Home Care In Lonsdale, MN

Construction is underway on Harvest Pond Apartments, a 58-unit market-rate development in Lonsdale that developers and city officials say fills a gap in the community’s housing stock.

Developer Brian Bruggeman and general contractor Scott Quiring of Amcon Construction joined city officials and project partners Tuesday for a groundbreaking ceremony at the site near the grocery store and library.

“We’re here today to celebrate the groundbreaking of Harvest Pond Apartments. It’s been a long ride,” Bruggeman said. “I actually looked back at my emails and we started this conversation about 14 months ago. So it’s been a 14-month process to get here.”

The project will feature a pet park, community room with kitchenette and games, and a fitness center. Construction will continue through the winter, with completion expected in about 12 months.

“They’ll work yearround,” Bruggeman said.

Quiring said the idea for the project grew out of a simple observation about the community.

“I just knew Lonsdale needed something, and this was kind of just started with that, knowing it had a need, and turned into this three years later,” he said.

Quiring, a Webster resident who has lived in the area for more than three decades, said the metro area’s apartment market has become increasingly expensive, and smaller communities like Lonsdale offer an opportunity for a lower entry point.

“People up in the metro area, that’s kind of an expectation,” he said of amenities like underground parking. “And you get out here, and people are okay with a detached garage and tuck-under garages, and not that underground parking, which reduces cost. Communities like this just need a lower entry point into cost of living.”

The development is smaller than many recent apartment projects in the region, which Quiring said often range from 150 to 220 units.

“This is a quarter of some of those, so it is smaller, but it’s a perfect size,” he said. “The market study when it first came out, I think it was in that 45 or 48 units, and banks look at that, and developers are like, ‘Well, I don’t want to build more than what I can rent.’ Brian had the wherewithal because he built more units, the cost per unit comes down.”

The site selection came down to walkability.

“You can walk across to grab a roasted chicken, go get your library books,” Quiring said. “It’s close to (Highway) 19, so it’s easy access to getting to Northfield, getting to 35 and north. I think it’s going to be a very, very successful project.”

Bruggeman said the development could help spur additional commercial growth nearby.

“There’s definitely some retail lots across the street here that is one of those chicken and the egg things,” he said. “A lot of retailers require a certain amount of density, and in order for them to come, you have to have that density. So there’s a very good chance that it could spur some additional commercial development in the area.”

Interest in the units has already begun.

“We actually have had a couple calls of people wanting to try to reserve units. We’re not quite ready to do that yet, but it’s good to see that there’s interest already,” Bruggeman said. “It’s always a good sign.”

Once the project nears completion, a waitlist will be established through Granite City, the management company, with leases signed as the building opens.

The project faced a financial hurdle earlier this year when the city council denied a tax abatement request. Mayor Tom Berg said the abatement would have totaled $396,876 over 10 years, or 75%, while generating $804,200 in city fees. The request was made without the proposed nine single-family homes included.

“When the abatement request was denied, I proposed a different incentive to make the project financially viable by reducing the water and sewer connection fees to offset the abatement,” Berg said. “At that point of time, Council agreed to reduce from the original 58 connections, down to a single connection. Essentially it came down to minimal amount of property taxes for 10 years but significant gains upfront, or significantly less gains upfront and capture it slowly year by year.”

Berg said staff worked with the developer to optimize the fee schedule, including the park dedication fee.

“The intentions of the abatement request for a few of us on Council was to pay off the business park’s debt service to alleviate $224,000 per year to relieve ourselves from the recent $5.5 million lease option bond decided by the former council which increased our debt service payments by $300,000 per year, which increased valuations by the county would’ve made up the difference. Losing Advanced Exhaust Solutions for the second time in Lonsdale truly put the City in a complex situation, but there are always solutions.”

Berg said a recent transaction involving 12.1 acres of city-owned land in the business park could still help address that debt.

“With the recent transaction in our business park for 12.1 acres of the City owned land, we might still have a chance when the City closes on the purchase agreement to pay off the business park’s debt early,” he said.

AMCON Construction, which serves as general contractor and also offers in-house architectural services, previously built a similar project with Bruggeman’s team in Annandale.

“Brian and his team have just an incredible management team that operates the facility, so that’s really exciting to be part of that too,” Quiring said.

Local contractor JP Land Services is handling mass grading at the site.

“Never had worked with Joe in the past and heard good things about him. It sold me a good story, and they showed up and they’re getting it done,” Quiring said.

Quiring said the next steps include wrapping up mass grading in two to three weeks, followed by footings, underground utilities, and slab pours. Vertical framing is expected to begin in late October or early November.

“It’ll go quick,” he said. “We got a good team. Again, goes back to working with good subs, and they show up when you want them to show up, and they do the job that they’re supposed to do.”

Bruggeman thanked the city for its work on the project.

“Just a long process with the city and council and staff and everyone worked really hard to get here, so I’m just really thankful for everyone’s commitment and sticking with the project to see it through,” he said.

When the city of Lonsdale set out to bring fireworks back to Trcka Park, it faced a tall order with a fundraising goal of $18,000. But within just a few months, Lonsdale ended the inaugural Founder’s Fest with an 18-minute firework show funded entirely by donations from residents, organizations and businesses totaling more than $20,000.

Founder’s Day Committee Chair Sophie Orluck said there were moments when even she doubted the ability to raise enough funds, but the months of work were worth it when she and City Councilor Kari Miller reunited through tears during the fireworks finale. The new event simultaneously celebrated the small town’s 1903 founding and the 250th birthday of the United States with schoolyard games, tours of the Historic 3R Landmark School and more on July 3.

“Founder’s Fest was a phenomenal showing of community serving community,” Mayor Tom Berg said.

The day began at 3 p.m. at the 3R Landmark School, where Orluck and Berg helped lead a patriotic opening ceremony complete with Miss Lonsdale River Johnson singing “The Star-Spangled Banner” and the Lonsdale American Legion Post 586 Color Guard presenting the flags of the nation and state.

“It was wonderful,” Orluck said. “The turnout was way more than we anticipated. … We were at over 500 in terms of attendance, and that’s 10% of our town. That’s huge for a first-time event with very little marketing. The turnout at the schoolhouse at the opening ceremony was amazing.”

The events continued all day in Trcka Park and at Rail 19 Bar & Grill, capping off with the fireworks show at 10 p.m. and a street dance with live music at Rail 19 until midnight.

“Honestly, my favorite part was watching how genuinely happy the community was throughout the entire day. It absolutely made it all worth it,” Berg said. “For the future, I absolutely trust the committee will do a phenomenal job for years to come. They have so much support, potential and have the ambition to make those continuous additions and improvements together.”

On the Lonsdale Area News-Review Facebook page, Carmen Sevcik called the event “a fun and enjoyable day,” and Sharla Johnson said she enjoyed being able to tour the schoolhouse.

“I wished we could still go down the fire escape,” she added.

The committee was not formed until February, which Orluck said made it a challenge to organize everything in time. But ultimately, she said it was a good way to celebrate both the 123rd year of the city and the 250th year of the country.

“It was honestly unbelievable to me because I was like, ‘No way everyone in the community actually came together and contributed toward our goal,’” she said. “It was an act of faith on all of these businesses, organizations and individuals that partook in the sponsorship because no one knew what to expect. No one knew what this festival was going to look like. No one knew what the attendance was going to be. It was really a lot of faith in the works of this, and seeing the outcome was just amazing.”

While she said she already has several ideas to make it even bigger and better in years to come, she is especially happy that the city did not use tax dollars for the event.

“It was a big learning year, lots of notes were taken, and we did have a little turnover on the committee as well,” she said. “All of that being said, I think we should be proud of what came out of it, and I hope the community is too.”

Orluck is from the Twin Cities and grew up in “big towns with big people and lots of money involved.” Chairing the Lonsdale Founder’s Day Committee was her first time being on any type of committee or board like it.

“Being able to actually have a voice here is really cool,” she said.

Berg noted the filing period for mayor and two city councilors is July 14-28.

“It’s an exciting time in Lonsdale to join the city as a mayor or a councilmember,” he said. “I can definitely speak for myself: It’s been an honor of a lifetime to serve this community. A very special and sincere thank you to Lonsdale for letting me share my passion toward this town and show my dedication to you.”