June 29th, 2006

6/23/2006

Northfield News

First and second parking levels now are visible
By MICHELLE KUBITZ
Staff Writer

NORTHFIELD — It’s amazing what a couple months of hard work, tons of concrete and a vision will do.

If you would have visited the site of “The Crossing” — a development located at the intersection of Minnesota Highway 3 and Second Street — a few months ago, all you would have seen was the occasional signs of construction and a lot of dirt.

“Since about April, we’ve been working on parking levels,” said Jeff Cole, project manager with Mendota Homes, the developer responsible for The Crossing.

“What you see is the first and second parking levels,”he said.

Last week, some of the behind-the-scenes faces from the Mendota Homes crew sat down to talk about the project.

When completed, the $45 million project will include two condominium buildings with more than 100 units of living space and 35,000 square feet of commercial, office and restaurant space spread over a number of commercial buildings.

Currently, crews are working on the first condominium building and the foundation of one of the office buildings.

By late summer or early fall, the first office building will be ready for occupancy, according to Mendota Homes representatives.

The Crossing also will sport a restaurant by the end of the year, said Michael Jordan, project manager for The Crossing.

Although Mendota Homes has yet to specify which restaurant will come to Northfield and make a home at The Crossing, Jordan indicated a purchase agreement is pending.

“The restaurant will be built by the new owner using the design guidelines of the development,” he said.

This week crews started defining roads within the construction site. Next month, asphalt will be poured.

“That will really make a good improvement,”Jordan said.

Lots of cooperation
So far, the stars have been aligned for the construction company.

“We’re dead on (schedule),” saidLarryStark, a Mendota Homes representative. “We haven’t gained (a day) and we haven’t lost.”

Whereas the weather has been cooperating with construction crews, they also are finding Northfield to be a very receptive community to the changes they are making at the former Riverfront Redevelopment site.

“Everyone seems to know about it and have really good opinions,”he said.

– Michelle Kubitz can be reached at 645-1115 or mkubitz@northfieldnews.com.
Other projects
Although it’s the most visible, The Crossing is not the only development in Northfield that has Mendota Homes’ thumbprint on it.

Looking ahead, Mendota Homes, a Little Canada-based development company started byJohnMathern, is involved in projects that will change the face of the Q-Block, Bridge Square and will help cement Northfield’s reputation as an arts town.

Q Block
Named for The Quarterback Club and the former Quiznos Subs building, the Q Block is located on the southwest corner of the Minnesota Highway 3/Second Street intersection.

Recently, the city of Northfield worked with Dahlgren,Shardlow and Uban to create a development road map to maximize the development of the Q Block. However, the city ran into a roadblock with Dale Finger, owner of The Quarterback Club, who argued that the plan jeopardized the future of his restaurant, which has a long history in Northfield.

Currently, Mathern,Finger and Glenn Lubbers — who owns the property where the defunct Quiznos and, most recently, Wiggles & Wok have occupied — “are working together … to come up with a plan that we all support together,”Mathern said. “…If we find common ground, we’ll be at the city with something that everyone can support.”

Mathern has a purchase agreement for land on the western edge of the site and owns a parcel of property between Quiznos and the Quarterback Club.

Mathern is working with a local coffeehouse to establish drive-up location at the Q Block and also anticipates that three retail spots will be constructed there.

Construction is “a couple months away, but not much longer than that,” he said.

Bridge Square
In downtown Northfield’s historic district, there is one building that sticks out like a sore thumb.

The old CommunityNational Bank building is a product of 1960s architecture. But to demolish that, Mathern and his company need to figure out a way to save a portion of a historic building that is part of the Community National site.

Trying to save that wall has been “an unbelievable challenge. … How do you build a brand new building around half of an old building?”Mathern said. “… That has been our stumbling block, the salvation of that building.”

The Mendota Homes crew has spent the past two months trying to figure out how to build around the portion of the building they’ve been charged to preserve.

If they can’t figure out the issue, “there will come a point we have to discuss it with the Historic Preservation Commission and the city.”

Mathern says the company will “explore every possibility. But before we say that … we’re not quite done exploring,”he said.

When and if Mendota Homes figures out how to meld the old with the new, the Bridge Square development will have a first floor of retail and parking. The upper floors will be residential, with 26 units being affordable, owner-occupied housing.

Building for Creative Professionals

This week, Mendota Homes and the NorthfieldDowntown Development Corp. (NDDC)) sent in an application for Tax Credit Financing to help fund their “Building for Creative Professionals.”

Located across Second Street from The Crossing, this building will have a first floor that’s a working artist’s space and three floors of rental housing. A portion of this will be affordable housing.

For more information visit www.northfieldnews.com