City Won’t Approve BP Retail Center Until New Owners Take Control

The buyer of will have to wait until it actually takes ownership of the property before moving forward with plans to develop a retail center there, Hopkins officials have decided.

Minnetonka-based Solomon Real Estate Group bought the rights to the 525 Blake Road property at a sheriff’s sale in late March. But Minnesota law gives the original commercial property owner six months after the sale to pay off his debt and reclaim the property—meaning Solomon won’t officially take possession of the site any earlier than Oct. 1.

Solomon plans to build a retail center that would likely have five to six tenants—although it could have more depending on the needs of the lessees.

In July, Steve Johnson, the company’s development partner, said waiting until then to start the approval process could jeopardize those leases by delaying construction until spring. He asked the city to kick off the process .

In most cases, though, city ordinances only allow owners to apply for the types of approval the BP site requires. Consequently, the approval process won’t begin until after Solomon has taken ownership.

The city is still accelerating the process to help builders hit their timeline. City Manager Mike Mornson announced Monday that council members will have a special meeting Oct. 23 to grant necessary approvals. That should make the process 1 ½ to two weeks faster than waiting for the next regularly scheduled meeting.

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