Hy-Vee

Background

In May 2018, the Blaine City Council approved a land use amendment for the vacant 40 acres on this corner that resulted in a land use for the property of HDR/PC (High Density Residential/Planned Commercial).

This land use change occurred earlier than the Hy-Vee application. The land use change was due to the timing of the city’s 2040 comprehensive plan process with the Metropolitan Council.

Later in 2018, the city was presented with development applications for a Hy-Vee store and convenience/gas store with car wash on the corner of Jefferson Street NE and 125th Avenue.

Hy-Vee held a neighborhood meeting for the surrounding neighborhood to learn about the project at Blaine City Hall on August 27, 2018. The primary issues raised by the group attending the meeting concerned the extension of Jefferson Street and connection with 121st Avenue, rising traffic levels, on-street parking issues with Happy Acres Park, access and interaction with school traffic, sidewalk locations, and landscape/buffer treatments at the rear of the grocery store.

A public hearing for the proposed development took place at the Planning Commission meeting on September 11, 2018. The proposal then went to the Blaine City Council. The city council discussed the proposal at workshop meetings and regular council meetings in September, October, and November 2018. The council gave the project final approval in 2018 and then adopted eight recommended traffic calming measures for the area in early 2019.

Proposed Construction Timeline (subject to change)

Fall 2019/Winter 2020 - Based on the schedule provided to the city, tree clearing, site grading, and utility installation will start in October 2019 and continue through March 2020. Though the grocery and convenience stores are located on the eastern portion of the site, the entire site will be graded to prepare it for future development. There are no development proposals for the remainder of the site at this time.

Spring 2020 - Construction begins on grocery store.

Summer 2020 - The Jefferson Street road extension and other traffic improvement modifications will likely occur next summer. Per the project approval, opening the connection of this road to traffic into and out of the Crescent Ponds neighborhood cannot occur until the grocery store opens.