Coon Rapids HRA tables proposed property purchase
by Peter Bodley
Managing Editor
For the second time in as many weeks, the Coon Rapids Housing and Redevelopment Authority (HRA) has balked at purchasing private property.
The authority, which comprises the seven members of the Coon Rapids City Council, tabled action Oct. 4 on a staff recommendation to purchase a single-family home at 9436 Flintwood St. N.W.
Two weeks ago the HRA rejected a staff recommendation to buy vacant office-zoned property on Northdale Boulevard.
In that case, the HRA wanted a lower negotiated price than the one that staff had proposed.
With the Flintwood Street property, the HRA wants more information and justification for the proposed price before making a decision.
According to Community Development Specialist Matt Brown, the single-family home on Flintwood lies within the Port Evergreen redevelopment area and with its purchase, the home would be demolished and the land held by the HRA until redevelopment took place.
The house is in poor condition and several surrounding properties have been acquired by parties with future development interests, Brown said.
“Strategic acquisition of property in the area will help facilitate redevelopment and give the city more discretion over future development in the area,” he said.
The current Port Evergreen zoning makes the current use nonconforming, meaning it cannot be expanded, Brown said.
According to Brown, the property, which is .82 of an acre in size, was most recently listed for sale for $75,000 and a recent offer for the list price fell through because the prospective buyer had trouble getting financing.
The property has been on the market for about three months and staff negotiated a sale price of $70,000.
On the property at 311 Northdale Blvd., the HRA rejected the recommended $57,500 price for the property.
The current owner paid $42,000, according to Brown.
The single-family home on the Northdale site is in poor condition and in recent years, staff has had to deal with multiple building maintenance issues, Brown said.
The current owner purchased the property in 2010 with the idea of converting it to an office; the property is zoned for office use, he said.
But the conversion turned out to be impractical and cost-prohibitive, Brown said.
The purpose of the proposal to acquire the property was because of Anoka County’s plans to upgrade Foley Boulevard from Egret to Northdale boulevards, including the Northdale/Foley intersection.
The realignment of the intersection would mean the acquisition of a handful of properties near the intersection, including 311 Northdale Blvd., on the northeast corner, according to Brown.
In talks with the county, the city has been asked to assemble the land needed for the intersection work, Brown said.
Peter Bodley is at peter.bodley@ecm-inc.com
