Divided City Council approves Target center

<p>A divided City Council approved key components of the contentious East Washington Place shopping center late Monday night, but questions remain over the Target-anchored center.</p><!-- Nothing to do. The paragraph has already been output --><p>The council voted 5-2 in favor of the project, off of East Washington Street and Highway 101, which has a five-year history and has seen plenty of disagreement, including a lawsuit.</p><p>“This has been an ugly process, and I think we can all agree on that,” said Mayor Pamela Torliatt before the vote.</p><p>Councilmembers Mike Healy, Mike Harris, David Rabbitt, David Glass and Torliatt voted to approve both the environmental review documents and a tentative project map. Councilmembers Tiffany Renée and Teresa Barrett opposed the project in its current form. The project will now go to the Planning Commission for further review.</p><p>“This project is not going to solve all our woes, but we need to do some things to increase revenue,” said Torliatt.</p><p>“I'm comfortable that we've done the best we can do,” said Glass. “There has been a tremendous amount of work by staff.”</p><p>Rabbitt called the shopping center a “private sector stimulus package” with no taxpayer money used.</p><p>Renée and Barrett opposed the project on the grounds that more work needs to be done to lessen the impacts on the community.</p><p>“This project is changing the entire fabric and character of the community,” said Renée.</p><p>Barrett said that more mitigations should be in place for impacts on traffic and water availability.</p><p>Before the agreement, councilmembers discussed details of the environmental review and tentative map to include in the vote. The council received commitments on specific aspects of the project from Ryan Nickelson, vice president of real estate for Regency, the developers of the center.</p><p>The most substantial commitments were that Regency would pay the full $10 million in impact fees, that the project would have LEED silver environmental certification, and that the Target store would not be a “Super Target” that includes full-scale grocery sales. Regency also agreed to pave part of Kenilworth Drive, focus on using local contractors and construction materials, and put up signs on-site to recruit job seekers.</p><p>Overall, “Regency is very pleased with the outcome,” said Nickelson.</p><p>Regency bought the site in 2004 for $22 million and sued the city Jan. 13 over “unjustified” delays. A study required by the city and paid for by Regency revealed that the center will bring in about $1 million per year in sales tax revenue and will create 721 full- and part-time jobs.</p><p>The approval of the environmental documents and map are the biggest piece of the puzzle for the shopping center to go forward, although questions still remain over the design and tenants.</p><p>“We're not totally out of the woods yet,” said Nickelson.</p><p>Target is committed to the site, and Friedman's home improvement has signed a non-binding letter of intent to build a store at the center. The inclusion of a Friedman's store was not a condition of the project's approval. Now that the project is approved, Regency will work with Friedman's on plans to close the deal.</p><p>“We need to take it one step at a time with them,” said Nickelson.</p><p>“We're hoping they hold up their end of the agreement,” said Torliatt about Friedman's intent to build a store.</p><p>The addition of Friedman's could prompt the need for new environmental review documents, or the store could fit under amendments to the current documents. That decision, as well as how long the review would take, is yet to be seen. Construction on the Target store would also have to wait on the Friedman's decision.</p><p>“It wouldn't behoove the city to do one part of the project while they are changing the other part,” said Geoff Bradley, principal for Metropolitan Planning Group, the city's privately contracted planning department.</p><p>Regency will meet with the Planning Commission on Feb. 23 to begin ironing out design details. The council will eventually take action on the Planning Commission's design. When the design is approved, construction drawings and permits are needed before construction starts. Target hopes to open its store in October 2011.</p><p>Public comment ran the gamut, with speakers giving their input for a full three hours before the decision. Many people showed up on both sides to oppose and support the project in its current form. As the meeting ended, Torliatt urged Regency to drop its Jan. 13 lawsuit against the city. Nickelson said he could not comment on whether Regency's suit will be dismissed.</p><p>(Contact Philip Riley at philip.riley@arguscourier.com)</p>