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Jay Swenson

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He added, “We’ll probably have a full parking lot at peak times. Maybe some of our employees will have to carpool or park elsewhere ... We give full bagging to car service to our customers. We hope we can bring traffic to downtown, but I see Victoria with slower moving traffic, like in Excelsior.”

Responding to a question about adding another floor to the store, moving up since moving out is not possible, Mr. Riley said, “Second levels in grocery stores are terrible. It doesn’t work.”

Council Roden commented, “I love your store in Minnetonka [Glen Lake]. You’ve got a good reputation.”

Said Councilmember Richard Tieden, “My wife and I visited your store at Glen Lake and we were very, very impressed. It’s just a class act all the way through and I hope it works out here. It’s a great opportunity for everybody.”

Said Councilmember Jim Paulsen, “I think everybody wants this grocery store. I think it works for the food store but not so well for the rest of the downtown. What do we do, God forbid, if it doesn’t work?”

Jim added, “I think the stacking issue is a real problem ... I think a wall like that along Highway 5 isn’t the asset we’d like it to be. I think parking should be made to work on the front end. My message is, ‘Be careful! Be careful! Be careful!’ I will be looking for a cooperative agreement between you and all of your neighbors in the area.”

There is a possibility that the bank next door, just to the immediate east of the proposed grocery store, would have to give up a strip of its property to accommodate continued two-way traffic on Quamoclit.

Marques Dopper, President of KleinBank in Victoria, spoke at the podium at the conclusion of the topic that evening of July 10th. “From the first moment I met Tom and Dale, I was extremely excited. If it’s going to work, these two can make it happen. We very much support this project. I’m not sure there’s a better way to configure it. We intend to be very cooperative. The bank can grow to the east side. Our message today is that we want this grocery store.”

Terry Hartman, resident of Victoria and chairman of the Business Development Committee, referred to past unsuccessful plans for a grocery store in the 13.5 acres next to the existing downtown Victoria. He said to Councilmembers, “We supported the previous grocery store project with Coburn’s wholeheartedly, but they chose to opt out. We’re overwhelmed we can have this store in downtown Victoria. This is important to every other existing business and future business. This is really exciting. If it doesn’t work out, we’ll be really excited about the next one.”

Terry added, “A compact dense urban center depends on how you all work together and get help from the municipality. If we want big box development, we won’t get the multiple use that we want.”

Councilmember Tieden said that Mary Meuwissen, who has plans to develop the Creamery property in downtown Victoria, is very excited about the Wartman/Riley proposal and encouraged by it. He added, “If we’ve got these projects going on in economically tough times ... Wow! Others should want to look here too then.”

Councilmember Roden said, “We need comment from Lois Plocher, who runs probably the most successful business in town.” Rick and Lois Plocher are the owner of Floyd’s, the business on the immediate west side of the proposed grocery store project.

From July 17th

Needing a New TIF District

Council voted unanimously to donate downtown city-owned property valued at $400,000 to developers of the Fresh Seasons Market either through Tax Increment Financing and/or grant funding. A public hearing to establish a new TIF District will be needed. The project would not go forward “but for” the TIF money, a requirement for a TIF project.

Two properties being donated by the city were recently occupied by two vacant homes on Quamoclit Street in downtown Victoria. A third property, also recently occupied by a home on Quamoclit Street, is being retained by the city to provide the extension of Tower Boulevard to the east. The City of Victoria anticipates reimbursement of the $400,000 through the 26-year life of the TIF.

City Planner Holly Kreft pointed out that the developers --Tom Wartman and Dale Riley -- will be spending $875,000 to acquire the C.H. Carpenter site and the last home still standing on Quamoclit Street.

They will also be spending over $3 million to construct the grocery store, the parking lot, and landscaping plus whatever the interior finishing, equipment, and inventory requires. In addition, the developers will pay their share of infrastructure costs through special assessments as a benefitting property, perhaps $50,000.

Shannon Sweeney, the city’s financial consultant, said the two city properties being donated to the developer currently pay a total of $19,000 in property taxes to the city, county, and school district. He said the city, county, and school district will continue to receive that $19,000 for the next 26 years.

As the property increases in value because of the new construction, the property taxes will increase, however, and that increase will go only to the City of Victoria. It is this increment that the city can use to offset the “donation” cost as well as infrastructure cost. Mr. Sweeney said this increment will be roughly $30,000 per year.

“The city is not incurring an obligation in creating a TIF district,” he said. Also, the city would likely incorporate a larger downtown area in the TIF district that might take advantage of future projects.

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