Bader Development is making a play for city-owned land in Brooklyn Park, pursuing a 203-unit rental building at the Oxbow Commons site while asking for tax-increment financing to help the numbers pencil out, according to developer filings and city records. The concept pairs apartments with ground-floor retail and parking and would reshape a cluster of Economic Development Authority parcels just north of Highway 610. Negotiations between the developer and the city are still in progress as the deal inches toward a formal purchase agreement.
The proposal calls for 203 rental units with space reserved for future retail, and Bader is negotiating both a land purchase and a TIF package with city officials, as reported by the Minneapolis / St. Paul Business Journal. That coverage characterizes the plan as a market-rate multifamily project aimed at boosting the city’s tax base and walkability.
Bader named a partner for Oxbow Commons
City staff tapped Bader Companies to pursue parcels at Oxbow Commons after an RFQ process in 2025, according to a City of Brooklyn Park EDA packet. The April 21, 2025, meeting materials spell out the RFQ results and the city’s early direction for development partners, listing Bader among the favored respondents. City of Brooklyn Park EDA packet
Site, scale and location
Oxbow Commons consists of four EDA-owned parcels totaling about 16.9 acres near Oak Grove Parkway and Regent Avenue, an area the city has repeatedly flagged for high-density residential and mixed-use projects. Local reporting and city planning documents describe the site as a major infill opportunity, and nearby EDA property the city picked up in prior years includes the former park-and-ride at 4201 95th Avenue N. Finance & Commerce
How it fits city housing goals
Brooklyn Park has been repositioning city-owned land to draw in housing and commercial projects while capturing new tax revenue, and the city’s 2024 annual financial report notes rising local housing aid and a Local Housing Trust Fund that can be used to support development. Planning work along the Highway 610 corridor and related studies have specifically identified the Oxbow Commons parcels as suitable for higher-density residential and mixed-use buildings, in line with the EDA’s stated priorities.
Developer reaction
Bader Companies has publicly emphasized its interest in working in Brooklyn Park, with company communications highlighting its selection to explore opportunities at Oxbow Commons and pointing to multifamily housing as a core part of its business. The firm’s materials describe a plan to deliver rental housing with neighborhood-serving retail in suburban infill locations. Bader Companies
Next steps
The Economic Development Authority still needs to finalize land-sale terms and weigh any TIF request before the proposal can move on to the city council, and EDA materials outline that formal approvals and public hearings would be required as the project advances. City of Brooklyn Park EDA packet If the EDA and council sign off on a sale and financing structure, Bader would then head into design, permitting and construction, a process expected to stretch over multiple months and include community review.
For now, the 203-unit concept remains just that: a proposal on the EDA agenda. Meeting packets and local coverage will be the first places new details on price, TIF terms, unit mix and on-site retail emerge as negotiations unfold. Earlier reporting chronicled the city’s push to redevelop the park-and-ride and Oxbow Commons sites in 2024, offering background on how the parcels landed on the market for redevelopment.
