The church would demolish part of the existing building
A church’s plan to occupy the former Apple Valley Menards site has received support from the Apple Valley Planning Commission.
The commission recommended approving a request by Menard Inc. and Eagle Brook Church to allow construction of a 58,139 square foot building and 585-space parking lot at its October 6 meeting. The proposal will be submitted to City Council for consideration at a future meeting.
The church is proposing to move to the Apple Valley Menards space at 14960 Florence Trail, which is on a 13.86 acre property at the northwest corner of Florence Trail and Flagstaff Avenue. The vacant store measures 160,796 square feet with 453 parking spaces and a 3.8 acre outdoor lumber yard. The plans for the church call for the removal of all parking spaces except 42, the 102,657 square feet east of the existing building, the lumberyard and the perimeter fence that surrounds it.
The remaining 58,1139 square feet of the existing building would be used for the church. The south parking lot would be reconfigured to include 219 spaces, adding 186 spaces to the east of the proposed building and 180 spaces to the north of the building, according to the city. If approved, the site would be the church’s eighth permanent campus.
“Vehicle access to the site will be via the existing drive approach along the Florence Trail and a new driveway along Flagstaff Avenue. The new driveway must be placed in a location acceptable to the city, ”the city report of October 6 said. “The applicant will also be required to pay for the modifications to Flagstaff Avenue including adding a left / northbound lane of Florence Trail to the existing left turn lane of 147th Street West and the addition of a southbound right turn lane to the driveway. Access will continue between the proposed church and the adjacent Sam’s Club to the west. Minor changes will be made to facilitate the transition between the two properties.
The city says a traffic study prepared by the applicant at the city’s request indicates that the proposed traffic mitigation should adequately address any potential traffic change generated by the new use of the site.
Eagle Brook Church began as a living room in 1948 and grew, first on its White Bear Lake campus. Continued growth led to the construction of a second location at Lino Lakes. The church has five other permanent campuses in Anoka, Blaine, Ham Lake, Spring Lake Park and Woodbury. There are also mobile sites at Lakeville South High School in Lakeville, Rochester and Wayzata.
Menards built a new store at 6055 150th St. W. in Apple Valley and moved there in the fall of 2020. The company built the store at 14960 Florence Trail in 1999.
