Address: Southwest corner, Cobblestone Lake Pkwy. & 157th St. W., Apple Valley

Type: Retail

Size: 8,148 square feet

Developer: Hempel Cos.

Architect: DJR Architecture

Details: One of the last few remaining vacant commercial lots in Apple Valley's Cobblestone Lake neighborhood would get a multitenant retail building under plans recently approved by the city's planning commission. The panel in November unanimously approved a bid by Minneapolis-based developer Hempel Cos. to subdivide a 2-acre parcel on the southwest corner of the roundabout at Cobblestone Lake Parkway and 157th Street W. to allow for a new, 8,148-square-foot retail building.

Hempel Vice President Ben Krsnak said a 3,700-square-foot space would be taken by an unnamed day spa franchise that is new to the Twin Cities market, while the larger space will be marketed to fast-casual restaurants. That space has been designed with a drive-through window similar to Hempel's recently completed retail building across 157th Street, which attracted the metro's first Costa Vida Fresh Mexican Grill.

The inclusion of a drive-through necessitated a modification of the Cobblestone Lake planned unit development rules prohibiting any further such windows in the area. The proposal will now go before the Apple Valley City Council for final approvals. If built, the new facility would leave only two remaining unfilled commercial parcels in the 320-acre Cobblestone Lake area, which began its transformation from a gravel mining operation in 2001.

DON JACOBSON