Businesses Look to Richfield to Grab a Piece of the Economic, Redevelopment Pie

Current and potential Richfield business owners, investors and builders met with the Richfield City Council and Richfield Chamber of Commerce Tuesday night to discuss continuing .

With all the redevelopment projects the city has recently completed—such as Cedar Point Commons—and others that will be underway soon—such as the project—seem to be the key to furthering the economic development.

McDonald’s

Mark Kampmeyer, a representative of Ryan Companies US, Inc., presented some initial plans for a McDonald’s restaurant that would be built on part half of an open space at Cedar Point Commons.

While all council members were interested in considering the project, Mayor Debbie Goettel expressed her concerns about how the community members would feel about a fast-food style restaurant coming in, rather than a sit-down restaurant.

Kampmeyer assured council members that it would work with the city as much as possible to create a space that was a sit-down business that would fit with the persona of the development.

Lyndale Garden Center

While the city council heard the , Colleen Carey, president of The Cornerstone Group—which is the purchaser of the property—was present again to answer questions.

However, one component of the projects first steps was a particularly hot issue: The city council need to approve a resolution in support of the group applying to a grant/loan program through Hennepin County—which was a touchy area for Councilman Fred Wroge.

He was hesitant to place his vote in favor of the resolution without knowing whether or not the money given would be in the form of a grant or a loan.

Carey said the decision of what portion would be a loan and which would be grants would be up to the county if they decided to approve The Cornerstone Group's request. She also added that it was crucial the council give its approval, otherwise the project would be dead in the water.

Later, in the council's regular meeting Tuesday night, the resolution was approved.

Lyndale Commons

Mike Swenson, co-owner of the , gave a brief update on the progress of the Lyndale Commons apartment complex.

Swenson and his business partner have been working with the city for over two years on the development of the new apartment complex and is currently waiting for the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s funding decision.

The date of the decision has been pushed back numerous times and is now expected to be delivered in July 2011.

“The proposal has been 99 percent blessed,” Swenson said. “It just takes time.”

In addition, the council also heard from a representative from CVS Pharmacy and O’Reilly Auto Parts:

is in the process of beginning a store build on the corner of 66th Street and Penn Avenue and also revealed that it would be interested in building a second store elsewhere in Richfield.

O’Reilly Auto Parts has been looking to come into Richfield for a while and is currently looking to build a new store on the site of the old King Oscar’s restaurant, on 66th Street and 12th Avenue. Multiple variances would need to be approved by the city council and current changes in state laws may affect the city’s ability to accommodate the business.

Another brief topic of discussion was Menard's purchase of the land is currently home to. Menard's has not yet commented on its plans, but the company reportedly purchased the property for about $5 million.

Richfield Patch will continue to cover these projects as more information becomes available.