Monday, July 2, 2012
The city maintains the option is now void.
Shortly after the city confirmed that Ron Clark did not intend to exercise his option for the old city garage site, City Attorney Corrine Heine received notice that the developer had "changed his mind." The city entered into an option agreement with Ron Clark, of Ron Clark Construction & Design, just over a year ago for the former garage site on 76th Street and Pleasant Avenue. The option window lapsed Saturday. June 30. Clark could've extended the contract until October of this year had he put another $5,000 down by the expiration date. According to an e-mail from Assistant City Manager Pam Dmytrenko, Heine drafted a response to the developer's lawyer, Jim Susag, this afternoon stating that the option had expired and the city wasn't …
The proposed development is officially dead.
The option agreement holding the old city garage site for the proposed Pillsbury Commons development has expired, thereby officially killing the project and freeing the land up for other bidders. The city entered into an option agreement with Ron Clark, of Ron Clark Construction & Design, just over a year ago for the former garage site on 76th Street and Pleasant Avenue. The agreement essentially stated the city would agree to sell the land to Clark and would hold it while design plans were being put together. A series of recent council and commission meetings denied Clark the necessary approvals to move forward with the project, including additional land sales. However, the city was still obligated to sell the optioned land. According to …
Wednesday, June 20, 2012
The Richfield Housing and Redevelopment Authority rejected three additional actions in regards to the affordable housing project Monday night.
After the Richfield City Council refused to sell two city-owned parcels of land to Ron Clark Construction & Design last week, the Housing and Redevelopment Authority (HRA) further maimed the Pillsbury Commons project by rejecting three other items Monday night. The commission held a public hearing regarding the sale former Gleason mortuary parcel, considered a contract for private development and resolution adopting the tax increment financing and modifying the area’s redevelopment plan. All were struck down in unanimous votes. ‘Local Voices Heard’ In a final effort, Ron Clark attorney Jim Susag made a plea for all three items to be tabled, announcing the developer had submitted a letter to the city asking that the council reconsider last …
Tuesday, June 12, 2012
City denies the sale of two additional parcels, however, the developer can still choose to close on the land held by an option agreement.
Pillsbury Commons as it was most recently proposed is now, for lack of a better term, dead. The Richfield City Council rejected developer Ron Clark Construction & Design’s counter-offer to purchase two additional parcels of city-owned land at a meeting Tuesday night. Without the additional pieces of land to aid in meeting housing density requirements, the proposal as it sits “won’t work,” according to City Manager Steve Devich. However, the former Richfield Public Works storage facility, which is located south of the other two parcels, is still held by an option agreement. The city entered into the agreement about two years ago and is still required to sell the property to the developer if he still wishes to purchase it. According to City …
Wednesday, May 30, 2012
The Richfield Planning Commission held a public hearing regarding the proposed zoning changes for the affordable housing project.
Following a breezy presentation from Ron Clark Construction & Design, the Richfield Planning Commission opened the floodgates to a public hearing Tuesday night, allowing residents to express their concern or support for the Pillsbury Commons project. The following are snippets of what residents had to say: Bob Olson, 74th Street and Pillsbury Avenue resident: “I think Richfield needs to attract people that are upwardly mobile and not just focus on affordable housing. Richfield needs to look years ahead. Don’t let Mr. Clark’s proposal lead us in a direction that we don’t want to go. Please consider the ramifications.” Wendy Holland, 72nd Street and 17th Avenue resident: “I live extremely close to Old Cedar and if anyone wants to talk about …
Tuesday, May 29, 2012
A memorandum stated that the developer's tax increment financing application was incomplete.
Follow Richfield Patch on Twitter | Like us on Facebook | Sign up for our daily newsletter Last Update: 4 p.m. on Tuesday, May 29, 2012. Just before the Memorial Day holiday, city officials were notified that Ron Clark Construction & Design's tax incremement financing (TIF) draft for the Pillsbury Commons project was incomplete. The Richfield Planning Commission was set to take a number of actions on the proposal May 29, including: holding a public hearing on the proposed zoning changes, and considering whether the TIF application and sale of Richfield Housing and Redevelopment Authority land is consistent with the city's comprehensive plan. Since the application is incomplete, city staff will recommend that the commission go ahead …
Friday, May 11, 2012
The city releases its tentative schedule for the project review process.
While city staff is still in the process of reviewing Ron Clark Construction & Design's latest applications for the proposed Pillsbury Commons development, the city has outlined a tentative schedule for after its review is complete. All the following information was taken from a Richfield City Council memo, dated May 10, 2012 and signed by Richfield City Manager Steve Devich. May 21 The Richfield Housing and Redevelopment Authority (HRA) will consider a motion to schedule a public hearing to consider the sale of the mortuary site, 211 76th St. W. May 29 The Richfield Planning Commission will hold two public hearings, one regarding the rezoning and planned unit development application and the other to determnine if the modification of the …
Saturday, May 5, 2012
The city released the new design plans and application information Friday afternoon.
After pulling its land use applications twice—and much public outcry—Ron Clark Construction & Design is proposing a new Pillsbury Commons design plan that would include 18 townhome units and 52 apartment units. Before the redesign, the developer designed 70 workforce apartment units, with four stories facing 77th Street and two stories facing Pillsbury Avenue. While 70 units are still being proposed, the project now shows five separate buildings—four of which are townhome structures. The 52-unit apartment building is adjacent to 77th Street, while one townhome building faces Pillsbury Avenue and the other three line the entrance driveway on the west side of the property. All units will still be 100 percent workforce housing. All the …
Wednesday, May 2, 2012
Barry LeBlanc clarifies the group's position on the proposed Pillsbury Commons project.
Editor's Note: The following letter was submitted in response to Camillo DeSantis' letter to the city, which Richfield Patch ran on Thursday, April 26, 2012. Dear Patch Readers, My name is Barry LeBlanc and I am a member of the Richfield Commoners United (RCU). Thank you for the opportunity to respond to Mr. DeSantis’ recent letter. While my immediate reaction was to slump against my desk and beat my head on my monitor, deeper reflection has made me realize that Camillo is right—for him. When he reads the flyers and our Facebook postings and all he sees are "examples of fear mongering, distortions, innuendos, misinformation, wild and misguided speculation, falsehoods and confusion to name some.” I can’t argue with his perceptions because …
Tuesday, April 17, 2012
Richfield City Council and Housing and Redevelopment Authority members hear Pillsbury Commons developer’s plans for moving forward Tuesday night.
After withdrawing its rezoning and replatting applications from the city Friday, Pillsbury Commons developer Ron Clark Construction & Design is going back to the drawing board. “We want to submit an application that the city and community will support,” Jim Susag, land use counsel for the developer, said. “After last week’s meeting we found that we didn’t have the critical support from the city and [that’s why we withdrew the application].” Susag assured city officials the developer was working diligently on coming up with a new plan and hoped to resubmit applications next week. Susag also addressed officials’ concerns regarding the seemingly constant changes of the project's scope. “Has there been changes to this plan since 2009 to where …
Barry L
9:35 am on Tuesday, October 23, 2012
From: Barry LeBlanc Subject: COUNCIL MEMO NO. 96 To: john.stark@cityofrichfield.org Cc: SDevich@cityofrichfield.org, "Pat Elliott (HRC) (CC Liaison)" , "Debbie Goettel" Date: Tuesday, October 16, 2012, 10:05 AM Hi John, Could you please provide the names and credentials of the Housing policy task force? Also has there been a schedule or meetings that are planned? Best Regards, Barry LeBlanc 612.… more ›