Community Corner

Honda Receives Final Redevelopment Approvals

The council approved all the necessary items for Richfield-Bloomington Honda to move forward with its redevelopment and expansion.

In early 2015, Richfield-Bloomington Honda plans to open the doors to its brand new facility to the public.

The Richfield City Council approved two ordinances (one to rezone the property and the other to approve the final development plan) and held two public hearings (one to address making the 7700 block of Harriet Avenue a private boulevard and the second for final plat approval) Tuesday night, giving Honda the green-light to move its redevelopment and expansion project forward.

After staff and council members praised the dealership's collaboration efforts and final project renderings, managing owner Tim Carter said the goal of the project was to create a spot that fit within Richfield's "small town in the big city" feel.

"We want to emulate that [feel]," Carter said. "We want to be a state-of-the-art facility, and we want to have park benches. We want to have beautiful shade trees."       

Richfield-Bloomington Honda, located just west of Lyndale Avenue on 77th Street West, began its expansion efforts last year, acquiring the adjacent properties that housed LaMettry's Auto Body, USA Baby and Tires Plus. La Mettry's is relocating to a parcel of land north of Candlewood Suites, which was previously owned by the city until it was purchased last summer

The project will feature a brand new Richfield-Bloomington Honda and a new Mitsubishi dealership. The Mitsubishi dealership will occupy about one-third of the total lot. Both dealerships will be two stories pulled to 77th Street.

According to project plans, the walls facing 77th Street will include a significant amount of glass to allow visibility inside the dealerships. In addition, the south side of the Honda building will have a second story, cantilevered mezzanine for vehicle display on I-494. Harriet Avenue will become a private boulevard between the two dealerships, featuring park benches, shade trees, pedestrian-scale lighting and recessed parking bays for additional vehicle displays.

Construction on the Mitsubishi dealership is scheduled to begin in August, with the dealer moving from its current Bloomington location to Richfield this December. Construction on the Honda dealership is set to begin in February 2014 with the new store opening in January 2015.

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