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<br /> Maple Grove Brooklyn Park
<br /> After years of talk about building a large Retail growth in Brooklyn Park over the
<br /> regional mall in Maple Grove with at least " past five years has been "tremendous,"
<br /> ,two major developers on either a gravel- according to Scott Clark,deputy community
<br /> mining site or a large 100-acre tract of land development director. The area near West •
<br /> owned by the Osseo School District, talk Broadway Avenue and Brooklyn Boulevard
<br /> and gravel is all the city has to show for real- is anchored by three shopping centers with
<br /> ly large commercial projects. On the other tenants like Target, Cub Foods and First
<br /> hand,major street improvements along Elm Bank.
<br /> Creek Boulevard,lots of office development ."We've taken care of much of our retail
<br /> and increasing construction of single-family needs in that period," Clark said. "These
<br /> homes continue to draw brand retailers to days it's fairly slow.The additional room for
<br /> the area, according to Al Madsen, Maple .. growth — and what our residents say we
<br /> Grove city administrator. need now — are more traditional retail
<br /> "We'll see a regional shopping center stores like a coffee house, a Bruegger's
<br /> eventually,"Madsen said.Part of the imped- Bagel shop,movie theaters and a bookstore
<br /> iment to getting one built in Maple Grove is and free-standing sit-down restaurant?'
<br /> the simple fact that"not many regional malls Like its surrounding communities with
<br /> of 1 million to 1.5 million square feet are no more major development lots to offer,
<br /> being built anywhere anymore."It probably Brooklyn Park is re-examining its retail
<br /> doesn't help either that Northtown Mall and strengths and looking at ways it can reinvest
<br /> Brookdale Center are both within 15 miles in smaller neighborhood businesses in lieu
<br /> of the city. That said, the city seems to be of developing bigger properties.While Clark
<br /> experiencing a healthy infusion of new and others say the city has some specialized
<br /> restaurants along Elm Creek Boulevard,and commercial concerns such as building recre-
<br /> 1-94(including Famous Dave's BBQ),along ational areas like a golf course, more study
<br /> • with new hotels as well as some larger stores is currently going into "the next generation
<br /> that are in the works. of retail,"including the development poten-
<br /> A new Hampton Inn opened last week,in tial along Highway 610.
<br /> an area near Elm Creek Boulevard and I-94•
<br /> that Madsen describes as "the downtown Fridley
<br /> center, for lack of a better word." A new Fridley has pretty much seen it all. So
<br /> 103-unit Extended Stay America,catering to much of it in fact that it's down to 89 acres
<br /> business people in town for a few days, is of vacant industrial property and 33 acres
<br /> slated for the south end of town.• programmed for class 'A' corporate office
<br /> But the Target store, either a Superstore space and supportive commercial services.
<br /> or a Greatland building located at 95th Wal-Mart built a large-format store in the
<br /> Avenue and 1-94, seems to be the biggest early'90s,Home Depot followed in 1995 on
<br /> retail development these days,with 189,000 a 14-acre site and other commercial names
<br /> square feet in the offing."Target hasn't told such as Slumberland have helped round out
<br /> us yet what type store they're building yet, Fridley's retail climate.
<br /> or when it will open,but they're making site "The big news is a possible remodeling
<br /> improvements,"Madsen said. of the Holiday Foods"at University Avenue
<br /> and Interstate 694,said Barbara Dacy,corn-
<br /> Brooklyn Center munity development director.
<br /> Brookdale Center has long been the retail Dacy notes that the area is fully devel-
<br /> anchor in Brooklyn Center,a burg of 30,000 oped compared to Blaine or Eden Prairie.
<br /> residents. But Brookdale is emblematic of Fridley, like Brooklyn Park and Brooklyn
<br /> suburban retail locations where retail devel- Center, is focusing on remodeling and site
<br /> opment has already peaked and redevelop- improvements of existing retail areas. "Our
<br /> ment is the buzzword of the day. Many of goal is to find redevelopment opportunities
<br /> the leases for Brookdale's largest tenants that work, those that fit into neighborhoods
<br /> reportedly are up this year,fueling specula- and that can enhance our tax base,"she said.
<br /> tion that the mall may be in trouble if any
<br /> • decide to pull out. Coon Elapids
<br /> `I•haven't heard those rumors,but Isus- Coon Rapids, like Elk River and Blaine,
<br /> pect it's a bit of posturing on the part of the is enjoying a boom in retail development.In
<br /> tenants,"said Ron Warren,head of the city's addition to neighboring Northtown Mall in
<br /> planning and zoning department for the past Blaine with its myriad stores running the
<br /> 23 years.Warren does say that the mall site gamut from SportMart to Michael's Crafts,a
<br /> is in need of state funds for a water diversion 360,000-square-foot shopping center devel-
<br /> upgrade. oped by Ryan Cos. called Riverdale
<br /> Right now the hot redevelopment areas Commons is scheduled to begin in the near
<br /> lie along 67th Avenue and Brooklyn future with stores like Target and Kohls,said
<br /> Boulevard, where a 70,000-square-foot Lee Starr, the community development
<br /> Rainbow Foods is under construction,with a director.
<br /> nearby Walgreen Drug Store and a "We're getting our share of midlevel
<br /> Hollywood Video. And a new 85-unit hotels these days, too," he noted, including
<br /> Country Inn & Suites, with a TGI Fridays Marriott, Carlson Country Suites and a
<br /> attached on its west side and room for Holiday Inn. And movie theaters: two pro-
<br /> another restaurant on its east wing, should jects with 28 screens are moving forward.
<br /> be open midsummer. "We've been under-screened for a long
<br /> Warren said the areas near 69th and 70th time,"said Starr.
<br /> avenues and Brooklyn Boulevard could also Add to the movies and coffee a 190,000-
<br /> use redevelopment, some of it tied to the square-foot community shopping center
<br /> needed road-widening improvement plans with a large grocery and drug store on the
<br /> now before Hennepin County officials.The city's east side,recently approved by the city
<br /> city currently has a preliminary agreement and about to be built by the Robert Muir Co.,
<br /> with a developer to build "neighborhood- and Coon Rapids,along with the others that
<br /> oriented businesses"at 69th Avenue,but big neighbor it,is poised to enter the next centu-
<br /> projects seem to be a thing of the past. ry in a relatively expansive mode. 111
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