| NSC Stars future is up in the air |
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One of the Stars top additions during training camp was Two Boys Gumede, left, a South African national, who became the Conference- USA Player of the Year playing at the University of Alabama-Birmingham. Photo by Jason Olson
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Nine months after the idea of bringing back professional soccer to the
National Sports Center in Blaine, became a reality, the future of the
NSC Minnesota Stars after the 2010 season looks bleak at best without
some help from community.
| Blaine senior campus gets a positive review |
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| Thursday, 27 September 2007 | |
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Life Editor The corner of Paul Parkway and Ulysses Street in Blaine has become the proposed site of a new senior housing retail, restaurant and office space mixed-use development. According to background provided by Bryan Schafer, community development director, Woodbury-based BrightKeys Building & Development Corp. initially made a presentation last spring involving the location. While that proposal was conceptual, it outlined a senior campus containing a variety of housing and service options, according to Schafer. BrightKeys has since partnered with Crest View Senior Communities and during a Sept. 13 city council workshop, Brightkeys and Crest View representatives shared proposed development details for the 16-acre site. Crest View is a charitable Christian organization that helps develop, market and manage senior communities. “They believe this intersection is a good place to do this facility,” Schafer said. “[However], at the moment, this is only a conceptual look.” Two issues that would need attention or require council action would be a land use amendment and the developers’ request for tax-increment financing, Schafer said. “They want tax increment assistance on the senior housing portion only,” he said. “What’s being proposed is fairly typical with a senior housing project of this type.” Chief Executive Officer Shirley Barnes represented Columbia Heights-based Crest View at the Sept. 23 Blaine City Council workshop. BrightKeys was represented by Vice President Philip Dommer. As proposed, private investment of $25 million would be used to finance a three-building campus at the site. A total of 110 senior apartments, a mix of one- and two-bedroom units, would be built in one, four-story building. Sixty memory care units, assisted living and future nursing beds would be included in a separate three-story building. A total of 72,000 square feet of retail and office space would be featured in separate three- and four-story buildings. Restaurant space of approximately 8,000 square feet would also be included in the proposed mixed-use project. According to Schafer, the proposed site’s land use is currently designated planned industrial and commercial. While that designation is appropriate for office, retail and restaurant use as well as assisted living and memory care, Schafer said the 110 senior units would require a land use modification as high-density residential. Previous senior housing projects in Blaine have not been completed without some form of assistance to lower costs, reduce interest or provide tax reductions, Schafer said in his background memo to the council. “We did this for the senior housing at Cloverleaf Courts and other senior housing projects in Blaine,” Schafer said. BrightKeys and Crest View are proposing use of a “pay-as-you-go” housing tax increment financing plan with a term of 25 years, according to Schafer. TIF is a mechanism used by cities to fund land redevelopment, acquisition, demolition and renovation work. City officials calculate how much tax revenue new developments can generate and then borrow money against the future income. Over time, the tax revenue generated reimburses a developer for the cost of work on the improved site. TIF support would guarantee a rent write down for approximately 20 percent of the independent units as well as the base housing cost for 20 percent of the assisted units. Schafer said this would make the entire senior project more feasible. According to Schafer, an early estimate indicates 80 percent of the available tax increment would be returned to the project. That means the city of Blaine would provide total TIF support of $200,000 annually over the 25 years. Details of proposed BrightKeys and Crest View’s proposed plan would need to be reviewed and approved by the Blaine Economic Development Authority and made part of a TIF assistance agreement, Schafer’s council memo concluded. The 80,000 square feet of commercial office and retail would not be part of any TIF arrangement with the city. BrightKeys and Crest View would pay an expected $200,000-$250,000 per year in annual property taxes “There’s a lot of positives with this,” said Councilmember Katherine Kolb. “I’d like to see this happen, but we still have to talk about the tax increment financing request first.” Councilmember Dick Swanson said the project is needed by the Blaine community. He agreed use of the “pay as you go” financing would be critical so there would be no lump-sum payment involved if the city participated in the project. “I like the project,” said Councilmember Russ Herbst. “I think it’s a heck of a deal. Let’s get it set up.” Barnes provided supporting demographics for the project during her brief remarks to the council. She said 23.6 percent of people age 75 and older in Blaine have incomes of $15,000 or less. Another 25 percent, Barnes said, have income that range from $15,000 to $25,000 annually. According to Barnes, the senior housing project would bring 55 new jobs to the city with a $1.3 million annual payroll. Crest View also will be developing and sponsoring a continuum of care retirement community at the Ramsey Town Center, according to information posted on its Web site. That facility is scheduled to open in 2009, the Web site stated. Based on the council’s positive feedback regarding the project, Schafer said city staff would continue to work with BrightKeys and others to move the senior housing project forward. “They want to get going on this,” Schafer said. Tim Hennagir is at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it |
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