Blazing Star Landing: City developing site 1 parcel at a time
The Blazing Star Landing includes 35 acres in the central park of Albert Lea that would be prime locations for housing and commercial sites.
A meatpacking facility, owned by various companies, occupied the site from the early 1900s until a fire in 2001. The city obtained the site after Farmland Foods filed for bankruptcy in 2002. The facility and fire left behind a great deal of soil contaminated by arsenic, petroleum and other pollutants.
After seeking redevelopment of the entire 35-acre site as a whole for the past 20 years, the city is now cleaning up the site for development one parcel at a time:
- Kwik Trip is planning to build a 9,100-square-foot convenience store in the northeast corner. Two state grants are helping pay for soil cleanup and extending Eberhart Street.
- Tapestry Companies, a private developer, is planning to build 60 units of low- to moderate-income housing along Garfield Avenue on the east side of the site. The Minnesota Housing Agency recently announced $15.1 million in funding from state and federal programs for the project. The new apartment building is estimated to cost $24 million to build and would be located south of the new Kwik Trip.
- The southwest corner is already developed. After cleanup funded partially by a state grant, a private developer built the 48-unit Front Street Apartments in 2022. Some of the units qualify for rent subsidies. The value of the 3.4 acre site before development was $52,500. The current value is $2.8 million.
The city is planning to seek cleanup and development for two more parcels, each about 4 acres in size, and leave the rest of the site as greenspace.
By developing the site, the city can:
- Expand housing choices
- Offer affordable housing
- Increase the local tax base
For more information
Watch:
The Blazing Star Landing video on the city’s YouTube channel.
Contact:
Steven Jahnke
City Engineer and Public Works Director
507-377-4325