Agenda - Economic Development Authority - 05/14/2026

Home

Economic Development Authority (EDA) Meeting Date: 05/14/2026 Primary Strategic Plan Initiative: Promote economic growth and development. 4. 2. Title: Consider Sale of City Land to LH Road, LLC (Wildlife Research Center) for Building Expansion Purpose/Background: The EDA may choose to go into closed session pursuant to Minnesota Statutes section 13D.05, subdivision 3(c)(3) to consider offers or counteroffers for the purchase or sale of real or personal property. If the EDA chooses to enter into to closed session the statute and reason above needs to be referenced along with legal description (Tract B, Registered Land Survey No. 251) and the Anoka County Tax ID number 27-32-25-41-0025. The purpose of this case is to consider the sale Tract B, Registered Land Survey No. 251 to LH Road, LLC (Wildlife Research Center) to expand business operations. The business expansion project includes two buildings that will be built in sequence. The first building to be constructed is a 13,500 SF Warehouse building that will be constructed fully on Tract B. This project will commence this summer. The second building is a 36,000 SF addition onto its existing 40,000 SF building for warehousing, shipping and manufacturing. The total project costs are estimated to be approximately 5.1 Million. The second building needs to commence construction during the "non -busy" season for Wildlife Research Center which is planned for December of 2026. In the event that materials, the platting or city approvals are not obtained on time, the 36,000 SF Building expansion could be pushed to December of 2027. Only the 13,500 SF building will be subject to the terms and conditions of the Right of Re -Entry Agreement. Lot Conditions / Sale Price Currently the site is vacant, contains two MPCA monitoring wells and city and MPCA Stormwater infrastructure. The site has a huge depression in the middle and is not buildable based on existing infrastructure and topography. Based on these conditions the site has not been marketed and has no value in its current condition. Adjacent property owners are the only ones that have the potential to utilize the parcel but it would come at a very large cost. Staff has been in contact with both adjacent landowners (Ztech and WRC) and Z-tech is comfortable with the development proposed by WRC.(See attached letter) A cost estimate to import and compact dirt, construct retaining walls, demo and install storm water piping and to enlarge the regional storm totaling $640,130 to prepare the site for development has been provided by RJ Ryan. The site is proposed to be sold for $1.00 based on the existing conditions and the extraordinary cost required to accommodate the construction of both buildings. Based on the existing condition of the site, selling it for the price of $1.00 does not constitute a business subsidy. This has been supported by the information provided above and review by the City Bond attorney from TAFT Law. MPCA and Stormwater Infrastructure Staff began discussions on the viability of development of this site with the MPCA, WRC, RJ Ryan, City Engineering Staff and the neighboring landowners. Initial feedback, and subsequent feedback from the MPCA was supportive of the development of the site as long as the monitoring wells and MPCA infrastructure was not negatively impacted. RJ Ryan worked with Hakanson Anderson and the City Engineer to evaluate the stormwater infrastructure to identify what was needed to accommodate the future development and preserve functional city stormwater solutions. RJ Ryan has found a stormwater solution that includes the installation and relocation of existing stormwater pipes and the oversizing of an existing stormwater pond. LH Road, LLC will need to be obtain formal approvals from the MPCA on the development plan. Notification: