'Airport South' to offer amenities from urban hip to wildlife refuge

In a real estate world where "location, location, location" remain bywords, Bloomington still has some prime property to offer.

While the city has big plans for a new people-friendly downtown near the intersection of Interstates 494 and 35W, as well as new office developments near Normandale Lake, those projects may pale in comparison to the transformation the city hopes for in its southeast corner -- an area it has dubbed "Airport South."

For developers, the raw material in the area framed by I-494, Hwy. 77 and the Minnesota River is scrumptious:

• The Hiawatha light-rail line winds through the area, with three existing stations and a fourth planned.

• Major highways allow easy access by car.

• The Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport lies just to the north, the Mall of America at the area's western edge, and the southeast border is trees and water, courtesy of the Minnesota Valley National Wildlife Refuge.

Two-thirds of Bloomington's future commercial and residential development will take place in Airport South, city officials say. Now occupied by parking lots, offices, hotels, park-and-fly lots, single-family homes and even pastureland dotted by sheep and llamas, the area someday could become home to thousands of people.

But it won't be another neighborhood of ramblers. Development will go up and look more urban than suburban.

"We want the best of both worlds," said Bloomington Mayor Gene Winstead. "It can prove to be a great urban center with all the amenities -- the airport, the mall, light rail. We think it will prove both prudent and economical for businesses and people who want to live there."

The city has hired planning and design firm Wallace Roberts & Todd (WRT) of Philadelphia to begin sketching out possible uses of Airport South's 2,350 acres. About 980 of those acres are considered developable; the rest belongs to the refuge.

Some of the land loosely classified as "developable" also includes places like the Mall of America, which won't be going away anytime soon. Airport safety and noise zones limit residential development. But at a public meeting in May, Nando Micale, leader of WRT's Philadelphia planning and urban design office, said the area has unusual potential.

"It isn't just an airport district," he said. "It's more complex. ... You can really create walkable, mixed-use development based on transit, which is ultimately sustainable development. But you also have the Minnesota Valley [National] Wildlife Refuge as an amazing natural asset for the community as well."

At the center of Airport South is the 50-acre Bloomington Central Station, which includes Health Partners headquarters and two glass condo towers called Reflections. The Hiawatha Light Rail stops in front of the Health Partners building, and there's a park across the street.

Brad Wood, executive vice president of the developer, McGough Companies, said he wants the area to feel more like a college campus than a busy corporate area.

"We think of this as the heart and soul of Airport South," Wood said. "The pedestrian paths make the area very friendly. Roads are narrow; there are lots of trees. It creates an atmosphere where people want to drive slow."

About 230 of the 263 Reflections condos, which range in price from $160,000 to $1 million, have been sold. Wood said McGough wants to add up to 837 more residential units, 2 million more square feet of office space, a corporate hotel with 300 rooms, and businesses like restaurants and dry cleaners to serve residents.

Kathy Cooney, Health Partners chief administrative officer, told the crowd that the company chose the remodeled Control Data offices for its headquarters partly because of the beauty of the area. "It's just drop-dead gorgeous," she said. She said some employees live at Reflections and walk across the street to work. Those who travel a lot take the light rail to the airport.

The Central Station development has been recognized for its environmentally sensitive design and construction, which Wood said has been "great for marketing."

Development in Airport South likely will take at least 20 years, said Larry Lee, Bloomington's director of community development. He said that while residential development will be in multi-story buildings, the design will be people-friendly, with cars directed to hidden garages or ramps. Tricks like narrowing roads within residential areas, eliminating curbs, planting trees along streets and using colored pavement tend to make drivers slow down, he said. Green space like the park should encourage people to walk.

Whether the area will develop into a true "airport city" like the ones that have sprung up next to airports in Europe is yet to be seen, Lee said. While proximity to airports creates issues like restrictions on building heights, new technology like the triple-paned "glass curtains" McGough used in Reflections to dampen sound are making it easier to build nearby.

Lee said history shows that when commerce traveled by boat, people built on riverfronts. Railroads spurred new development. The Airport South area was largely farmland until I-494 was built.

"Our analysis of history shows there should be some worth in being near the airport," Lee said.

Mary Jane Smetanka • 612-673-7380