Bailey Nurseries is selling 184 acres of land to be redeveloped for residential and business use, according to the city of Woodbury.
The sale includes land east of Century Avenue to become a mixed-use development that would include residential, retail and business park land uses.
Bailey Nurseries is selling 184 acres of land for the development of mixed residential, retail and business park uses in Newport and Woodbury. (Courtesy of the city of Woodbury)
The proposed project would include up to 360 attached residential units, 89,600 square feet of retail and up to 660,400 square feet of business park, according to an environmental review of the project.
Bailey Nurseries, founded in 1905, is a family-run business that supplies plants nationally and is known for its Endless Summer Hydrangeas, First Editions Plants and Easy Elegance Roses.
The business’s former president and chairman of the board, Gordie Bailey, died in January. He is remembered for his love of plants, hatred of buckthorn and substantial contributions to the agricultural landscape of Minnesota.
Bailey Nurseries is not the developer of the project, said Ryan McEnaney, a fifth-generation family member and owner who serves as the company’s director of marketing and communications.
“We (Bailey Nurseries) are the seller of the property, working in collaboration with the cities of Woodbury, Newport and Maplewood,” McEnaney said.
There is no master developer of the project just yet, project broker Luke Appert of Cushman and Wakefield said, though developer deals are under review. It’s likely that multiple developers will come on board as the pieces fall into place.
To sell the property and prepare for development, Bailey shifted some operations to other parcels of land owned by the company, Appert said.
“Nothing’s changed on their end,” Appert said. “We want to make sure that’s crystal clear that this isn’t a sale because the business isn’t viable anymore. It’s a strategic way, because there’s been a bunch of interest in these properties for quite some time.”
The project
The project includes a phased extension of Century Avenue south of Carver Avenue to Bailey Road.
About 30 acres on the east side of the project area is slated to be a public/semi-public recreational area for New Life Academy, a private Christian school located at 6758 Bailey Road. The area is proposed to include parks and sports complexes that could include baseball fields, softball fields, soccer fields, football fields and tennis/pickleball courts.
The development also would include light industrial business spaces and a mix of high-, medium- and low-density housing.
The project has been in development for over five years, according to Woodbury city planner Eric Searles.
“The proposed retail uses will provide additional shopping opportunities in southern Woodbury, which has been a frequent request from local residents,” Searles said. “Furthermore, the project will provide new housing options with great pedestrian access to the future retail and Carver Lake Park.”
Appert said the project includes close to 15 acres of retail, but what exactly those retail businesses will be, he said, they aren’t certain of just yet.
Timeline
Bailey Nurseries is selling some of its land along Century Avenue in Woodbury and Newport for a mixed-use development. (John Autey / Pioneer Press)
Appert said at some point in the spring and summer, formal plans for development are expected to be submitted for the project, and construction may begin in the late summer or fall.
“I look forward to discussing the Bailey Development proposal at a future city council meeting,” Woodbury Mayor Anne Burt said. “From a big-picture view, our well-planned growth over the past several decades has provided us with the robust residential, commercial, retail, employment and services that make Woodbury one of the best places to live not only in Minnesota but the entire country.”
The development has a construction timeline of two to four years, according to the project’s environmental assessment worksheet, though Searles said it may take longer.
“While a specific completion date is not yet known, the full build-out will likely take over five years due to the size of the development,” Searles said.
The first phase of the mixed-use development will be 46 acres in Newport, just north of Bailey Road, said Newport Mayor Laurie Elliott. That development, called Bailey Farm, is expected to consist of two industrial buildings, a multi-family apartment complex and a Kwik Trip convenience store, she said.
“We’re very excited to have a Kwik Trip come into the community,” Elliott said. “What’s nice about the Kwik Trip is that it brings with it a wider selection of groceries and fresh-food items and a number of other convenience items.”
Another project, not part of the Bailey development, is being constructed on Century Avenue in Newport, south of Military Road. The Cherrywood development includes 117 residential units on about 35 acres, some of which are unbuildable bluff areas, according to Newport city officials. The residential units will be split between 69 single-family detached villas and eight townhome buildings with a total of 48 attached units. The Cherrywood development included the paving of Century Avenue in Newport, Elliott said.
“That was the last gravel road in the city, and now that it’s paved, Cherrywood is going to bring new single-family and townhomes to the city, which haven’t really seen a new development since Bailey Meadows was built around 2018,” she said.
Public comment
The city of Woodbury is taking public comment on the Bailey Development project from now until March 26 on the city’s website, woodburymn.gov.
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