Aerial of Hilltop Cottages Site
Aerial of Mill Site Redevelopment Area
Site of former Gun Range & Airport Hangers
Timber Pines Senior Living
Hilltop Cottages Building Renderings
Development Projects
Airport Road Parcel Clean-Up & Investigation
The Department of Employment & Economic Development (DEED) awarded grant funds in 2019 to the City of Pine City in the amount of $24,300 to conduct site investigation activities which would help the City develop a Response Action Plan (RAP) for the former gun range and airplane hangar site, so that it can be redeveloped into a use that brings business and job opportunities to the community.
With matching funds in the amount of $8,950 provided through the Pine City Economic Development Authority (EDA), the City hired Carlson-McCain to conduct the investigation and creation of the RAP. The RAP will give the City an idea of what the reuse of the property can be and the estimated cost to conduct any required contamination clean-up as required by the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA).
Results of the investigation can be viewed here, and the MPCA approved RAP here.
Businesses looking to expand or relocate in Pine City are desired to work with the City on the redevelopment of this site. DEED has additional grant funds which the City is eligible for, to assist with the redevelopment and clean-up, if jobs are created once the site is the location of a business.
Hilltop Cottages
The City collaborated with Commonwealth Development Corporation to build 35-units of affordable cottage-style rental units through Minnesota Housing Finance Agency's Low-Income Housing Tax Credit program. The nearly 6 acre site at the south end of 8th Street SW was sold to Commonwealth Development Corporation in September 2020 and construction commenced shortly thereafter with plans for a phased opening starting in August 2021. The developer received a discounted land price, water & sewer access charge reductions and TIF because the development will be restricted to individuals and families who earn less than 60% and 30% of the area median income, and some units will be dedicated to those with disabilities and those who have experienced homelessness. The site features a clubhouse and playground for residents to use, as well as attached garages for each unit.
Persons who are interested in living within this development can contact MetroPlains Management (Kate) the onsite property manager at 763-552-6090 to discuss the application process.
Mill Site Redevelopment
The City along with a local developer, redeveloped the former Pine City Feed Mill site, which is located in the City’s Mixed-Use district just one block from the Core Downtown area, into multi-family housing.
The buildings were demolished in September 2018 as part of a court-ordered condemnation due to blight and public safety issues. The City entered the Voluntary Investigation Clean-Up (VIC) program and hired Carlson McCain to oversee and prepare the Interim Response Action Plan (RAP) to the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) and Minnesota Department of Agriculture (MDA). The environmental response work in association with the demolition of the former potato warehouse and mill site structures, has received approval by MPCA and MDA. The MPCA has a Petroleum Site Response contractor still completing monitoring work associated with past petroleum releases on the former Mill site. Since City water is available and some petroleum and agricultural chemical contamination remain in soil and groundwater, soil vapor mitigation systems will need to installed under floor slabs in the new development and excavation and disposal of contaminated surface soils (encountered during grading) is anticipated.
This parcel is located within the same block as “A Place For You”, a local emergency shelter for homeless adults. It is also one block from Robinson Park, where live music is played each Friday night from Memorial Day weekend through the end of July. Across from the park one can find the local Library, award-winning pizza, the Pine Center for the Arts, a hometown café, Townie bar & grill and an award-winning local brewery. A few blocks to the north is the Snake River and along its banks, Challeen Park where the public fishing pier is located next to the community garden. To the east is a portion of the central neighborhood with some of the oldest homes in Pine City, as well as views of Cross Lake.
A housing market demand study was completed in March 2020 by Maxfield Research, Inc. to help the City determine what type of housing demand could be addressed by the redevelopment of this site. The results of the study were presented to the Pine City HRA and City Council in April 2020.
Timber Pines Senior Living
Timber Pines Senior Living celebrated their ground breaking ceremony on December 5, 2019, at 1550 Northridge Drive NW, here in Pine City. This will be a 100+ unit senior living facility with independent, assisted and memory care units along with many other amenities like a state of the art fitness center and a full restaurant. Reservations for Timber Pines are being accepted now at 612-224-4879.
The facility will additionally bring 60-75 jobs to the Pine City community. This development is a project of Summit Development who has partnered with Walker Methodist for the management and service delivery. Summit Development has also worked locally on similar projects in Rush City and Cambridge.
Before deciding to build this facility in Pine City, the development team partnered with the City on a senior housing demand study, which showed a pent-up demand for nearly 300 unit of senior housing which could not be met by the existing housing stock.