Cold Storage Site Check-In; Elverum
Planning & Economic
Development
MEMORANDUM
TO: Honorable Mayor and Hopkins City Council Members
FROM: Kersten Elverum, Director of Planning & Development
DATE: January 5, 2017
SUBJECT: Cold Storage Site Check-In
The Hennepin County-funded planning work that addressed development opportunities on several
Blake Corridor sites, including the Cold Storage site, has been completed. The conclusions and
recommendations of that work were shared with the City Council in April 2016. In order to progress
towards redevelopment of the Cold Storage site, the Minnehaha Creek Watershed District is planning on
issuing a Request for Qualifications (RFQ) leading up to the selection of a preferred developer or
development team.
Ideally, the RFQ will share a vision for redevelopment that includes the input received from the
community including input gathered as part of the LISC CDI process, is grounded in market reality that
was vetted through the ULI Technical Advisory Panel and LHB work, and achieves the transit-oriented
development goals identified through the City’s plans. It will also be best responded to if it provides
guidance on the willingness of the City of Hopkins to provide financial assistance through tools such as
tax increment financing.
It is the intent of the work session discussion to begin to detail the development types, densities, design
criteria, and overall project goals that the City will be looking for in order to support the redevelopment
of this important site through regulatory controls and possibly financial incentives. It is intended that
this will be an introductory discussion to a conversation that will take place over the next few months.