A former fire station and a shuttered parks building in Lake Elmo are poised to become go-to places for hungry locals.
Lake Elmo’s City Council this week approved a concept from Brian Heidt and Amanda Urban, in partnership with Julian Ocampo, to transform the properties into eateries.
As part of an adaptive reuse project, the fire station at 3510 Laverne Ave. will become “Tap & Ladder,” which is described in a city staff report as a “self-pour taphouse and casual dining restaurant with approximately 150 seats.”
The project also includes a second restaurant, “Machete Cocina Mexicana,” which will take shape within the former parks building at 11200 Upper 33rd St. A staff report describes the restaurant as a “bold, chef-driven concept already thriving on the southwest side of Woodbury.”
In June, the city issued a request for proposals to reuse the buildings. The city received nine responses and scored the proposals on factors that include land use, preservation and design, enhancements to the surrounding streetscape and more.
The properties are in the city’s Old Village Area. In the RFP , the city encouraged developers to preserve the fire station through adaptive reuse.
“The developer should include how their plans promote historic preservation and traditional building design. Quality of architectural design, including aesthetics and sustainability, will also be taken into consideration,” the RFP states.
An RFP committee suggested three finalists and ultimately recommended the Tap & Ladder/Machete concept to the city council.
On Tuesday, the council accepted the recommendation to move forward with the proposal from Tap & Ladder and Machete to purchase the buildings.
City documents reveal that the proposed purchase price is $750,000, or $150,000 less than the appraised value, whichever is less. The expected build-out costs are $980,760 for the fire station and $704,000 for the parks building.
According to the RFP, residents “strongly preferred” uses that include “eating and drinking establishments,” “family-friendly spaces,” “housing, including mixed-use,” and a community center.
Council Member Jeff Holtz said the Tap & Ladder/Machete proposal aligns with the wishes of the city council and the community. Holtz added that he didn’t expect two restaurants to emerge from the RFP process.
“I never conjured up that possibility. And now we have a proposal with two. And I think what we’ve seen over the last week, especially, has been very strong feedback from the community saying, ‘Heck yeah,’” Holtz said.
Council Member Matt Hirn said he could count more than 100 ideas from people who had a vision for the site.
“We go from nine [submitted proposals], we get down to three. We see these three proposals, and it kind of gives you goosebumps, almost, when you read through them. All three of them were fantastic. They really were looking to make Lake Elmo better.”