Continued: Split Wayzata council OKs Bay Center plan

After years of failed proposals, months of heated debate and many hours of public comment, Presbyterian Homes and Services' plans for the most important piece of commercial real estate in Wayzata will go forward.

In a 3-2 vote at the end of a seven-hour meeting Tuesday night, the Wayzata City Council approved the nonprofit's general plan for the 14 acres on which the Wayzata Bay Center now sits.

The $160 million development -- a walkable district of senior housing, retail, office space, condos, a hotel and a public plaza -- will forever alter the retail and housing markets in the west-metro, experts have said.

And it will transform the affluent city of Wayzata, which has struggled to keep its small-town feel while retaining the lakeside retail for which it's known.

"Twenty years from now ... this will be viewed as a critical juncture in restoring this town," said Mayor Andrew Humphrey, who voted for the project, saying it has "captivated" him.

Of the more than 200 people who attended Tuesday night's meeting, at least 115 spoke. All but a handful supported the project, most with great enthusiasm.

"It is time that Wayzata reinvent itself," said Mary Messina, one of a dozen small business owners who said the development is necessary to their succeeding in town.

Many speakers urged the council to pass the plan without conditions -- unlike the council's approval in 2005 of United Properties' proposal for the site. That earlier OK hinged on the developer decreasing the project's size and density. United Properties ultimately pulled out, saying those restrictions made the development economically unfeasible.

Tuesday night's approval, which actually occurred after 1 a.m. Wednesday, did come with conditions -- but none related to height or density.

They focused instead on changes council members hope will mitigate the impact on a nearby neighborhood. They included reducing light from a parking garage and possibly limiting the size of a playground and a walking trail on the development's east end.

Voting against ...

Council Members Mary Bader and Jack Amdal voted against the project, largely because of its effect on nearby residents.

"I think this project has turned its back on the Old Holdridge neighborhood," said Bader, who had voted against the project before. "They've been respectful, they haven't asked for much, and they're hardly here [tonight] because they're beaten down."

Presbyterian Homes made some adjustments to address the council's concerns for the neighborhood, stepping up the east building's height rather than having it reach its maximum near the neighborhood.

Also, the east building, which includes office space, is the quietest, said architect Dan Ionescu. "It's going to be a very good neighbor."

The Roseville-based Presbyterian Homes plans to build more than 250 senior housing units at the site.

The organization operates 32 senior housing facilities in Minnesota, Iowa and Wisconsin and in 2006 was 20th in a ranking of Minnesota's largest nonprofits, with revenues of about $166.6 million, up 13 percent from the previous year.

In addition to being the "master developer," it will control two of the buildings in the five-building development, where it will house a "continuum of care" for seniors, from independent and assisted living to Alzheimer's care.

It will turn over the other three blocks to development partners, who will have to adhere to the designs the council approved this week.

"There is no reason for anybody involved to do something random," said Ed Briesemeister, managing partner of the Wayzata Bay Redevelopment Company, which Presbyterian Homes formed to handle the development.

The group has pointed out in meetings and handouts that just 4.1 percent of the project's area reaches five stories -- down from the 6.2 percent of its earlier proposal.

Developer studied concerns

The development company, which has occupied office space in the existing Bay Center for more than 16 months, has spent considerable time and money researching the needs, wants and concerns of the community, taking a particular interest in why past proposals failed.

With the city, it commissioned a retail study that showed a struggling retail environment: stores closing, sales increasing at a rate far less than inflation and increasing competition from places such as Maple Grove's Arbor Lakes.

In response, Presbyterian Homes upped the amount of retail it plans to include.

The plans now call for 130,000 square feet, which includes three "white-tablecloth" restaurants, Briesemeister said.

Before voting for the project, Council Member Ken Willcox said he believes the height and density are the result of the developer giving the city what it asked for -- green space, wide roads, buffers and retail.

"This project has the potential to lift all boats on Lake Street," he said.

Jenna Ross • 612-673-7168