Coborn’s will build a Superstore in Pipestone after all.
The grocery store chain’s latest plan was introduced at the Pipestone City Council meeting, Monday evening, Nov. 16, by Troy Hoekstra, vice president of real estate for Cornerstone Development.
The site plan reveals a 39,000 square foot Superstore with 270 parking spaces and a car wash and gas station at the corner of Seventh St. SE/Hwy. 30 and Hwy. 75, the current site of Sioux Valley Electric and Swanny’s.
Hoekstra said the site plan, “is identical to the last one,” designed for Harmon Park.
Hoekstra told the council that the ink was only two hours dry on the purchase agreement with Swanny’s, and that the Sioux Valley deal was signed last Thursday.
The closing date has been scheduled for Jan. 22, 2010.
The deal is contingent upon Sioux Valley moving into one of the old Bayliner facilities, Hoekstra said.
Coborn’s also made the city an offer of $1,000 for 1.6 acres of land adjacent to Swanny’s where last summer the city allowed a mud volleyball tournament during Watertower Festival. Hoekstra said the parcel is necessary for Coborn’s to bring the total development up to roughly five acres.
Hoekstra said, Tuesday that Coborn’s would have offered more for the parcel if it were clean property easily developed. As it stands, roughly one acre of concrete will have to be excavated and given its proximity to the airport, it can only be used for parking.
“The cost is exceeding its value,” Hoekstra said.
The land’s proximity to the airport imposes height, setback and lighting restrictions that the development will meet, Hoekstra said.
The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency has the city under a moratorium prohibiting any new hookups to the sewer system until additional wastewater ponds are under construction. Hoekstra said he thinks the MPCA will work with them because the development would eliminate two services and replace it with one.
“I guess that’s between you and the MPCA,” said Mayor Laurie Ness.
Hoekstra said Coborn’s had been working with Swanny’s and Sioux Valley Electric for a while, but insisted the deal fell apart about a month prior to negotiations with the city for Harmon Park. Hoekstra said the deal was not a back-up plan and was only salvaged after he made another attempt after, “as fate would have it, the park deal died.”
Ted Smith, director of engineering and operations with Sioux Valley Electric, said Tuesday, that the hold up while dealing with Coborn’s was finding a place to relocate the company’s 10 employees.
“There was nothing available in town that we liked,” Smith said, until one of the old Bayliner buildings, “showed up on our radar later.”
Smith said the deal was a “win-win” for all and that everyone was interested in closing even sooner than the Jan. 22 date. The only potential wrinkle at this time, he said, is that the property they’d be moving into needs to be replatted and that process may exceed the contractual closing date.
“We may be able to do a meets and bounds agreement and then do the replatting later,” Smith said.
Keith Nettik, Coborn’s existing store manager, said the current store employees did not know about the new deal when it was announced Monday evening, but said they would be excited, as would Coborn’s customers.
“We had a lot of customers who were concerned who will be relieved that we’re not leaving town,” Nettik said.
Monday evening’s announcement came exactly one week after the city heeded strong public protest and decided not to sell Harmon Park land to Coborn’s for a Superstore.
Mayor Ness said after the meeting she was surprised by Coborn’s plan, but pleasantly so.
“I’m pleased that a local business that’s been part of this community has decided to expand,” Ness said.
Kevin and Kyle Swanson, owners of Swanny’s, could not be reached prior to publication.
Hoekstra read a statement after his Coborn’s presentation defending Councilor Harry Hansen. Hoekstra said that Hansen did not know that Hansen’s three properties, under contract to Quist Management, were needed for Coborn’s Harmon Park development. Hoekstra said the person who accused Hansen in public of knowing about the deal during the Nov. 9 city council meeting, and those who clapped upon hearing the accusation, should offer Hansen a public apology.
Hansen told the County Star during a previous interview that he did not know about Coborn’s plans when he agreed to sell three houses north of the park to Quist Management.
Once Hansen learned of his involvement, he agreed to recuse himself from voting on the deal and later, when asked by City Administrator Jeff Jones, to recuse himself from further discussions about the deal.
