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(1) Stone Brook Feedback <br />A. Why does Stone Brook think they need to be located on this site? <br />1. For the reasons outlined below, Stone Brook is confused why this question is being discussed —as <br />it appears the City is providing mixed and conflicting direction/ messages on The COR. <br />■ The City's adopted COR Master Plan specifically shows a childcare center on this site. <br />■ The City's adopted COR Master Plan shows three individual projects on this site, <br />including a very small project (not one single large project as many have discussed <br />recently). <br />■ The City's adopted COR-2 Zoning District allows for this use. <br />■ The City is formally marketing this parcel for sale. Stone Brook is willing to purchase at a <br />reasonable price —and is not asking for a formal business subsidy. <br />■ Stone Brook is proposing a quality project, a quality service, and a destination use for <br />The COR. <br />2. Stone Brook has reviewed all available site locations in The COR on multiple occasions, over the <br />past six months. This includes reviewing sites with developers, architects, banks, and walking <br />sites. Stone Brook wants to purchase this property now (purchase agreement). They have been <br />saving for the past two plus years —and are very interested in this specific site. They desire to <br />begin construction in early summer 2017. <br />3. Look/ feel/ vision are very important to Stone Brook. This site (near center of The COR) meets <br />the vision of Stone Brook. They want a high-class, high-tech, high -amenity, well -respected, nice <br />looking academy/ childcare center, that fronts Sunwood Drive, and fits in WELL with the <br />surrounding area —which they believe is near the center of The COR. This facility will be much <br />more of a state-of-the-art children's academy, rather than simply just a childcare center. This <br />will be an asset/ destination for this community. <br />4. Stone Brook believes in the City's vision of The COR—and they are drawn to this specific site. <br />They believe near the heart of The COR is where family oriented uses/ destination uses are best <br />located —like academy's, community centers, theaters, train stations, municipal, parks, etc. <br />(details in location section below). <br />5. Being located near the center of The COR, versus on one extreme end or the other, provides <br />better ability for Stone Brook to evenly pull from Ramsey's major population areas (north and <br />east of Ramsey Boulevard), and also to pull from future developable areas (west of new <br />Armstrong interchange). <br />6. Being located near the center of The COR allows Stone Brook to draw from nearby dense <br />housing —including apartments, townhomes, and other residential developments within The <br />COR—as a result, in many cases, this location may be walkable. Being located near the center of <br />The COR may also attract people using the Northstar Commuter Rail. <br />7. This site (Site #1) allows for a nice transition of uses, from multiple apartment users (i.e. COR-1 <br />zoning district) to a traditional retail area (COR-2 retail district). Naturally, this site is a transition <br />site. A transition user, like Stone Brook, makes sense. <br />8. Stone Brook believes being located on Sunwood Drive, near the center of The COR, is important <br />for fit/ feel/ safety of the academy. Traffic flow (ease of access, congestion) and nearby users <br />impact the perceived safety/ security/ fit of their facility. Stone Brook believes being located on <br />either end of The COR detracts from these principles (i.e. convenience retail areas). <br />Page 3 of 14 <br />