Oakdale officials have drawn a hard line on the long-planned Tanners Lake redevelopment, giving the project’s developer until July 28 to prove the money is real or watch the deal fall apart. Without solid financing in hand, the city says it will pull the plug on the development agreement and refuse to sign a purchase contract for the 3.25-acre, city-owned lakeside site that was supposed to become apartments, townhomes and new waterfront amenities.
“The development agreement will be revoked, and the purchase agreement won’t be signed,” Oakdale Community Development Director Andrew Gitzlaff told Pioneer Press, summing up the city’s ultimatum. The deadline, set during recent talks between city leaders and the development team, leaves only days for the group to assemble the financing Oakdale says is necessary to close.
Developer Patrick McGlynn, who entered into a development agreement with Oakdale two years ago, pushed back in a letter sent two weeks ago. He wrote that private-equity partners had “derailed” the project’s financing efforts and that one commitment letter his team received turned out to be falsified. Even so, he said his group was “close to closing” with support lined up from a credit union and a private investor, according to Pioneer Press.
What the Plan Would Build
As detailed by Finance & Commerce, the proposal envisions a 126-unit apartment building and 12 rental townhomes, paired with a new boardwalk, patio, pier launch and a lakeside amenity building on roughly 3.25 acres. The site has been marketed as a prime redevelopment opportunity, sitting near 3M’s global headquarters and along the Gold Line bus rapid transit route.
EDA Approval Remains Conditional
At its July 14 meeting, the Oakdale Economic Development Authority approved an amended and restated exclusive-rights agreement with Tanners Lake LLC, according to the EDA packet. The documents show that the agreement is still tied to financing and closing conditions, and that the EDA kept the right to terminate if those benchmarks are not met.
Why the City Drew a Line
Local coverage and development records indicate the Tanners Lake parcels have been shopped and studied for years, with Oakdale officials increasingly focused on avoiding a future of permanent vacancy. Reporting by Finance & Commerce notes that the city has worked to make the site shovel-ready and to tie public support and preparation work to firm private financing as part of a broader strategy to grow its tax base.
What’s Next
The developer now has until July 28 to show that financing is firmly committed. If he cannot, city officials say the EDA will revoke the development agreement and the planned land purchase will not move forward. The tight turnaround leaves the project’s future up in the air, and the next chapter will depend on whether the current team can close its funding or whether the EDA opts to pursue new options for the Tanners Lake site.
