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parties (buyers, builders, residents, brokers) and other municipalities have noticed that Ramsey <br />had taken the proactive and aggressive step to list the property with a broker to get the properties <br />back on the tax rolls. <br />Richard Palmiter, Vice President of Land Services with CBRE, stated it is critical to have <br />cooperation and `one voice' between the Council and staff to assure interested developers are <br />receiving the same message from them as well as the Planning Commission. He stated that is <br />happening now and encouraged the Council and staff to continue that effort to assure success. <br />Mr. Pankratz presented a market snapshot relating to industrial vacancies going down while rent <br />rates are increasing. He explained that in Ramsey, it is an owner- occupied market rather than the <br />speculative building market that is occurring in other areas of the metro. Mr. Pankratz described <br />the changing dynamics in the office market due to telecommunicating and cloud storage, <br />reducing the square footage calculation per person. With regard to the retail market, he felt the <br />grocery market would remain; however, there will be an impact due to on -line shopping and <br />next -day to same -day delivery. Mr. Pankratz stated the additional housing in The COR will be <br />noticed by the retail market when they are looking for a new market area. <br />Mr. Palmiter concurred that if the demographics are not right or adequate, you cannot even give <br />the land away but once those numbers are adequate, development will come. <br />Mr. Pankratz commented on the positive retail market impact that will occur in Ramsey with the <br />construction of the Armstrong Boulevard interchange and McDonalds. He then presented an <br />inventory analysis by city of the metro retail market that depicted the top 15 markets, noting <br />Ramsey is within the top 25. He stated a good sign is that there is a low supply of spec homes, <br />meaning they are being sold, and the current vacant inventory is mostly in townhouse <br />developments. <br />Mr. Palmiter stated that after the Super Bowl, in March, the market saw a change with strong <br />sales and purchase of vacant land to build additional housing inventory. He stated CBRE has <br />been promoting Ramsey with Lennar, a major retail builder, who visited Ramsey and became <br />interested in an area outside of The COR (Sweetbay Ridge). <br />Mr. Pankratz stated the Armstrong Boulevard interchange is coming and while it will be a <br />struggle during the construction phase, they are already promoting the enhanced access that will <br />result with potential buyers and developers. He stated construction costs are increasing for road <br />improvements, residential and commercial, so developers are figuring out how to accommodate <br />those costs with a project that the market will support. <br />Mr. Palmiter commented on the negative impact resulting from requiring residential sprinkler <br />systems in larger houses, which results in buyers buying less of a house than they wanted to buy. <br />Mr. Pankratz stated he has heard developers say Ramsey's fees are high but they hear that about <br />most municipalities. <br />Councilmember Riley asked if Ramsey's fees are higher. <br />City Council Work Session / April 14, 2015 <br />Page 4 of 7 <br />