Home Depot site redevelopment in Cottage Grove gets approval

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The Cottage Grove City Council approved conditional use permits for a proposed redevelopment of an empty former Home Depot retail store into a 68,000-square-foot multi-tenant retail space.

A 34,500-square-foot LA Fitness will anchor the redeveloped retail building. A Goodwill and Petco have also committed to the project, according to plans from the developer, Minnetonka-based Stonehenge USA. A fourth, 9,000-square-foot retail space is not yet leased.

The Cottage Grove Planning Commission recommended approval of the plans at a meeting last month. City economic development officials have sought to spur redevelopment of the Home Depot building — which sits prominently in one of the city’s busiest commercial areas — since it closed in 2008.

City Council members in May approved an agreement to pledge $1.9 million in special property tax revenue toward the cost of purchasing and improving the building and surrounding infrastructure. Without the assistance, city officials have said the projected $10.8 million project would likely not go forward.

The project’s developers told planning commissioners last month the redevelopment could be complete by the end of the year.

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