Read the expanded story on Monday's presentation at the link below:
WILLMAR — Kelly TerWisscha of TerWisscha Construction and Dion Warne of Home State Bank at Monday’s City Council meeting presented the Willmar Ten Investors' latest design concept for converting the former JCPenney building at Uptown Willmar into a combined city hall and community center.
TerWisscha started the presentation by agreeing with a comment made by Councilor Tom Butterfield at a previous meeting, stating, “It could be a little awkward for us to be presenting to you prior to, and during, you having paid counsel working on another plan for the same location. So, it’s awkward for us to be standing here before you presenting while someone else is working on the same design for the same property.”
Bruce Schwartzman, from the BKV Group design and architecture firm, was also present at the meeting. BKV Group has been contracted to come up with its own proposal for the renovation of the JCPenney space.
Schwartzman, when asked if he would like to speak after TerWisscha and Warne were finished with their presentation, admitted it was a “little odd” for him to speak on BKV designs for the JCPenney building.
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No action was taken after the Willmar Ten presentation. The next step will be to have BKV Group present its design concept for the building, as well as the council hearing the city engineer’s structural analysis of the building, both slated for a June 12 City Council work session.
The other location that remains under consideration is the current site of the Willmar Community Center on Business 71. A new building would be constructed there to house both the Willmar Community Center and Willmar City Hall.
Due to the design concepts already presented by BKV Group for the various other sites that have been under consideration, TerWisscha noted that Willmar Ten Investors revisited its previous design concepts through a different lens and it was significantly different than what was previously presented in 2020 — the same design concept that was presented again about two months ago.
Willmar Ten was given an additional 60 days to present a new site design plan, as well as pin down figures that are more reflective of today’s construction costs.
The new design concept included more circular outside areas at the entrances and in the outside public areas to soften the “box” look of the JCPenney building from previous design concepts.
A large portion of the presentation by Willmar Ten focused on the parking lot and improvements that will be made if the City Council approves the JCPenney location for the combined city hall and community center — a topic that has received significant feedback from the community.
Not only will the city hall and community center have a new parking surface with a large community garden, rain gardens, trees and other green space, but mall owner RockStep Capital and Kandiyohi County Soil and Water Conservation District are investing in a $52,000 engineering study to improve a large portion of the remainder of the Uptown Willmar parking lot to help improve groundwater quality from stormwater runoff, according to TerWisscha and Warne.
Andy Weiner, owner of RockStep Capital, has pledged $500,000 of any funds he receives for the sale of the JCPenney building to the city to be used for $2 million of improvements to the parking lot that would include the addition of rain gardens, trees and green space. The remaining $1.5 million would be funded through grants applied for by Kandiyohi SWCD.
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The Willmar Ten design concept would cost an estimated $18.2 million to $20.75 million, which doesn’t include furniture, technology or security costs, largely due to the fact that Willmar Ten Investors have not been given the opportunity to sit down with city staff to know what those needs might be, according to TerWisscha.
TerWisscha stated that the building is structurally sound and will be a whole new building inside, and also have a new roof and HVAC system.
When given the opportunity to speak, Schwarzman agreed that the building is structurally sound, and added that the BKV Group design concepts for the building will include an 8,000-square-foot addition to bring the structure to 60,000 square feet. He did not elaborate further on BKV Group's design plans.
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