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Home My WebLink About1989-05-25 Publicorp Ltr to CA v 05/30/89 10! $` 612 439 2878 EKBEFO B W & V Z 02 RubLiCORP INC. 410 hillsbu CENTER (612) 337.9292 MiNNUPolis, MN 55402 May 25, 1989 Mr. Mark J. Viealing Eckberg, Lammers, Briggs, Wolff & Vierling 1835 Northwest n Ave. Stillwater, M 55082 Dear Mr. Vierling; This letter is in response to our phone conversation on May 24, 1989, regar4ing the redevelopment for Oak park Heights Mall Project. ge apologize for any confusion regarding the method of verifying the redevelopment on the project and hope that this lett and subsequent documents will clarify our position. Sin the City Council has the final responsibility or making the "But For" finding, we were erroneously un r the assumption that once we identified our positik,� you wild want it verified by independent inspectors of your choosigq . After our conversation, I contacted Brad Henning of Watson Centers, and he;will be immediately contacting the appropriate per -sonnet to perform an onsight visit and provide you wit- detailed analysis of their findings. To serve as additional guidance to Watson Centers' analysis, I have sent hirrioopies of the state law, Minnesota Statutes 469.174, subdivision 10 (b), which lists the definitions for "structurally s -abstandard ". Following is a Britten explanation of the methodology we applied when we:made our initial determination of how the sight qualified for a redevelopment district. in reviewing the statutes, we felt that the site best qualified under section 464.174, subdivision 10 (a)(2), which states as follows: 70 percent of the parcels in the district are occupied by buildings, streets, utilities, or other improvements and 20 per --ent of the buildings are structurally substandard and an additional 30 percent of the buildings are found to require substantial renovation or clearance in order to remove such existing conditions as; inadegaate street layout, incompatible uses or land use relatiDnships, overcrowding of buildings on the land, excessive dwelling unit density, obsolete buildings iot suitable for improvement or conversion, or (: 7 other idea ;ified hazards to the health, safety, and general well- being of the community. We then develop .-d a redevelopment matrix to determine whether or not we felt :he site qualified under that provision. I have attached a copy of that matrix for your review and consideration. It is our opini)n that the Action Rental building qualifies under the substandard aspect of the law because of the building coedit -on. Additionally, the Herberger's site qualifies because the company has a specific requirement for layout of their building in relationship to the mall. This layout is an im ') ortant part of obtaining them as anchor tenant. Because of the layout of the Herberger building, the Action Rental building occupies the area necessary for a parking lot. Therefore, we think it complies under inadequate street lax -out and incompatible land use portion of the statue. The Cane Lakes Restaurant building borders on the area where the Herberger's building will be located. Again, because )f the necessity to comply with the anchor tenant's requirements for site layout, the Cane Lakes Restaurant building would have to be removed and therefore we believe is an incompatible land use. We have identif -ed the Wards Auto building as a substandard building based )rY information that will be provided to you by Watson Centers. In addition, the St. Croix Mall will receive substantial renovation due to identified hazards of health and safety. Th refore, we feel it qualifies as an incompatible la d use. While the theater will receive substantial yen vation, we are not suggesting that this is absolutely necessary under the project's economic conditions. The attached ma is a summary of how the St. Croix Mall renovation meet; the state standards. The law requires that 70% of all the arcels must be occupied by buildings. For this project, t e law requires a minimum of four (4) buildings. We urrently have five (5) on the parcels. Additionally, t e law requires that 20% of the buildings be structurally su standard which, in this case, would require us to have one 1). It is our opinion that we have two (2) substandard bui dings. Finally, the law requires that 30% of the buildings mist be round to be incompatible; which would require us to have two (2) incompatible buildings. We believe we have three (3) incompatible buildings. We hope that th.s matrix and discussion, along with further verification fr)m Watson Centers, will substantiate our redevelopment f_nding. As you are awar , the State Legislature recently made changes to the tax inc:riment law specifically regarding redevelopment c� 05/30/89 10. %Y 612 439 2878 EKBE* B W & V Z 02 fi 1 districts. While we believe we will still be in Compliance With the law dt;,e to the timing of our process, I am asking Mr. Gene Ranieri, a principal in our firm, to review our findings to determine if there are any problems regarding the new legislation. We will immediately infoxm you of any potential problems we perceive, as soon as they are evident. We hope this lettter provides the information you desire of Us. We are awaxe that there are some additional questions and concerns ycu may have and look forward to discussing them with you in the - immediate future. please let me know what additional information we can provide. We stand ready to assist the city any way possible to move this project forward to its altimate completion. Sincerely, 1 Sid Inman Director of Development Consulting C.c. Brad Hennir g Watson Centers C.C. Jim Holmes Holmes & Graven c.c. Gene Ranieri publicorp, Inc. c IL 05/30/89 10 '$ 812 439 2878 EKBE* B W & V (.)3 ST. CROIX MALL REDEVRLOPMENT MATRIX Substandard Incompati Lot 1 Block 2 Action Rental X X Lot 4 Block 2 Cane Lakes X Lot 3 Block 2 Wards Auto X .Lot 2 Block 2 St. Croix Mall X Lot 5 Block 2 Theater 2 3 Need Have 70% parcels have bldgs. * 5 parcels = 4 5 20% bldgs. subs -andard * 5 bldgs. - 1 2 30% bldga. inco>>patble * 5 bldgs. = 2 3 a MEMORANDUM TO: Dan Wilson FROM: Curt Gutoske Northwest DATE: 30 May 19139 Associated RE: Oak Park Heights -St. Croix Mall TIF Consultants, Inc. (612) 925 -9420 FILE NO: 798.02 - 89.)9 4601 Excelsior Blvd. - Suite 410 - Minneapolis, MN 55416 Enclosed please find a copy of a letter received by Mark Vierling from Sid Inman of Publicorp. Inc. regarding the St. Croix Mull TIF project. Please review with regards to the staff recommendation given to the City last week. If questions, please call. Enclosure WHITE - ORIGINAL YELLOW - FILL COPY PINK - C FILE 05/30/89 - 10.- A $ 612 439 2578 EKBERO$ B W & V a 01 LAW OFFICES OF ECKIBERG, LA MMERS, BR IGGS, WOLFF & ViERLING 1035 NORTHWESTERN AVENUE STILLWATER, MINNE$gTA ggpgl2 LYLE J, ECKBERG 1�IE) AEG 2978 JAMES F', LAMMERS FAX (6181 439.2923 ROBERT G. BFtioos RAUI, A, WOLF`P' MARK J. VIERLING VICKI L GIFFORD GREGORY G, CALLER FAX TPANSMITTAL FORM TO: B o b Voto7426 5004)/ D an Wilson(925 - - - -- FROM: Mark J. Vier.linq DATE. M ay 30, 1989 RE: OPH/ Watson TIF TOTAL NUMB3R OF PAG2S (including c,ovc? r sheet) : 5 U