Blaine hasn’t experienced before.
Discussions with both development groups have been very preliminary and further due diligence on site needs, FAA regulations, development costs, market analysis, etc., would need to occur prior to any formal proposals coming to the city.
Staff Recommendation
Staff is seeking direction from the City Council whether to hold the land to allow for future fire station/operations discussions to occur, or instead, market the property for private development. If the latter is chosen and there are multiple developer interests, it’s likely each developer would need to make a proposal to the city for consideration and a developer selected from that process.
Attachment List
Site Location Map