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FRESH SEASONS MARKET APPROVED VICTORIA COUNCIL NODS TO PRELIMINARY PLAT On August 28th Victoria City Councilmembers approved the preliminary plat for the Fresh Seasons Market and Drugstore in downtown Victoria. As reported in the August issue of the Gazette, the building is proposed to be located along Quamoclit Street and Highway 5; the parking lot is proposed to located where the C.H. Lumber store is currently situated. There are no setback requirements in the central business district, and the grocery store will take advantage of that. In fact, Council approved the vacation of a portion of Quamoclit and part of the existing alleyway in order for the 28,050 square foot building to be constructed. Total site area is approximately 1.3 acres, not including the vacated portions of the alley and Quamoclit. The building will be constructed of stucco, stone, and glass with metal accents. Principal colors will be muted browns, grays, tans, beiges, and dark greens, blues, and reds. Current access points on Hwy 5 will be removed. The primary entrance will be available on Victoria Drive (across from the Post Office) and primary exit will be available on Tower Boulevard (next to the Clocktower building). City Planner Holly Kreft reported that the SRF traffic study shows there will be problems at the downtown intersection by the year 2020, anticipating further development, and the intersection will, in fact, fail without the expansion and upgrade of Hwy 5 to four lanes. The parking lot consists of 75 parking spaces, which is over 20 more than required by city ordinance. Councilmember Jim Paulsen said parking will be an issue. “The ordinance is below standard if a 28,000 square foot store only needs 51 parking space.” Councilmember Kim Roden said there are fewer parking spaces where she shops at Lund’s in Edina and the businesses there seem successful. She suggested that shared parking in downtown Victoria could work fine. Councilmember Tim Amudsen stated, “Let’s do what we’re supposed to do as a legacy group and come up with an overall parking plan for the city.” About the grocery store he added, “We need everyone to shop there, and I’ve got no vested interest in Fresh Seasons. I, too, think we can’t help but move through with this.” Referring to the city’s participation in infrastructure costs, Councilmember Paulsen said, “We’ll have about a million dollars in this thing.” According to ordinance, the city picks up 70% of the construction involved with Tower Boulevard, the “donation” of $400,000 in city-owned lots, and $250,000 in tax increment financing. As Councilmember Roden pointed out, “But we’re getting something for that million dollars, too, like public benefit and job creation. The feedback I’m getting from the community is that they very much want this grocery store. I’m getting more comments on the desire for this grocery store than anything else. You have to measure that also. Aren’t we better off trying to do something that has some appeal? Are we spending too much? There’s no way to predict that. There are too many variables.” The developer’s acquisition cost for the C.H. Carpenter property and the lone single family home still standing is about $900,000. The developer’s construction cost for the new store is estimated at $3.5 million. City Administrator Don Uram predicted the future if Fresh Seasons were not approved today. “We will be doing exactly the same thing if another project comes in five years,” he said. “I believe the city will contribute the three parcels. I believe the city will contribute to the construction of Tower and Quamoclit. We have the advantage of doing it today with a project the community wants.” Stated Councilmember Paulsen, “If we don’t approve it, the downtown will fail. If we do approve it, we’ll have indigestion.” Referring to the current location of City Hall he added, “We’ve got to be ready to get out of here if this thing takes off.” All five councilmembers voted to approve the preliminary plat for Fresh Seasons Market and Drugstore. Approval of a final plat is now necessary. The city administrator said he expects an application shortly for a demolition permit to remove the C.H. Carpenter building and anticipates the developer would like a groundbreaking to occur before winter but the city has not seen a specific schedule at this time.
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Awaiting their fate in the front row at the latest Victoria City Council meeting on August 28th, (l-r) that’s Tim Berg with Edina Realty who represented Tom Wartman with the C.H. Carpenter purchase, Developer Owner Tom Wartman of Shorewood, John Hamilton who is a principal of UrbanWorks Architects, and Dale Riley who is President and co-owner of Fresh Seasons Market. Behind Dale Riley is Rick Stucki of Victoria, a friendly software education specialist. |
