Another Step Toward Change

Many of the buildings on the corner of Zane Avenue and Brooklyn Boulevard that were once deteriorating or vacant have since been demolished. It's part of a years-long quest to change 133 acres in the area into the thriving Village Creek community.

"The commitment of the council to this project has been very strong throughout," said Brooklyn Park Mayor Steve Lampi at a groundbreaking ceremony Thursday.

Brooklyn Park City Council members and staff were joined by developers and county officials in a symbolic tossing of dirt to kick off what's considered "Phase 3" of a major redevelopment of the area. Phase 3 includes a 24,500 square-foot medical center and office building that the developer says will become an icon of the Village Creek redevelopment.

Hennepin County Medical Center has signed on as the first tenant of the building and will fill about half the space with a family clinic. Hundreds of new townhomes have been built next to the property as well as green space, playgrounds pavilions and walkways.

Eventually, two more buildings will be added as well. Those will be a mix of retail shops on the ground level with housing above.

Developer Bill Beard of the Beard Group joined the project six years ago. In all the change he has overseen so far, Beard says there's no room anymore for thinking this project could fail.

"Anyone who holds that conclusion today just doesn't have any sense of reality," Beard said. "I mean, come here and take a look at it. The park is complete. The housing is done. It's sold out," he said.

Ryland Homes built the townhome portion of the redevelopment and the units were slow to sell initially, but by November, Beard says all 160 of the Ryland town homes will be occupied.

"People are coming here and making their biggest investment in their life right here at the corner of Zane and Brooklyn Boulevard," he said.

Brooklyn Park Police Chief Mike Davis says an added police presence is next.

The city plans to build a second police station across the street from the Village Creek development next year. It will house police staff as well as many city services that right now are only available at Brooklyn Park City Hall.

Davis hopes the new station will serve as a hub to get residents in the area more involved. He believes the continued development has had a positive impact on a area that has battled higher crime rates.

This next phase is just one more piece of a steady change Davis has witnessed first-hand.

"This is not what I recognize from 15 years ago, by far," he said of Village Creek. "It really instills confidence in me as a police chief and a resident to see this kind of really substantive revitalization. That's what it takes."

-Jennifer Anderson reporting for Channel 12

September 24, 2009