6 Approve 2 Million Gallon Water Tower, 97-1-1
CITY OF
CHANHASSEN
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690 COULTER DRIVE. P.O. BOX 147. CHANHASSEN, MINNESOTA 55317
(612) 937-1900. FAX (612) 937-5739
MEMORANDUM
TO:
Don Ashworth, City Manager
Charles Folch, Director of Pu~lic Works ~
-t.>,
January 20, 1998
FROM:
DATE:
SUBJ:
Approve 2.0 MG Water Tower Site; Authorize Preparation of Plans and
Specifications - Project No. 97-1-1
/
At a work session back in December, 1997, staff and the project consultant engineer, Mr. Phil
Gravel of Bonestroo & Associates, met with the City Council to discuss three options for siting
the new 2 million gallon (MG) water storage tower in and around the former Wrase property
located in the northeast quadrant of Trunk Highway 41 and 82nd Street. The following is an
executive recap of the pros and cons for each option as previously discussed.
Ootion A
Option A proposes to site the tower on the easterly half of the property formerly owned by the
Wrase's and now owned by the City.
Benefits of this option include:
The tower would be sited completely within the property currently owned and controlled
by the City.
Allows for the south 100 feet of the property to be sold to Steiner Development (which
would recover some of the City's cost in acquiring the Wrase property).
Disadvantages or complications of this option:
The removal of a dozen 50-60 foot tall evergreens.
Displacement of existing renters by May, 1998.
Relocation or demolition of the older house by May, 1998.
Ootion B
This option proposes to shift the tower approximately 70 feet south of Option A.
Don Ashworth
January 20, 1998
Page 2
Benefits associated with this option include:
Tower is to be located completely within property currently owned and controlled by the
City.
Mature stand of tall evergreens could be saved.
Disadvantages or complications of this option:
Displacement of renters by May, 1998.
Relocation or demolition of older house by May, 1998.
Tower encroaches on the south 100 feet of the property making it undesirable for resale to
Steiner Development.
"
Ootion C
This option proposes to locate the tower approximately 140 feet east of Option A on to property
owned by Steiner Development.
The advantages of this option include:
Mature stand of tall evergreens are saved.
Tower is located approximately 140 feet farther east of Trunk Highway 41 corridor.
The south 100 feet or ultimately all of the City property could be sold to Steiner
Development (recovering City's cost in acquiring the Wrase property).
The purchase price of the land for Option C would be at approximately 1/3 of the cost of
the City property being resold to Steiner Development.
This would allow the City more time to relocate the existing renters and decide what to do
with the older house without the May, 1998 time deadline.
Disadvantages or complications:
Creates an additional purchase and resale of property transaction.
Attached is a letter from Howard Dahlgren, partner of the Arboretum Business Park (Steiner
Development) offering to deed a parcel of land consisting of 1.14 acres (180 feet by 280 feet)
equalling 50,400 square feet to the City plus pay the City $55,000 at time of closing in exchange
for the City deeding th them the south 100 feet of the former Wrase property consisting of .86
acres (37,806 square feet). This basically amounts to selling to the City the Steiner property at
$1.00 per square foot and buying from the City the south 100 feet of the former Wrase property
at the $2.78 per square foot price which the City purchased from Wrase's. In addition, the
developer has agreed to provide access rights to the new tower from their land to the north and a
purchase option to buy part or all of the remaining former Wrase property (at the City's
discretion) over the next three years at the $2.78 per square foot price.
Don Ashworth
January 20, 1998
Page 3
Staff would recommend that the parcel of land to be purchased by the City be reduced to 150 feet
by 280 feet (42,000 square feet). It is likely in the future that the City will receive requests from
cellular communication companies who will want to co-locate antennas on the water tower.
These companies typically need to site or build a free standing storage building on site, therefore,
the area east of the tower could accommodate these needs.
In terms of cost, it is very unlikely that the City could find another tower site of this size meeting
the required elevation at a cost of $1.00 per square foot. It is also likely that three months (May,
1998 deadline) will be an adequate timeframe for the City to implement a plan to relocate or
demolish the old house and relocate the renters. Therefore, staff would recommend that the City
Council approval Option C as the preferred location for the 2.0 MG Water Storage Tower with
the acquisition of 42,000 square feet (150 feet by 280 feet) at a value of $1.00 per square foot and
a resale of the south 100 feet of the City's property (formerly Wrase property) which equals into
37,806 square feet at the $2.78 price per square foot that the City paid to acquire the Wrase
property and authorize Bonestroo & Associates to begin the preparation of plans and
specifications for the Water Tower Project No. 97-1-1.
Jms
Attachment: 1.
2.
3.
Location map.
Options layout.
Letter from Howard Dahlgren dated January 7, 1998.
c: Anita Benson, City Engineer
Dave Hempel, Assistant City Engineer
Phil Gravel, Bonestroo & Associates
Howard Dahlgren
Fred Richter, Steiner Development
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MEMORANDUM
TO:
City of Chanhassen
Attn: Don Ashworth
FROM:
Arboretum Business Park
RE:
Water Tower Site
DATE:
January 7, 1998
We have appreciated the opportunity to meet with City staff members and Engineering
Consultants to review concerns and potential options for solutions to the location of your
proposed water tower and related disposition of the WRASE property.
As we are given to understand at this point, the City prefers to locate the tower on an area of land
to the east of the WRASE site thus allowing more time to evaluate carefully the ultimate
disposition of the WRASE house and the disposition of the mature coniferous trees that dOminate
the northerly and northeasterly part of the site.
Given these considerations, we respectfully offer the following course of action as the basis for a
solution:
1. We will deed to the City a parcel of land due east of the WRAsE site consisting of 1.14
acres, being 180' x 280' (50,400 square feet).
2. The City will deed to us the south 100' of the WRASE property, consisting of .86 acres
(37,806 square feet).
3 . We will pay the City $55,000 at the time of closing on both properties.
This process, accomplished quickly, will allow the City to expedite the engineering and
construction of the water tower and accessory trunk lines.
The tower, as discussed with your staff, we assume to be at an elevation of approximately 1020.
We request that the slopes to the adjacent land be placed where practical on the water tower site
in as much as we understand that all the site need not be level. This will have the effect of making
contiguous properties more efficiently developed which is beneficial to the City (from a tax
standpoint) and the land user.
We win provide access rights to the new water tower site from the land to the north.
The sale of the south 100' of the WRASE property to us will allow us to orient development at
the COmer site (northeast quadrant ofT.H. 41 and 82nd Street) towanl82nd Street which we
believe will produce a better result as it relates to the land to the east and the street access system.
We are also interested in buying all or portious of the WRAsE site (north 200? when the City
ultimately decides its disposition. We would agree to an option now, to buy OVer the next three
years, the remaining land at the price you paid for it ($2.78 square foot). Such a sale would
include all the north 200' except such land as you mayor may not wish to keep to accommodate
the WRASE house and/or major areas reserved for the preservation of trees.
Ultimate business use of the north 200' would also require a right in and right out highway access
and be large enough for a productive use.
We will be happy to discuss with you additional details or options to this proposal at your
convenience. Our overall purpose is for both of us to work closely and Cooperatively together to
achieve our mutual objectives.
oward Dahlgren, Partn
~boretum Business Park