“They don’t like going to Roseville or Maple Grove, whether it be for shopping of dining,” said Blaine Community Developer Erik Thorvig. “We really want to take an opportunity in this area to bring in restaurants and other amenities that keep people here.”
The city is in the process of completing land swaps and purchases to clear the area of existing industrial and commerical buildings. There’s also a former mining operation site on National Sports Center property that the city wants to clear of dirt mounds and begin work to dig a lake. The lake would border the property currently operated by Invictus Brewing.
“I think it would certainly be a heck of a lot better than what we can see now,” said Invictus President Previn Solberg. “We’re excited to see what (the development) turns out to be.”
Solberg said he decided to build his brewery (and its included Tipsy Steer restaurant, owned by someone else) with the hopes that the city would develop something like this around it.
“We have some friends that jokingly call Invictus ‘the community center,” he said. “It’s a gathering place for the community, and that’s one of the things we had in mind when we built the place.”
Thorvig said another main aspect of the redevelopment master plan would be a centrally-located parking ramp, to cut down on open surface parking lots.
“We want residents to be proud of this area,” he said.
Construction on roads and other infrastructure in the 105th Avenue area could begin as early as next year, Thorvig said.
