Workshop Item - Erik Thorvig, Community Development Director
Title
Title
Industrial Development Proposal for 10601 Naples Street
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Background
Staff has been approached Capital Partners, a Twin Cities based real estate investment, development and management company, regarding potential redevelopment of the Metro Gun Club property located at 10601 Naples Street.
The developer has a signed purchase agreement with the landowner. Development of the property requires significant due diligence related to zoning, wetland impacts, property conditions, Environmental Impact Statement (EIS), etc. The project is still in its very early stages, however staff felt it was appropriate to introduce the project to the City Council to obtain feedback regarding the proposal and what regulatory issues exist at the City level.
Proposed Project
The proposed Naples Business Park includes six industrial buildings totaling 1,172,000 gross square feet of rentable space. As a comparison, this is almost four times the square footage of the Blaine 35 project recently started by Artis. The buildings range in clear interior height from 28’ to 32’, and in depth from 210’ to 260’. Typical structural bays are 50’ X 50’, facilitating efficient layout of numerous business uses. The buildings will be constructed of architectural insulated precast concrete wall panels, along with a steel-framed roof structure. Exterior materials will include glass storefront window systems, stained concrete, and metal panel accents.
Parking is provided at a rate sufficient to support a variety of office, assembly, manufacturing, and warehouse uses. Truck docks are configured to support multiple building tenants and can be configured for a mix of car parking and truck access if more parking is required for an individual user. Landscaping will include overstory trees lining the shared access roadway, and the use of coniferous trees to shield truck docks from view. Foundation plantings will include shrubs and flowers, and a series of surface stormwater ponds will further enhance the overall appearance of the development.
Industrial buildings of this sort are in high demand as they provide an attractive, efficient, sustainable, and highly flexible setting for a broad range of business tenants ranging from office/manufacturing, assembly, and fulfillment to sophisticated medical device or electronics product development operations. The buildings are purposefully flexible enough to house many users, and to provide companies with the opportunity to configure, reconfigure, and expand or contract their real estate footprint as market and business conditions change over time. The economies inherent in constructing the buildings from durable, sustainable and economical materials is reflected in rental rates, making Naples Business Park an attractive option for growing businesses hoping to make Blaine their home.
A public road is proposed that would connect Naples Street to Pheasant Ridge Drive. This is a favorable connection as it allows traffic to disperse in multiple directions instead of using just Naples Street. No connection is shown to 109th Avenue, however the City’s engineering department has not reviewed whether this connection is necessary to handle traffic generated from the proposed project.
Existing Use/Property Information
The property has been used continuously as a gun club since 1967 with various ownership changes. The overall property consists of 135 acres. The gun club is situated on the southern portion of the site. The site has existing wetlands that are taken into consideration with the development proposal, however further due diligence is required to determine where wetlands are located what level of wetland fill can occur. To complicate matters, a settlement agreement from 2005 exists which was the outcome of litigation related to County Ditch 53-62. The lawsuit involved the Metro Shooting Center vs. the City of Blaine, Rice Creek Watershed, Anoka County and MNDOT. The settlement agreement guaranteed 100 consolidated, contiguous, non-wetland acres suitable for development purposes, subject to permit and approval process. Preliminary meetings have occurred with the City of Blaine, Rice Creek Watershed District and Army Corps of Engineers to determine how this settlement impacts future development of the site.
The proposal also includes 4.95 acres of land owned by the Blaine Economic Development Authority (EDA) located along Naples Street. The EDA purchased this land in 2005 with the intent to sell for industrial development.
The property is zoned Planned Office District (POD) and guided as Planned Industrial in the 2040 Comprehensive Plan (see attached zoning and land use maps). The POD zoning district and future land use for this area was established in 2007 and is the only area in the city with this zoning designation. At that time, the City underwent a planning study for the area generally south of 109th Avenue and west of Pheasant Ridge Drive/Lexington Avenue (see attachments). It identified the proposed development site as a business/office park along with property to the west of Naples Street. The land west of Naples Street is extremely challenging to develop due to wetlands and soil conditions, however the land east of Naples Street has developed in a way very similar to the plan with commercial at the 109th Avenue/Lexington Avenue corner and office/industrial within the Pheasant Ridge Business Park. The subject development proposal is generally consistent in scale with what was shown for the subject land in 2007.
Permitted uses within the POD district include:
• Offices - Business and professional
• Research and development laboratories
• Financial institutions
• Medical office/clinic
• Trade and convention centers
• Manufacturing
• Athletic clubs
• Full service or business class hotel
• Coffee shops, restaurants, day cares, and other service/retail uses accessory to a principal use.
• Distribution and warehousing of products limited to not more than 33% of the total floor area.
The development proposal meets a majority of the requirements of the POD zoning district, however the developer has indicated a major concern with the distribution and warehousing space maximum of 33% identified in the last bullet. This requires buildings to have at least 77% of the square footage be dedicated to manufacturing/office space. This standard is unique to the POD district. The PBD requirements are essentially the adverse, requiring only 25% of the square footage to be dedicated to manufacturing/office space. Blaine’s three highest finish business parks, Blaine 35 (Artis), Pheasant Ridge (Pheasant Ridge Drive) and Blaine Preserve (95th Avenue and 35W) were all developed under the PBD requirements. The I-1 Light Industrial zoning district has no square footage requirements.
The developer is requesting feedback from the City Council whether there would be support to rezone the property to either PBD or I-1 Light Industrial, therefore either reducing or eliminating the office/manufacturing square footage requirement. Staff understands the original intent of the POD district; however, the office/industrial market has changed in the last 15 years with a focus now less on office space and more on manufacturing/warehousing space. Staff is not aware of any other cities in the Twin Cities metro area that have such a strict office/manufacturing square footage requirement.
Overall staff believes that a project of this scale will have a very positive impact on Blaine as a result of tax generation, jobs and benefit to area businesses from the jobs and activity created. Potential overall annual tax generation could exceed $1,000,000. Conservative job estimates could exceed 700.
Timing of the project is unknown. As indicated, significant due diligence involving other agencies is required. If there is not a favorable response by the City Council to consider rezoning the property, it likely would result in the developer not moving forward with additional due diligence and the project not occurring.
Staff Recommendation
Receive the report and provide necessary direction regarding rezoning of the area to either Planned Business District or I-1, Light Industrial.
Attachment List
Developer Narrative
Concept Site Plan
Building Elevation
Existing Zoning Map
Existing Land Use Map
2007 Concept Development Plan