Community looks to redevelopment as future of downtown Shakopee

Shakopee Valley News

It's 1992 in downtown Shakopee. Highway 169 cuts through the area, bringing a large volume of people and vehicles.

Traffic exhaust dirties the buildings from the exhaust and the speed makes it dangerous to park and walk in some areas. The buildings along the Minnesota River are dilapidated.

In the mid-1990s, a bypass for 169 is constructed around Shakopee, taking with it some people who would have stopped downtown and the large vehicles rolling through the streets.

In 1998, Suntide Commercial Realty looks to the land near the river for one of the first major redevelopment projects in Shakopee — the Riverside City Centre, with spaces for retail on the main level and housing for people 55 years and older in apartments.

"Somebody actually went back and said, 'Let's go into towns and go back and work on the basis of what made a town work in the first place,' " River City Centre Associates Representative Steve Dombrovski said. "It was really quite successful. It kind of reinvigorated the town."

Eventually, the focus shifted from downtown to the boom of big-box store construction and industrial parks on the edge of town.

"It's sort of like a new baby is born and somebody rushes to see it and then all of a sudden they become just another child," Dombrovski said. "Just the nature of how business works, sometimes you gravitate towards what the next best thing is ... all of a sudden the influence of downtown wasn't as important again."

Former mayor Brad Tabke moved to Shakopee in 2003 from Chicago. In Chicago, he and his wife had frequented the downtown areas both of their suburb and the city. Tabke saw an opportunity in downtown Shakopee.

"When I became mayor, that was one of the major things that we had talked about and worked on was that downtown had been neglected," Tabke said. "It seemed like nobody cared about it and there were a lot of really passionate people who wanted to do great things with it but the city was not investing in it for a long time."

Nearly 20 years later, the city of Shakopee, business leaders and residents hope a huge redevelopment project will spur this kind of investment and influence in the downtown area again. Earlier this summer, the city proposed giving four pieces of downtown property to Minneapolis developer CPM Companies, as an incentive to revitalize downtown, which is often more expensive than constructing a building from scratch.

"When you look at a company willing to buy and step to the plate relative to wanting new development, people want to try and make sure that you keep them interested because there's not going to be a lot of people stepping in line to do that," Dombrovski said. "That's a fact."

Right now, two of the properties are owned by the city, and not on the tax rolls. Two council members have been critical of the plan to give the property away in exchange for a hotel and apartments.

"I think there's a misperception in the community that the city is giving away land and giving away property, but in reality, we're taking property that has been off the books as far as taxable income to the city and putting it back on the books," City Councilor Kathi Mocol said.

Three properties on First Avenue would be developed into a $16 million, 110-room boutique hotel. The former city hall would be developed into a $8 million mixed-use development with up to 70 apartments and retail spaces.

The hope is that the development would bring in tax revenue and more people downtown to eat, drink and spend money.

"Downtown is our heart of city, our sense of place," City Councilor Jay Whiting said. "There's a lot of communities trying to build a downtown and we already have one. To me, why would we want to give that up and invest somewhere else when we're already halfway there?"

The hotel would bring visitors to the riverfront, which is under-utilized, property and business owner Kevin Wetherille said.

"The boutique is the first opportunity that I've ever heard of that somebody actually is taking advantage of the trail system that we have right along the river," Wetherille said. "We're the only river town I know that doesn't really take advantage of that." 

The projects and any future redevelopments are part of a long-term vision the city has had for years.

"There wouldn't need to be a purpose for redevelopment if there was viability in the marketplace on an old building," Bill's Toggery owner Billy Wermerskirchen said. "So for the city to invest a little bit for the long-term vision of what's to come, I agree with."

The redevelopment makes sense for the city's future and what the city has been planning for downtown Shakopee, Tabke said.

"We've known for a long time that we need to have more high-density residential in the downtown to continue and make downtown even more viable as a business district," Tabke said.

Whiting said it's worth the investment.

"If you look at this from a return on your investment — the demolition of city hall, that demolition of the two other buildings, all the infrastructure cost, the whole package would be paid back to the taxpayers within five years," Whiting said. "That's a pretty good return on your investment."

The project could also inspire more developers to come to Shakopee.

"I think having a boutique hotel and luxury apartments — both of those would certainly become catalyst projects for the future of our community," said Elliot Johnson, director of the Main Street program at the Shakopee Chambers and Visitors Bureau.

Johnson was instrumental in creating the Rhythm on the Rails concert series, which brought a large crowd downtown on Wednesday nights for five weeks over the summer. During the concerts, visitors were invited to give input into the city's 2040 Comprehensive Plan.

"What we're seeing is that people want more community engagement and a revitalized downtown and through their responses we're seeing, it's really fun to show our community some collaborative efforts that can happen right in the heart of our downtown," Johnson said. "I see downtown Shakopee thriving within the next five years."

The redevelopment shows Shakopee is planning what the city should look like in decades, as opposed to a few years ahead, Wetherille said.

"I think it would be a shame if the city didn't think long term about what the city hall building could be and have a plan that makes sense," Wetherille said. "We need to be looking 10 or 20 years in front of ourselves. I think this is an opportunity to do that."

Shakopee's population will continue to grow as the industrial parks, with companies like Amazon and Shutterfly, grow, alongside the Twin Cities.

"The town is on the verge of an exploding growth and I would love to see the city move with that growth and think farther ahead than the next couple years because the growth is coming, whether people want it or not," Wermerskirchen said. "As Shakopee grows, the downtown will grow."

A challenge might be to bring more people downtown — some of that diverted Highway 169 traffic. The more that's invested downtown, the more people will want to visit.

"We have an opportunity to park and walk somewhere and places to go and places to meet people, whether it's a coffee or for a drink or for dinner," Mocol said. "For me, that's the heart of the city is where people gather."

The market is there with the creation of boutique hotels and apartments a younger generation can take advantage of, Dombrovski said.

"Housing in whatever way you can address it going forward, I think is a positive," Dombrovski said. "This community and the downtown business community has worked hard to try and revitalize the downtown. I've seen it come a long ways. What you don't want to do is all of a sudden, have it veer off again and all of a sudden, the emphasis goes somewhere else."

Having a downtown creates an identifiable home for Shakopee residents, Tabke said.

"We want to give people experiences and having a sense of place like the downtown is critical for the next 50 years of Shakopee's existence," Tabke said.

The downtown is linked to the health of the entire city, Johnson said.

"Your downtown is the center of your community and if that's thriving, I really do believe your community is thriving too," Johnson said.