Fridley to Host Public Meeting Monday on E. River Rd.-694 Site

Hear about and comment on the city's Environmental Assessment Worksheet (EAW) for the former JLT/Tiro site at Fridley City Hall on May 20, 2013 at 6:30 p.m.

Have a look at the City of Fridley's report on the former JLT or Tiro Industries site here or at the City of Fridley website. Then attend a public information meeting Monday evening: On May 10, 2013, The City of Fridley submitted an Environmental Assessment Worksheet (EAW) to the State Environmental Quality Board for Publication. This EAW is associated with the redevelopment of 27 acres of the former Tiro Industries Site (5601 East River Road). The EQB will publish in their EQB Monitor on May 27, 2013. There will be a public information meeting at the Fridley Municipal Center, 6431 University Avenue N.E. on May 20, 2013, at 6:30 p.m. for the purpose of: Providing information on and allowing comments on the EAW Document prepared in …

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JLT Site at E. River Rd. and I-694 Is Topic of Public Hearing

Fridley Planning Commission will take up redevelopment plans at its March 20, 2013 meeting.

Fridley Planning Commission to Take up JLT Property

Industrial Equities' development at northeast corner of East River Road and I-694 could 'put the state’s first transit-driven tax increment financing district to use,' according to Finance & Commerce.

The Fridley Planning Commission will hold a public hearing on a transit-oriented development master plan for the JLT property at the northeast corner of East River Road and I-694 at its March 20, 2013 meeting: Consideration of a Transit Oriented District (TOD) Master Plan, TOD #13-01, by Industrial Equities, LLP, to allow the construction of an office/warehouse building, and a future office and multi-family housing development, generally located at 5601 East River Road NE. The Fridley City Council could take up the issue at its April 8, 2013 meeting. Finance & Commerce reported Friday, in an article headlined "Fridley mixed-use plan near Northstar could benefit from TIF," on a Minnesota milestone the development represents: Plans to build …

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BAE Property Redevelopment Process Moves Ahead

Council OKs scope for environmental study of former FMC site on East River Road in Fridley.

The man with a plan for the commercial redevelopment of what's thought to be the largest single available industrial site in Minnesota calls a Fridley City Council action last week "a major hurdle." That's according to the Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal, which took stock of the project' progress in an article last week, after the council approved the Alternative Urban Area-wide Review (AUAR) Environmental Assessment Worksheet (EAW) Scoping Document for the redevelopment of 122 acres at the former FMC Munitions Facility property along East River Road, in Fridley's southwest corner: "We think this is a major hurdle needed in the process for us to make this redevelopment happen," said Paul Hyde, the principal of Hyde Development who is…

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Report: Minneapolis Developer Buys JLT Property in Fridley

The site, 27 acres at the northeast corner of I-694 and East River Road, was sold for $1.375 million, Finance and Commerce reported.

John Allen of the Industrial Equities development company is the new owner of the JLT property at the northeast corner of I-694 and East River Road, according to Finance and Commerce (a subscription-only article): Minneapolis developer John Allen has paid $1.375 million for a long vacant Mississippi River site in Fridley that Jerry Trooien’s JLT Group lost to receivership. That's confirmed in Anoka County property records for the property (see PDF): Related:

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SEE ONLINE: Environmental Study of Fridley's FMC Site

A public comment period is open through Jan. 23, 2013, on the study sparked by a redevelopment plan for the munitions-plant site now home to BAE Systems.

Read the Draft Alternative Urban Area-wide Review (AUAR) Environmental Assessment Worksheet (EAW) Scoping Document for the redevelopment of 122 acres at the former FMC Munitions Facility property (along East River Road, in Fridley's southwest corner). The document describes the proposed redevelopment of the site for industrial, office and even retail uses: Redevelopment of the site is planned to begin in late 2013 with construction of up to three buildings in the location of the existing southern parking lot (an 84,000 square foot office showroom building, a 99,900 square foot office/warehouse building, and a 200,000 square foot bulk warehouse building). Redevelopment of the northern parking lot would occur next in 2014 with the …

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3 Developers Eyeing 'Gateway Northeast'

At Monday meeting, Fridley City Council will consider rezoning 10 HRA properties on University Ave. between 58th and 61st.

The long-anticipated redevelopment of properties along University Avenue NE could get closer Monday, when the Fridley City Council considers rezoning 10 properties as a redevelopment district. The City of Fridley Housing and Redevelopment Authority (HRA) began buying commercial properties on the east side of University Avenue NE from 58th to 61st avenues NE in 2006. Redevelopment at the "Gateway Northeast" site has lagged through the recent recession, but the application to rezone the properties from C-2 (commercial) to S-2 (redevelopment district) zoning contains some encouraging words: Over the past few months there has been interest from three different parties wanting to purchase all or at least portions of the property for …

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VIDEO: Fridley Mayor on University Avenue Redevelopment

Scott Lund talks to Patch about the city's University Ave. redevelopment projects.

Fridley Mayor Scott Lund said redevelopment projects on University Avenue NE have been going slower than initially expected due to the stagnant economy. But he said he was committed to redeveloping the stretch of land, which he called "one of our most major corridors." "I liken myself to a builder of sorts, not that I actually do the sawing and the hammering and nailing, but I like nice things and I like it for my community," Lund said.

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University Ave. Redevelopment Project Quiet Since Summer Demolitions

Fridley HRA seeks to revitalize a stretch that has suffered from business turnover.

In the late 1960s and early 1970s the Minnesota Department of Transportation started building frontage roads along Fridley’s University Avenue, choking off access to motorists and starting a decades-long cycle of business turnover. “There was an old McDonald’s that had become a worship space for the Sikh Society, there was an old taco place that became a marketing company, there was an auto parts store that had become something else,” said Paul Bolin, assistant executive director of the Fridley Housing and Redevelopment Authority (HRA). “They were all on their fourth and fifth different use—you’re not going to drive five blocks past a McDonald’s, turn and come back on a frontage road to get to one.” In 2006, in response to queries from …

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UPDATED Report: Tentative Deal Would Redevelop BAE Site As Business Park

Developer eyes 140-acre site on East River Road in Fridley.

Update (Monday, 1:30 p.m.): City of Fridley Community Development Director Scott Hickok offered details via email about news of a tentative redevelopment deal for the BAE Systems site on East River Road: The HRA will be discussing this item on April 5th and the City Council will hold its hearing on the establishment of the TIF district for this project on April 9th. At this time our staff continues to analyze the details of the project, while they prepare to make their recommendation to the HRA and City Council (which will be at the respective April meetings). This is a project that was brought to us by its Developer, Paul Hyde, Real Estate Recycling.  Though the City designated this site as, Redevelopment District in its most recent …

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