Agenda - Planning Commission - 07/09/2020

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The Excelsior Group as a valued partner: The Makowsky Family has been trying to sell the Trott Brook North property on and off for the last 18 years. We have been approached by numerous developers who were only interested in purchasing 40 acres and not the full 200 acres. We as landowners care about the final product and are convinced that piecemealing 40- be as visually appealing as a well thought out master development for the entire 200 acres. We decided to move forward with the Excelsior Group for a variety of reasons: They understand the value of the land. They are interested in more than just profits. If you look at their portfolio, it is evident that they create neighborhoods that are rich in nature and community. The Excelsior Group is well respected in the industry. They are one of the top players in the residential land development space and one of few developers that can and are willing to purchase a parcel of land this large. They have the expertise and financial means to develop all 200 acres with a complete master plan. They are willing to work with neighbors and city officials to discuss and remedy reasonable concerns. We encourage you to reach out to Ben Schmidt (contact information is below) at the Excelsior land. Ben has urged council and planning members to tour developments where Excelsior has utilized a similar mix of lot sizes. If you have not already, we request that city staff and council Excelsior to develop one of the last large parcels of land along a valued natural resource, we hope you are as well! Contact information: Ben Schmidt President, Partner - Residential Land Development 952.525.3225 Ben.Schmidt@excelsiorllc.com The Excelsior Group 1660 Highway 100 S, Suite 400 St. Louis Park, MN 55416 Change and Family Background: There has been a lot of discussion regarding change and how residents surrounding the Trott Brook North Development do not want change. The Makowsky family is no stranger to change. The majority of the proposed Trott Brook North Development (160 acres) is owned by Makowsky Family Farms, which is owned by 4 families, of which are all descendants of William Makowsky. The Makowsky family has been the stewards of this land for the last 106 years. William purchased the land and homestead back in 1914, before Ramsey was even a city. At its inception the farm was utilized as a dairy farm. Over time, inevitably change came to the dairy business as larger farms and corporations began taking over the industry. This pushed dairy prices down and to help make it through these tough times our great grandfather sold 140 acres in 1972 to develop Golden Eagle Estates, which is directly west, across Variolite from the Trott Brook North Development. This was not a popular decision amongst residents, at the time