1998-09-24 Proposed Land Swap•
Michael C. Couri•
Andrew J. MacArthur
Marcus W Miller
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September 24, 1998
COURI & MACARTHUR
Attorneys at Law
70S Central Avenue East
PO Box 369
St. Mid:ael, MN55.~76
(612) 497-1930
(612) 497-2599 (FAX)
Mr. Michael M. Knowlton
Culver Sheridan Knowlton Even & Franks
250 Terrace Plaza
P.O. Box 629
Muskegon, Michigan 49443
Re: City of Albertville; The Minneapolis Outlet Center.
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Dear Mr. Knowlton:
I have received your letter of September 11, 1998 regarding the proposed swap of
the industrial land north of the proposed outlet mall for 100% of the development fees
payable to the City of Albertville. As I recall, these fees are somewhere in the $600,000
to $700,000 range, depending upon the assumptions used in calculating the costs.
Our understanding of the property to be swapped is that it consists of
approximately 35 acres, with approximately 6 acres of wetland, leaving approximately 29
acres of buildable land. Further, it is our understanding that no additional wetlands will
be created on this property, nor will any of the property be used for ponding or to
otherwise support the development of the outlet mall. Please let me know if the actual
property amounts differ from those stated above.
City staff has preliminarily reviewed the propefiy, and has concluded that the
properly is developable for industrial purposes, but at a significant expense. The location
of the wetlands in the center of the property acts to effectively divide the property into
two developable pieces. The east side appears to be accessible from County Highway 19,
but it does not appear cost effective to construct aneast-west road through the wetland to
the west side of the property, particularly since such a road would have to be near the
northern boundary of the property where the wetlands are the narrowest, and would be
useable only by the south portion of the property. City staff believes that the west side of
the property will be accessible via the property from the north, but only at such time as
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Mr. Michael Knowlton
September 24, 1998
Page 2 of 2
the property to the north develops, which is generally believed to be eight to ten years
from now.
In light of these facts, City staff believes that the property has a value to the City
of $300,000. Accordingly, City staffproposes a fee arrangement where JMJ would deed
the approximately 35 acre northern property to the City and pay development costs of
$300,000, with the deeded property offsetting the remaining approximately $300,000 to
$400,000 which would otherwise be due to the City. The timing of the payment of the
$300,u^00 may still be a matter for aiscussion between Jai and-the City.
As part of the "swap," City staff is proposing that JMJ be responsible for all
highway-related improvements required by Wright County, except the traffic control
signals required at the intersection of CSAH 19 and CSAH 37, and the intersection of
CSAH 37 and I-94 at the westbound ramp, both of which would be paid for by the City
and/or County. This arrangement would leave JMJ responsible for all geometric
improvements identified in the Wright County highway letter of August 7, 1998,
including turnlanes, medians, right of way dedications, and the traffic signal at the mall
opening at CSAH 19 at such time as traffic warrants the need for the signal.
I expect that we can more fully discuss these issues at the September 28~' meeting.
As with prior proposals, the above proposal would have to be approved by the City
Council in order for it to be effective. Please contact me if you have any questions
regarding this matter. Thank you.
Cc: . Dave Lund
Mr. Pete Carlson
Ms. Liz Stockman
Sincerely, /~
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Michael C. Couri
Couri & MacArthur
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