Council Directs City Staff to Redevelop Former Key Property; Froggy Bottoms Interested

Northfield could see the opening of a new, yet familiar, downtown restaurant before the end of summer.

Northfield city councilors on Tuesday voted 6-1 to give city staff the power to redevelop the former Northfield Union of Youth property, located at 303 Water St. S., and an adjoining building in the west central portion of the city’s downtown. The city agreed to purchase the property from the Union of Youth, also known as the Key, in April.

Dave Hvistendahl, owner of Froggy Bottoms River Pub, which has been dormant since it was flooded last September, is interested in purchasing the property. He said the purchase would allow the pub, which joins the property to the north, to expand its outdoor seating and dining area, and urged councilors to process quickly, given the construction his potential expansion would require.

"A restaurant needs to be open by [the Defeat of Jesse James Days] in order to survive the long winter,” he said in an email to City Administrator Tim Madigan.

The city agreed to purchase the former Key property for $49,000, and now has until July 19 to draft a Request for Proposal for those interested in buying it—the city owns the adjoining property and rented it to the Key for $1 a year.

Demetri Pitsavas, owner of neighboring Basil’s Pizza, has also expressed interest in the site, according to City Administrator Tim Madigan.

The council’s vote also created a committee to advise city staff, on which members Betsey Buckheit and Suzie Nakasian will serve, to help select the interested business best suited for the riverfront location.

Price isn’t the only factor, Mayor Mary Rossing explained when Councilor Patrick Ganey asked why the property wasn’t sold to the highest bidder. The business that invests the most money into the building may be more beneficial for city tax revenues, she said.

Among the priorities councilors listed for inclusion in the RFP, which states requirements for competing bidders on the property, are care toward the riverfront and pedestrian areas on either side of the building as well as compatability of modification of the building with historical standards.

Rhonda Pownell, the sole dissenting vote and a member of the Economic Development Authority, a board the council decided against having redevelop the property in favor of city staff, said that board could expedite the redevelopment process.