00:06:00,500 I. Like to call to order the Robbinsdale Economic Development Authority meeting. Uh, we’ll start off with a microphone check and roll call, please. Commissioner Blackledge here. Commissioner Greenberg. Here, Commissioner Sutton. Here, Commissioner Aranda. Here. President. Parisien. Here. Thank you. 00:06:25,030 Uh, first on the agenda tonight, we have our consent agenda. So, pursuant to read a policy, one motion non debatable will approve the recommendation noted. And any member of the board may ask for an item to be taken from the consent agenda for discussion and separate action. Such items removed from the consent agenda shall be considered immediately following approval of the balance of the consent agenda. 00:06:47,430 Would any read a board member like to remove an item, or is there a motion? Make a motion. We pass tonight’s consent agenda. I’ll second. It’s been moved and seconded. All those in favor signify by saying I. Aye. Those opposed say no. That passes. 00:07:12,070 So we have approved the special work session meeting minutes from July 14th, 2026, as well as the meet the minutes from the July 14th, 2026 meeting. Next on the agenda public hearings. There are none. So we’ll move to item old business item six a consider resolution approving the Seventh Amendment to the preliminary development agreement with 42 development LLC. Good evening. Hello. Good evening, Madam President. 00:07:36,570 Members of the Commission. My name is Heather Rand. I’m the community development director with the City of Robbinsdale. For those in the audience. Um, on this agenda item, we call it old business. Because what you are being asked to do tonight is continue a preliminary development agreement with 42 development. Uh, that’s an LLC. 00:07:56,830 Um, we have a representative in Mr. Mike Papp here to join you tonight. He’ll come up in just a bit and introduce you also to another partner. Um, in this potential redevelopment project. And that would be a representative, Will O’Keefe from Boulder Companies. 00:08:19,470 Um, we call this a preliminary development agreement because it gives the development team time to explore the site, come up with sketches, work to address any environmental concerns, which there certainly have been on this site. 00:08:41,700 Um, there are also what we call land assembly, um, which is they’re contacting property owners, um, that are adjacent to the parcels that they’ve already, um, locked down with options, real estate options, and trying to basically grow and make the project great size. So it has an economies of scale and becomes more affordable and in the best interest of the city. Um, it’s their job to convince us that that indeed is the case. So that’s why we have them in front of you. 00:08:59,300 Uh, but again, I just want you to explain the preliminary development agreement. Some people say, why does it keep getting extended three more months or three more months? Uh, it’s because I would say, quite honestly, in my experience, um, having done this for over 20 years now, um, these projects, they don’t go in quick linear paths. 00:09:21,270 There’s oftentimes, um, whether they’re financing concerns or land assembly challenges. Um, they don’t happen typically within a few months. And so that’s certainly the case for this one. That’s not overly alarming. Um, and I’m just tickled that there’s still, um, engaged, uh, having conversations with staff. And they want to be in front of you tonight to give you an update. 00:09:43,100 So I’m going to step aside, um, and allow Mister Pat to come up and update you on where they are and introduce you to the beta development rep, and we’ll take it from there. Thank you. Thank you. Great. Thank you. Heather. Um, good evening, Madam Chair and Commissioners. I am Michael Pett. 00:10:07,630 I’m with 42 development, uh, which is a small but mighty group. And, um, we’ve been at this. As you know, this is our seventh, um, amendment extension we’re looking for for five years now. Believe it or not, I can’t. It’s hard for me to believe. Um. And we are. It has been a process of, uh, making gains. 00:10:28,470 Uh, I, I don’t know if it’s slow progress. I think it’s certainly progress. And we continue to make that, um, we have a purchase agreement with the McCready site. We are working with the city very closely to try to optimize the site. If it should go beyond that. 00:10:43,600 Of course, there’s a city parcel involved, and we continue to have discussions on a regular basis. Um, we’ve been working to address environmental concerns on the site, and the most recent news is we did receive a Hennepin County ERF grant for $39,000 to help clean up that, um, that site with the residual, um, things that are 00:11:01,330 on there from past uses. And we’ve made an agreement with the beta companies. I’m gonna let you talk to Will O’Keefe here. Will people present to you? Um, who are a very experienced, long term family company business operating in Hennepin County and beyond. 00:11:18,100 Um, who we think is our best partner to make a really great project happen in Robbinsdale. Um, other than that, we we do have I would say we have some milestone dates ahead beyond this one. So I certainly hope this gets approved tonight. And we do need to make a little more progress. 00:11:34,630 And I think we’ll have to step it up a little bit with city staff in terms of what makes everybody happy. But I’m confident that’ll happen it. I think we all feel a little bit more of a sense of urgency because, um, even though the real estate development business can be slow, um, it is time to make progress here after every four 00:11:51,970 years. So we’re excited. We remain excited. I think Mr. O’Keefe is excited. And unless there’s any questions for me, I’ll hand off to him. Thank you. Great. Thank you. Thanks, Mike. 00:12:14,700 Madam president, Commissioner members, I’m going to take a moment and remember how to do this and get my presentation back up here. So give me a second. Okay. We’re gonna count that as a win. Uh, so, uh, as Mike and Heather mentioned, my name is Wil O’Keefe. I’m the director of development for Vader Companies. 00:12:40,470 Um, we are a third generation local developer with 60 years doing real estate development in the Twin Cities metro. We have a primary focus on market rate multifamily development. Um, and I can talk a little bit about some of the projects we’ve done over time. 00:13:00,100 But I think first and foremost, you know, we always look at development in our projects as really an opportunity for transformation. And we were super excited when Mike and his team broached the subject of us partnering up with them, because there really is an incredible opportunity for transformation, um, to build off of what has already happened in downtown Robbinsdale and all of the work that the city and business owners have put in, to downtown 00:13:23,500 and help support that. With more people living downtown. Um, and also taking a, you know, I think in the minds of some people and underutilized parcel and bringing it to a higher and better use. So we are super excited and super honored to be here tonight and to be part of this team. 00:13:45,530 Um, I wanted to share kind of a few projects. Um, and the primary thing from my perspective to talk about is we truly treat each site as being unique. We don’t do anything cookie cutter. Um, every building is designed for that site, for that neighborhood, for that community. And development is at its heart about problem solving and partnering. 00:14:11,100 Um, with a lot of stakeholders to build something that everybody can be proud of and hopefully, uh, allowing, uh, the opportunity for us to come back and do something again. 00:14:30,000 Uh, we get really excited to be able to build in a community many times over, uh, to continue to reinvest in places and be a partner long term. Um, so these are just a few examples. Um, I’ll talk a little bit more about Waterbury House. Uh, Tyler Street stacks is in northeast Minneapolis over by Bauhaus Brewing. Um, you know, that’s one that we’re really proud of. 00:14:47,900 We made a commitment in that to to develop a project that fit the community, that fit the Arts district. Um, and that was inside and out. Uh, we wanted it to have an industrial feel on both inside and out. And we wanted to make sure the art, for example, was all northeast arts. 00:15:06,630 That was important to us because we are part of the community. Um, and then residences of 1700 is a mixed use project. We did. Um, along, uh, Plymouth Road. Um, kind of on the back side. Um, or across the street from the back side of Riverdale Mall. Um. 00:15:27,970 So I think Waterbury House is a really good example to talk about when we start thinking about, uh, the opportunity to develop at 42nd and Broadway. Um, in part because the county rooms are, uh, both an asset and a challenge in the development process. And Waterbury House is that that story of transformation. 00:15:51,570 Um, so this project is at the intersection of Lake and Excelsior. Uh, by the name in Minneapolis, uh, surrounded by a fire station and two county roads. Uh, with light rail construction happening. Uh, and we had to work creatively every single day of that project to get it built on time. 00:16:15,100 Uh, and do it efficiently and allow everything else that needed to happen in that corridor to continue. Um, so obviously, you know, we dealt with the traffic. Uh, the light rail construction, you know, I mean, we went so far, as you know, most times you have a crane on the outside of the building and you have a lot of space. 00:16:31,630 And that one, we put the crane in the stairwell. Um, and didn’t build that stair until the last two weeks before we opened the building. Because we needed to be efficient with our space, because there was no space. So we really look at that as an opportunity to think creatively. 00:16:49,170 Um, and an opportunity to do something different and succeed in the process. Uh, Mike has talked a little bit about what has already happened here, uh, on this site and the work that we have been doing. Um, and the time that we’ve been working on it with the 42 or 42 group. 00:17:12,170 Um, we’ve worked closely with the city and our development partners. We’ve analyzed a number of site plans and bit plans for feasibility, and really narrowed it down to a couple depending on parcel acquisition scenarios. But we feel really positive about where this is headed and our ability to execute on this. 00:17:32,900 Uh, it is worth mentioning because this will be a conversation moving forward. We do look at a singular hurdle towards getting this project development developed and moving forward today. And that’s really the, uh, parcel boundaries and the alley that runs through the center of it. As we move forward. 00:17:51,170 And I know the city is working with the county and everybody else to figure out access. In and out of this corridor for future planning. And today. Um, there will need to be something to make sure that there are developable parcels because in its current form, there’s no real way to develop a high density use at 00:18:08,870 this location. Um, okay. And then I just, you know, I wanted to kind of hit on a little bit. So these are some of our recent projects, and recent might be a little bit of a strong term. Uh, and so over 16 years. 00:18:25,430 But you see kind of the breadth of projects that we have done across the metro. Um, we are very confident that with our experience, we have the ability to carry this project in partnership with 42 Group, uh, through design entitlement, the equity and debt raise, which is a very challenging thing right now. Um, construction and management. 00:18:49,830 And we really look forward to the opportunity to do that in partnership with the Council and with the Economic Development Authority. So I’m happy to stand for any questions. Um, and if not, I’ll take my seat and we can move on. But thank you very much. Thank you. I’ll ask the Rita board. Uh, commissioners, any questions? I have a question. Yes, Commissioner Greenberg. 00:19:11,670 Um, thanks to the presentation. Um, when you look at these projects, is this. Do you generally help with the development and building the building? And then it’s it’s managed on going by a different organization. Or is the do you still. 00:19:31,400 Are you still involved with all of these different properties and and help manage them? That’s a great question and one I really should have hit on already, because it makes me not so good at this at times. Um, so beta companies, in addition to being around for 60 years, we are actually, um, I would say three business units or three companies under one umbrella. 00:19:50,270 And so we have an investment arm and that operates in the Twin Cities. And in Texas, we have our ground up development arm. And then the largest segment of our company is actually our property management arm. Okay. And so, um, it used to be known as Steven Scott Management. Um, we have managed other buildings in Robbinsdale. 00:20:08,830 We manage Bird Town flats for a while. Um, and yeah, we would look to manage this moving forward. Um, and go from there. Perfect. Thank you. Thank you. Any other questions? Questions. Okay. Well, thank you so much. Thank you both for being here this evening. And thank you for the presentation. 00:20:34,530 Um, since there are no questions from commissioners, uh, is there a motion? I’ll make a motion to approve the Seventh Amendment to the preliminary. Preliminary development agreement. Uh, with 42 development and their preferred partner bidder, companies second. It’s been motioned and seconded. All those in favor signify by saying I. I those opposed say no. That motion passes. Thank you. 00:21:06,400 Thank you. Thank you. All right. We will move on to next item. New business seven A consider resolution accepting a funding grant of $55,000 from Hennepin county authorizing matching funds of $17,500 and a professional services agreement with Bolton and Mink, Inc. to provide professional planning services to develop a downtown district revitalization plan. 00:21:34,130 That’s a lot of words to get out. Thank you so much, and I apologize for that long title, but we are asking you to take all these actions in one resolution tonight so we can get going with some downtown small area planning. Um, I’ve been so excited to get going with this. 00:21:51,800 And I want to say, quite honestly, Tim, our city manager, has been very patient with me because I’ve been, um, probably down to the point of almost harassing him. Can we can we start this yet? Can we start this yet? Um, we’re finally so close, and I just I say that to let you know I’m. 00:22:06,900 I’m very enthusiastic about this. I think the time is right to take on some revitalization. Small area planning work. I’ve worked really, um, diligently with the county community development staff that are providing this grant of now it’s 55,000. 00:22:29,830 Um, combined with some data money that you’re asking being asked to approve tonight, the 17,500 so that we can hire a bold new mink and get going with about six months of planning. Um, if you approve that, um, what would happen next would be we would ask Tim to work with me and the county and Bolton and Mink, and we would sign a professional service agreement. 00:22:51,170 Technically, Tim will do that. Um, that incomers us to the process with the county and Bolton and Mink. I think it’s really important to mention that, um, what you’re seeing in the scope of services that’s included in your meeting packet and would be then an attachment with the contract with Bolton mink, um, spells out, what are we 00:23:12,700 actually going to do? Um, it has some deliverables, like downtown district parking or taking a look at our existing city code. And based on what Bolton and Mink are seeing in similar cities with transportation, um, opportunities. 00:23:36,130 Um, does our code, is it up to snuff, basically, or does it need some updating so that we’re maximizing our pedestrian and transportation opportunities? Um, there is also a really important public engagement component to this work that you saw spelled out. There will be at a minimum, three meetings between city council, planning Commission, Bolton Bank staff, county staff and city staff. 00:24:00,430 Um, to talk about where are we going with some of this planning work? Um, there’s in a midway point. There’s actually a workshop that we’re suggesting with, um, planning commissioners and city councilors. 00:24:22,600 Um, at the very end, um, there will be the hope is an actual deliverable planning document that then will have even more public input, where we’ll take it first through Planning Commission, and we’ll have a public hearing and some input there. And then we’ll bring that feedback to you as a city council. We are hopeful by March, maybe April. I don’t want these dates to keep sliding because I’m hearing, at least very strongly from the downtown business community. 00:24:38,900 And I believe you are too, that they want to see a plan and they want to see then some action. So that’s the last thing I wanted to underscore. 00:24:55,400 Before I sign off and answer any questions is just, um, it’s great to have small area plans, but if if we aren’t going to actually figure out how to have take that plan and make it, then, um, alive by incorporating some of the recommendations into the city’s capital improvement plan, which impacts budgets for the next, perhaps five years. Um, or if we’re not going to change our city code. 00:25:15,770 Um, we’re not going to see these things happen, more or less. The other thing I would hate to see is if we don’t get proper public engagement, uh, especially with those downtown, both business owners and property owners, because they’re not always the same thing. And then we also have some housing. 00:25:31,770 We want to get all those folks at the table. So I want you to know, and I want to commit to you, that I will work very hard to make sure that our process that’s happening. We might have to tweak it a little as we go. 00:25:44,630 Sometimes we find we’re falling short, and I think we’ll get that feedback over the six months. Um, and I think that we need to be flexible and pivot like that, if indeed that’s the case. So I’m not going to repeat to you what’s in the scope of services. I think it was clear. I think though, you also saw there’s some room to do that pivoting. 00:26:01,830 Uh, but but there are deliverables. And, um, I think that we certainly we want to be really prudent with the arena dollars, but I think that we certainly are going to get something of great value if we hold to this schedule and work on these deliverables in this downtown revitalization plan. 00:26:20,000 So, um, the staff’s recommendation is that you approve a resolution, um, that, again, accepts the grant from the county of 55,000. It covers basically data to support the effort by putting forth another $17,500. And then lastly, you are authorizing your executive director, Rita, Mr. Sandvik, to sign a contract. 00:26:46,770 And we’ll be pulling that together with the county in Bold and mink in the next couple of weeks. If indeed you approve all of that. So that’s where we stand. Are there any questions? Thank you. Heather. Yes, Commissioner Sutton. Uh, I just have a comment, uh, in here. So this is up to me. 00:27:00,700 Exciting to see as well. Um, and I want to call out that I’m very happy to see that. Establish a district parking system is included in this development. I know you’ve heard the feedback is some of you probably heard it, too. So, yeah. 00:27:14,670 Um, there’s a lot of great things in here, but I know that that’s that’s one that’s a pain point for Robbinsdale. So great to great to see this work happening and some money to put towards it. So thank you. Thank you. Any other questions comments. All right. Well thank you so much. 00:27:37,170 I will add that, you know, given that this is a council priority as part of our goals and priorities session, this was one of them. So it’s really wonderful to see this progress being made. 00:27:58,700 Um, and if I could plant the seed for next year’s council to consider what goals and priorities would essentially take this to the next step. So thank you so much for the, um, thorough memo and presentation. Um, it sounds like there aren’t any other questions, so I’ll ask the board if there is a motion. Okay. Got it. Yeah. Okay. All right. 00:28:24,370 I’ll make a motion to accept, uh, acceptance of 55,000 Hennepin County planning grant and authorizing Rita to contribute up to 17,500 as a grant matching funds for the development of a downtown district revitalization plan for Robbinsdale. Furthermore, also that Rita is authorized the executive director to execute a professional service agreement with Bolton and Mink incorporated an amount not to exceed 17,500 for planning work delineated in the July 30th, 2026 dated. Scope of services. 00:28:48,200 Letter. I will second that. It’s been moved and seconded. Thank you. All those in favor signify by saying aye. Aye. Those opposed say no. That motion carries. Thank you. Thank you. All right. Moving on to item eight. A other business or voucher request pending approval for disbursement. We have a printed copy available here. 00:29:15,500 Any questions from the Rita board or is there a motion? I’ll make a motion to approve disbursement reports for the period ending August 12th, 2026. I’ll second. It’s been moved and seconded. All those in favor say aye. Aye, aye. Those opposed say no. That motion carries. All right. So we’ll move on to item nine. 00:29:35,230 Information updates are then I’m seeing a no from staff. So then we’ll move to Rita general Communications. Any member of the board have anything to share. Seeing none, is there a motion to adjourn? So moved. Second. All those in favor say aye. Aye, aye. Those opposed say no. We are adjourned.