Year also brings leadership changes, parks bond referendum conversations
Leadership changes, continued development and redevelopment are some of the themes that describe Apple Valley’s current events of 2022.
The city saw approval of several commercial projects, improvements for Apple Valley’s three fire stations, the retirement of two department heads and discussion of a potential parks bond referendum.
Here’s a summary of some of Apple Valley’s news from 2022.
Apple Valley High School band members perform during the July 4 Freedom Days parade.
Photo courtesy Tom Lawell
Backyard chickens prohibited
Apple Valley will continue to prohibit the keeping of chickens on residential properties. The City Council voted unanimously Jan. 13 not to amend city code to allow backyard chickens on properties not zoned for agricultural. Some council members cited concerns including how some property owners with smaller lot sizes would be able to keep chickens and whether allowing chickens would set a precedent for people to request that other agricultural animals such goats and ducks be allowed on residential lots.
Apple Valley last took formal action on backyard chickens in 2014 when the council voted to affirm a ban on chickens and other farm animals at residential properties. Throughout 2021, city staff revisited an ordinance that currently prohibits residents from keeping chickens in residential neighborhoods after the Urban Affairs Advisory Committee was directed by the City Council in November 2020 to look at the issue again.
Multiple development and redevelopment projects received City Council approval in 2022 or started construction.
Two new industrial buildings are being constructed near Abdallah Candies. One of them is a 112,170-square-foot industrial building with the potential for three tenants on a 8.21-acre site along the north side of 147th Street West and west of Johnny Cake Ridge Road and the Abdallah Candies facility. The other building was announced to be the home of a new Frito-Lay distribution center. The 117,600-square-foot building with industrial office and warehouse space and 3,400-square-foot detached maintenance building will be at the southwest corner of Johnny Cake Ridge Road and 147th Street.
Multiple projects were approved for Orchard Place, a development 414 acres south of County Road 42 and west of Pilot Knob Road and the city’s last large piece of undeveloped land. Those include two 7,006-foot multi-tenant buildings, one of which could house a future restaurant; a 44,600-square-foot Lunds & Byerlys grocery store and a 7,920-square-foot retail store for Schuler Shoes.
A Mexican restaurant and market planned for Apple Valley took another step forward Aug. 18, as dirt flew during a groundbreaking for the project. The plans for Homshuk Mexican Kitchen and Bar, and the Bodega 42 Fresh Market were approved by the Apple Valley City Council in September 2021. The restaurant and attached market will be a family-run operation owned by brothers Saul Mellado-Barbosa and Fernando Mellado-Barboza, and their brother-in-law Ezequiel Quijada. The project will result in a 21,350-square-foot building for the restaurant and market at the northeast corner of Galaxie Avenue and 152nd Street West. The building will include a warehouse and storage area for preparation of fresh tortillas and other items, the restaurant and a market with a butcher and deli. There will also be a patio area and mezzanine, according to the city.
A new Lincoln dealership project received City Council approval on Oct. 27. Apple Ford Lincoln Apple Valley and Gulbrandson Real Estate/Apple Auto Properties were seeking to redevelop 7125 151st St. into a Lincoln dealership site. The plans call for demolishing five existing buildings on the property and replacing it with a new 22,000-square-foot building housing the Lincoln dealership and auto repair facilities.
The former Apple Valley AMC Theatre site is now being redeveloped. Demolition of the theater space began in mid-December. The City Council approved the project during its Nov. 10 meeting. The project will raze the 72,916-square-foot multi-screen movie theater at 15630 Cedar Ave. and construct an 80,000-square-foot materials sales store called Floor & Decor. Floor & Decor is a specialty retailer of hard surface flooring, according to its website. Based in Atlanta, it offers tile, wood, stone, related tools and flooring accessories.
The City Council approved plans Dec. 8 related to a Popeyes restaurant proposed for construction in Apple Valley Square off Cedar Avenue. Apple Valley Minnesota Realty LLC was seeking approval to build a 2,347-square-foot Popeyes restaurant at the northwest corner of Cedar Avenue and 153rd Street West, which is in front of the Aldi grocery store and Burlington retail store.
The Time Square Shopping Center in Apple Valley came under new ownership. A group composed of Obsidian Group, Endurus Capital and Mark Robinson of Mid-American Real Estate purchased the strip mall, constructed in the 1970s near the northwest corner of Cedar Avenue and County Road 42, for about $10.75 million from Time Square Shopping Center II LLP and closed on the sale Sept. 30. The new ownership group plans to spend about $2.5 million for upgrading the shopping center, which will be overseen by Onyx Strategic Partners. X-Golf is planning to lease about 10,000 square feet of space in Time Square. X-Golf ownership hopes to be open in Apple Valley in early 2023.
Multiple new businesses also opened in 2022 including Texas Roadhouse, Mister Car Wash, Crisp & Green, Nautical Bowls, Sport Clips Haircut, Punch Neapolitan Pizza, Micho Love, Apple Valley Natural Soap, Newt’s restaurant and My Salon Suite.
Golf course getting improvements
Apple Valley’s municipal golf course is set to get some improvements in 2023. The City Council awarded a bid of roughly $2.09 million to Liebold Irrigation Inc. to replace the irrigation and additional on-course work at Valleywood Golf Course on Jan. 27.
Two bids were received on Jan. 12 with Liebold Irrigation being the lowest bidder. The work includes replacing the irrigation system, construction of new tees and relocating of the green on Hole No. 3, aligning trees and changes to the fairway on Hole No. 15. The driving range tee line will also be reconfigured and drainage issues will be fixed at No. 17. The project will be funded with dollars from the Valleywood improvement fund. Construction is planned to start in July 2023 with substantial completion in November 2023 and being finished in December 2023, according to a Jan. 27 city report.
Nick Francis was welcomed and took the oath of office as Apple Valley’s seventh police chief during the April 13 City Council meeting. Francis officially took over police chief duties April 1 after the retirement of previous Chief Jon Rechtzigel.
Photo by Patty Dexter
Police Department leadership changes
Apple Valley Police Chief Jon Rechtzigel, who had been in the role since 2012, retired March 31. He worked for the Apple Valley Police Department since 1987 and for his entire law enforcement career.
Rechtzigel started as a patrol officer for the first 10 years of his career. Over his career, he’s served in various positions on the force including detective, sergeant and investigative sergeant and being a member of a local special weapons and tactics team made up of suburban law enforcement agencies. He was promoted to captain in 2005 and was appointed as interim chief after longtime Chief Scott Johnson retired in December 2011. The city hired Rechtzigel as Apple Valley’s sixth police chief in 2012.
The city used an internal hiring process to find Rechtzigel’s replacement and interviewed two finalists, Nick Francis and Greg Dahlstrom, who were both captains at the time. Francis was promoted by the City Council as seventh police chief on March 24 and officially took over April 1. He has worked with the department since 2000.
Dahlstrom was later promoted to deputy chief through a restructuring of the department’s command staff which includes adding lieutenants and eliminating the captain rank.
Community development director retires
Bruce Nordquist retired as Apple Valley’s community development director Aug. 31 after working in the role since January 2007. Before coming to Apple Valley, he worked for the city of Richfield for 32 years, progressing in positions related to both technical and supervisory roles in community development. He worked with planning, economic development, community design, housing policy and assistance and code enforcement.
The city said in an Aug. 25 proclamation honoring his service that Nordquist was a key player in many signature development projects including Abdallah Candies, Apple Valley Business Campus, Applewood Pointe, Cobblestone Commercial, Cortland, Eagle Pointe, Foliage Medical Office, Frito Lay, Gabella, Galante, Nuvelo, Menards, Orchard Place, Orchard Path, Remington, Risor, Seasons, Springs, Uponor North America and Zvago.
City Planner Tom Lovelace has been serving as acting community development director until Nordquist’s permanent replacement is hired.
Fire station projects moving forward
Planned improvements for the Apple Valley’s three fire stations are closer to becoming a reality. The Apple Valley City Council awarded 28 bid contracts related to the projects as part of its consent agenda at the Dec. 8 meeting.
The Fire Department is seeking to make changes at its three stations for health and safety improvements. The city is funding the projects through 2021 facilities capital improvement project bonds. The project for Fire Station No. 2 calls for demolishing the existing fire station and building a new 30,111-square-foot station with room for training, office and staff areas at the same location at 13995 Galaxie Ave., in the northwest corner of Galaxie Avenue and 140th Street. The improvements at fire stations No. 1 and 3 include creating a storage room in the garage bay for the firefighting gear and additional space to decontaminate equipment with deep sinks to wash helmets, boots and equipment. The fitness area on the mezzanine area at Fire Station No. 1 will be enclosed so firefighters will not be exposed to diesel and gas exhaust fumes.
Fire Chief Chuck Russell has previously said the department would like to start construction work at fire Station No. 2 in spring 2023. The projects at fire stations No. 1 and 3 may begin in March, depending on the availability of building supplies.
The Minnesota Zoo, one of Apple Valley’s largest attractions, began construction in the spring on the Treetop Trail, the zoo’s project to repurpose the existing monorail into the world’s longest elevated pedestrian loop trail when finished. Zoo officials say the total cost is $39 million which includes design and construction, renovations to the Wells Fargo Family Farm and contingency and campaign costs.
Minnesota Zoo staff, supporters and visitors were able to see the official first segment of the zoo’s Treetop Trail raised on Oct. 13. PCL Construction team members used equipment to lift a 20-foot by 8-foot section of the trail with railing onto the zoo’s original monorail track.
The 1.25-mile Treetop Trail will bring zoo visitors 32 feet above the ground and provide views of Asian wild horses, bison, pronghorn, tigers and more. The trail is being built for all abilities and will be 8 to 12 feet with “bump out” areas for seating or activities.
Zoo staff, supporters and visitors were able to see the official first segment of the zoo’s Treetop Trail raised on Oct. 13. PCL Construction team members used equipment to lift a 20-foot by 8-foot section of the trail with railing onto the zoo’s original monorail track. The trail is slated for completion during the summer of 2023.
Potential parks bond referendum considered
City officials have been discussing a potential parks bond referendum and spent a large portion of 2022 getting input from residents and various stakeholders on what they would like to see for the future of the city’s parks and recreation facilities. The city has been working with Confluence for park master planning and 292 Design Group for recreation facility planning.
Apple Valley Mid-Winter Fest attendees take a horse drawn wagon ride during cold and blustery weather on Feb. 5. The event, held annually since 1978, was moved to a new location in 2022 at Johnny Cake Ridge Park West.
Photo by Patty Dexter
Preliminary concepts have been created for Redwood, Kelley, Farquar and Alimagnet parks; Apple Valley Sports Arena; Apple Valley Senior Center; Apple Valley Aquatic Center; Apple Valley Senior Center and Hayes Arena with various changes.
The city plans to conduct a statistically accurate survey and review the results in early 2023. City leaders would decide whether a parks bond referendum should be pursued. If the decision is made to go forward, the referendum ballot language would be determined and a second survey would be done to gauge voter support.
The City Council is scheduled to discuss the potential parks bond referendum with local legislators during an informal meeting at 5 p.m. Jan. 12.
