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4. EDA BUSINESS 4.01: Informational Interview Oppidan Development Economic Dev. Mgr/Assistant City Administrator Brama stated this case is a follow up to the EDA's ongoing discussion regarding marketing strategies for The COR, and the sale of City- owned land. He presented the staff report. Mr. Drew Johnson, Manager of Commercial Development for Oppidan Development, reviewed his background and gave a history of previous projects Oppidan Development has done with the Board. He stated Oppidan Development is mainly merchant developers; they sell ninety percent of the projects they do,they do not have a portfolio. Mr. Johnson reviewed a six-acre site they are developing in Minneapolis. Chairperson Steffen asked if Oppidan Development owns the site on the current project they are working on in Minneapolis. Mr. Johnson stated they do own the site but they usually do not own a site until they are ready to break ground. He stated this project is A-typical in the nature of it. Chairperson Steffen asked what the general perception is of The COR and what are the strengths and weaknesses. Mr. Johnson stated mixed use is difficult and expensive to do and he felt that Ramsey is doing pretty well with what they have accomplished so far. He commented on how expensive market rate housing is to build. He added that Ramsey is fairly far out from the center of where the money is flowing; suburban housing is challenging and other big projects have had fairly large subsidies and free land, TIF assistance and anything else that can make a project happen. He felt that even with some large barriers, Ramsey is doing quite well with The COR. He noted there are a lot of communities in the same predicament — they want to remake an area and/or build a downtown. Member Riley asked what Mr. Johnson thought of vertically integrated buildings, which he thought Ramsey had a little of already but there is more in the plan. Mr. Johnson thought they are costly but do well on a large scale format. For example, if you have a footprint that is going to handle 100 residential units and you have enough underground parking. If the expectation is that the ground floor will be a lot of retail, for a less dense area like Ramsey, that would be a huge challenge. He thought a reasonable expectation may be the best corner could support some style of retail uses. Chairperson Steffen asked which strategies would be recommended and which ones would Oppidan Development help them out with. Economic Development Authority/March 9,2017 Page 2 of 11