Laura Russ, a representative from Thies and Talle Enterprises, came before the council to discuss their proposal to redevelop the city hall/liquor store site.
Russ came before the council on Wednesday, May 8.
Thies and Talle was the only company to send a proposal to the city after the city advertised RFPs for the potential project.
With the current city hall building in rough shape and the cost to fix it cost prohibitive, the city sent out RFP requests to see if anyone from the private sector would like to redevelop the site while the city looks for a new place to build a city hall.
Russ said Thies and Talle would look at building a 30,000-square-foot, three-story building with surface parking that would cost $10-12 million, and potentially up to $15 million depending on site conditions and local contractor availability.
The first floor would contain retail and management potential space for tenants.
Anchoring the first floor would be the municipal liquor store. There would also be space for EDA and or community groups to lease space for local business incubators (pop up retail) with event space that could be rented privately or used for public meetings or leased for management office space.
Second floor micro unit apartments at approximately 500 square feet with a small kitchen for one or two people would be available for rent as well as furnished rentals available by the day, week or month depending on the season.
One or two furnished apartment style units would be available to rent by the day, week or month depending on the season, on the third floor.
Before anything gets done, the city will have to hold public meetings to seek public approval.
And, among other things, Theis and Talles needs to assess risks to secure financing and evaluate market conditions.
To asses the feasibility of a building project the city would then need to conduct a site survey and get environmental testing and geotechnical reviews of the property.
Should that go okay, and the city decides to work with the developer, the city would then execute a letter of intent. At that time the developer would pursue the feasibility study by refining site options and economic modeling and assess investor and lender interest and requirements.
At that point the city and developer would complete a public approval process and then the developer would select a contractor and obtain construction costs and lender/investor commitments, then sign a purchase agreement and development agreement to transfer the land.
In other business:
. Between the Grand Marais Recreation Park and the Gunflint Hill golf course, the city always needs to add help for the summer/fall season.
Hired this season are Betsy Warren, park maintenance worker; Jeremiah Ian Nelson, park maintenance worker; Chase Bronikowski, washroom custodian; Sophie Eliasen, park office clerk; and Randy Stoaln, golf club attendant.
. Council approved a change order that reduced the Guaranteed Maximum Price of the Public Works building from $4,692,345 to $3,794,573, a reduction of $897,772. The public works facility was built by McGough Construction Co. LLC in 2018.
. Jack McDonnell and Dana Mackenzie requested a conditional use permit to operate a single use facility that is located in an existing single-family structure. The property is zoned RCN Resort Commercial Neighborhood. A public hearing was held May 1 with no one from the public attending. The original request was for an 18-month permit, but McDonnell amended his request to a permanent conditional use permit with the understanding that he could use the house as a permanent residence.
During the planning commission discussion commissioner Hawkins expressed concern about losing another permanent residential home to short-term rental.
However, similar lodging already exists in the zone with short-term lodging adjacent to the north and south of the property, and there is adequate off-street parking.
The planning commission recommended approving the conditional use permit by a 4-1 vote, and the Grand Marais City Council approved a resolution allowing the McDonnell/Mackenzie request for a conditional use permit to operate a one-unit lodging facility.
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