St. Michael Station, Kwik Trip Win Council Approval

The St. Michael City Council approved a site plan for the St. Michael Station Tuesday night, including a new Kwik Trip gas station and sites for future retail expansion.

The 16.1 acre development, created by Hans Hagen, is located on the northwest side of Minnesota Highway 241 on O'Day Avenue, across from the former St. Michael movie theater and the Super America Station.

 Mayor Jerry Zachman called the development "huge" for a community that is still reeling from the housing market collapse, and is looking forward to commercial development at the intersection of Interstate 94 and the highway. 

"Kwik Trip had walked away from this for a while, and was able to come back tothe table and work with Hans Hagen to make this happen," Zachman said. "Any development right now is big. But this will really help that corner." 

An issue yet to be resolved is the cost of creating a traffic signal at Highway 241 and O'Day, as traffic tries to make its way in and out of the commercial locations either side of the road. The city would cover 75 percent of the cost through various funding means (the state handed over control of the highway soon after it opened all four lanes after the expansion project), while Hans Hagen would cover the other 25 percent. 

The St. Michael Planning Commission and the city council again on Monday night questioned the plans for signage for the 16-acre development. Initial plans called for two large signs, approximately the size of the signs for the Town Center development at Marketplace, to be located on the site. Both the PC and council agreed that was too much, so one sign, with visiblity to both O'Day and Interstate 94, will be raised. 

Monument signs (signs low to the ground) will be used on the other pads, including in front of Kwik Trip. Kwik Trip will be prominently displayed on the main marquee as well, with digital read-outs for gas prices. 

Signs will also be embedded into a retaining wall along O'Day Avenue. The two digital signs will change readouts about once every minute, and the dynamic messsages will have to comply with city code. 

"This is a development that has been in the works for a while. I think the site was graded a couple of years ago now, and it's just a matter of the developer working things out with possible businesses who want to locate there," said Marc Weigle, St. Michael's Community Development Director. "It's, obviously, going to be nice to give the city some exposure that close to the interstate." 

It's the city's fourth gas station. Two Super Americas (one with a McDonald's partnership and the other on the east side of 2410) and a Holiday Station call the city home. There is a fifth gas station site located next to the McDonald's SA, but Oasis Market closed in 2008. 

Construction on the site should begin as soon as the ground is ready, with Kwik Trip's construction beginning in June. The company hopes to have its first St. Michael location open before Labor Day weekend. 

As for the St. Michael Station, Hans Hagen hopes to develop sites for a possible hotel and a restaurant. The 16-acre planned development could include as many as 10 businesses, including Kwik Trip.