City Council Meeting Date: January 13, 2026
To: Mayor and Members of Council
From: Ben Martig, City Administrator
Title
Council Update on 5th & Washington Redevelopment Project.
Body
Action Requested:
Discussion only.
Summary Report:
The Northfield City Council will receive an update on the 5th and Washington Redevelopment project.
See attached presentation and materials. Additionally, the following prompts in the attached presentation are policy questions that would be helpful to give direction moving forward to staff. The following are the questions posed along with some added notes for clarity:
1. Confirmation from City Council:
Are we on the right track?
Note: In particular, feedback on the proposed use of senior housing cooperative would be helpful to hear if that particular use is supported. Additionally, feedback on the proposed public uses of bathrooms, public parking and public refuse management to be intended to be included. Please note there are no details at this time on the site plan (number of parking stalls or types, details on public bathrooms, detailed layouts or design). We would caution detailed feedback on site plan at this earlier stage. However, general feedback might be relevant about site conditions.
Streetfront Development/Good Neighbor Homes may speak to some challenges and conflicts related to trade-offs on site development considerations.
2. City contributions likely needed:
Request land contribution + TIF from City to make the project happen
Note: the presumption at this phase is that these tools would be used to address public benefits including structured public parking, public restrooms and public coordinated refuse storage (interior or exterior to be determined). A financial analysis (summarized in financial section below) would be completed in the future to justify and illustrate costs but has not yet been completed at this earlier stage of analysis.
3. Motion of support (via resolution to consider January 20th, 2026)
Staff to continue advancing the project and work toward a development agreement.
Note: Staff would develop a resolution for direction to staff to be considered at the Council meeting on January 20th, 2026.
The Northfield City Council delegated advisory authority to the Northfield EDA for downtown redevelopment projects in Resolution 2024-44 (Attached). The EDA reviewed materials and information related to potential development opportunities including constructing a more accessible and larger municipal liquor store and provided a recommended approach to the 5th and Washington Redevelopment project to Council via EDA Resolution 2024-005 (Attached). The EDA received an update at the November 24, 2025 meeting and passed the following motion:
A motion was made by Board member Allen, second by Board Member Peterson-White, to approve EDA M2025-023 as amended to stipulate that the developer seek to create commercial space on the ground floor, not put parking on the first-floor exterior façade, and provide some “monumental” corners. The motion passed 6-0 (Blazis, Yoder, Peterson-White, Allen, Stager and Beumer.
Attached is a video link to the EDA meeting of 11-24-2025. The video for this agenda item starts at the 3:35 mark. Additionally, the detailed presentation starts at the 12:11 meeting time marker
Additional Backgroud
Earlier this year, staff issued a request for Letters of Intent (LOI) to a select group of local developers based on a project opportunity statement that aligns with the EDA’s recommended approach. One letter of intent from a qualified developer, Streetfront Development, was received. Charles Burdick of Streetfront works closely and consistently with Thomas Hertzog of Good Neighbor Homes. For the purposes of this report, consider “Streetfront” to be shorthand for “Streetfront and Good Neighbor Homes.”
Streetfront has explored various development opportunities for the 5th and Washington site. This included a mixed-use liquor store condominium concept that estimated sale price of individual units that would price out the Northfield market. Streetfront took comments from the EDA to redesign the building to match Northfield’s market, and found that a mixed-use site, consistent with the original liquor-store concepts, was yielding untenable per-unit housing costs.
Ebenezer is the largest senior living provider in MN, with 120 locations in over 6 states. Recently, they opened a Lakeville facility, the Fountains at Hosanna, that is an example of their Estoria model. The Estoria is a replicable senior housing cooperative designed to fit into a HUD financing product, which enables the individual co-op units to stay within the market rate.
Ebenezer and Streetfront have been working together to fit the Estoria concept into the 5th and Washington lot. They anticipate 50-60 units with a mix of unit type, all within the senior living cooperative model. They’re working toward maintaining existing public parking or nearby.
While this development diverts the previous mixed-use goal on this site, it does accomplish 50+ units of market rate senior housing with commercial uses on the first floor the senior coop would have for amenities like a gym, meeting room, etc. Cooperative models are popular for senior housing, especially in active adult communities. Additionally, the 2024 Maxfield Housing Study commissioned by the HRA identified this type of housing as an opportunity area given national, state, and local trends of an aging population.
Streetfront and staff are working together to ensure the Estoria model fits within Northfield’s current Land Development Code. There is the intent to add some public amenities, like public bathrooms and a co-located refuse space for the adjacent businesses, to the otherwise single-use, owner-occupied building.
Staff is working on alternative locations for the municipal liquor store that accomplish the goals set out by City Council Resolution 2024-044, including a development which provides stimulus to the C-1 business district.
City Policies and Plans:
Comprehensive Plan
The proposed 5th & Washington redevelopment is strongly consistent with the Northfield 2045 Comprehensive Plan and represents a direct implementation of the City’s adopted vision for compact, mixed-use, downtown-oriented growth.
The Comprehensive Plan identifies the downtown core, including areas west of Washington Street and near 5th Street, as Mixed-Use Commercial, intended to function as the City’s most tax-productive, walkable, and infrastructure-efficient development pattern. This designation supports multi-story mixed-use buildings with housing above, active ground-floor uses, and public/institutional amenities. The Plan explicitly prioritizes intensification, infill, and redevelopment within the existing urbanized core over outward expansion, noting that downtown-pattern development maximizes existing infrastructure, generates higher tax value per acre, strengthens walkability, and supports equity and climate goals.
The 5th & Washington concept directly advances these policies by replacing surface parking with a vertical mixed-use building that adds approximately 50-60 housing units, incorporates active ground-floor and public-facing uses, and includes public amenities such as public restrooms and replacement public parking. This redevelopment pattern is consistent with the Plan’s call to grow in a compact, fiscally responsible manner, strengthen downtown, and intensify development in already-served areas.
The Comprehensive Plan also emphasizes expanding housing supply in the most walkable areas of the city, increasing housing diversity, and providing ownership-oriented models and life-stage housing. The senior cooperative model directly supports these goals by delivering age-appropriate housing in the downtown core and introducing a member-owned housing model that advances housing stability, community investment, and partial ownership pathways - aligning with the Plan’s housing, equity, and “stages of life” objectives.
Equity is a foundational principle of Northfield 2045. The inclusion of public restrooms and replacement public parking meaningfully advances the Plan’s emphasis on equitable access to services, downtown amenities, and community gathering spaces. These features improve accessibility for residents, seniors, visitors, and people with disabilities while supporting a more inclusive and functional downtown environment.
From an economic sustainability standpoint, the project aligns with the Plan’s direction to focus redevelopment in areas that maximize public return on investment, increase taxable value, and minimize long-term infrastructure costs. Redeveloping this prominent downtown site strengthens Northfield’s tax base, supports downtown businesses through added resident foot traffic, and implements the Plan’s strategy to grow in compact, fiscally responsible patterns.
Overall summary comprehensive plan:
The 5th & Washington redevelopment is strongly consistent with the Northfield 2045 Comprehensive Plan’s guiding values of economy, equity, housing diversity, downtown vitality, and compact growth, and represents a high-priority infill redevelopment consistent with the City’s long-term adopted land use and fiscal sustainability policies.
Strategic Plan (2025-2028)
The proposed 5th & Washington redevelopment also aligns directly with the City’s 2025-2028 Strategic Plan, particularly the priorities of Improve Financial Strength and Increase Housing Availability.
Under the Strategic Plan, the City has established goals to strengthen its long-term fiscal position by growing the tax base, maximizing the productivity of existing infrastructure, and supporting a strong and vibrant downtown. The 5th & Washington redevelopment advances these objectives by converting a low-intensity surface parking site into a multi-story mixed-use development that increases taxable value in one of the City’s most productive locations. By focusing growth in the downtown core, the project leverages existing infrastructure, reduces long-term public service costs compared to greenfield development, and strengthens downtown activity - all of which support the Strategic Plan’s financial sustainability and revenue diversification objectives.
The Strategic Plan also sets explicit housing production targets and prioritizes the expansion of multi-family housing options. With approximately 50-60 new multi-family housing units, the 5th & Washington project makes a meaningful contribution toward these targets while delivering housing in the City’s most walkable and service-rich area. The senior cooperative model further supports quality-of-life goals by allowing older residents to remain in the community in accessible, centrally located housing, supporting community stability and long-term housing security.
Public amenities included in the project - particularly public restrooms and replacement public parking - further reinforce the Strategic Plan’s emphasis on quality of life, downtown vibrancy, and equitable access to City services and community spaces.
Overall findings of the Strategic Plan: The 5th & Washington redevelopment current concept phase proposal advances the Strategic Plan’s core priorities by strengthening Northfield’s tax base, maximizing infrastructure efficiency, expanding multi-family housing supply, improving quality of life downtown, and supporting long-term fiscal and community sustainability.
Alternative Options:
The City Council may suggest an alternative path to review the financial feasibility of proposed redevelopment projects.
Financial Impacts:
Staff time is required now. Other financial resources may need to be committed in the future.
Related to the development, there has not been a formal financial pro-forma for staff and consultant review. A pro-forma is a financial modeling tool that projects the anticipated costs, revenues, and overall feasibility of the project over time. It estimates development costs (such as land acquisition, construction, financing, and public infrastructure), expected income streams (such as residential rents, commercial lease revenue, and potential public lease or tax revenue), and long-term operating expenses to determine whether the project is financially viable.
A pro-forma will help evaluate how public investments or incentives (such as site improvements, tax increment financing, or public amenities) interact with private returns and whether the project advances community goals while remaining economically feasible.
The developer is in the scoping phase and feels they are within a reasonable realm of viability. However, before additional due diligence including detailed costs and pro-forma analysis there first was an interest to complete a “check-in” review with the EDA and City Council for feedback on the potential uses. A couple assumed potential tools to help finance the prospective public components are considered potential funding options through contribution of land and potential Tax Increment Financing first with any other public contribution a lower priority consideration. It is assumed there will be public costs for public amenities only at this time. However, this is premature and would be further analyzed should there be interest to continue to pursue this concept.
Tentative Timelines:
ü November 2025 - Streetfront provides this presentation to EDA
ü November 2025 - EDA to motion, recommending City Council discuss this iteration of the proposal
• January 13th 2026 - City Council discusses this iteration of the proposal (pending EDA motion)
• January 20th 2026 - City Council Resolution direction on 5th & Washington based on feedback provided January 13th.
• Ongoing review - see attached summary in materials and more information to come on project schedule.