The Lake Elmo City Council voted to accept the Economic Development Authority (EDA) RFP committee recommendation and to begin negotiations with the Tapp and Ladder/Machete team (Brian Hyten, Amanda Urban and Julian Ocampo) to purchase the former fire station and parks building. The council also authorized staff to retain additional professional assistance during negotiations.

City staff said the city issued an RFP for the two landmark properties on June 17, 2025, and received nine proposals; the three highest-scored proposals were named finalists. The EDA RFP committee recommended the Tapp and Ladder/Machete team as the first-place selection following its review; the committee vote was reported as 6–4 and the EDA later voted 10–0 to forward the recommendation to council.

Staff described the Tapp and Ladder concept: converting the fire station into “Tapp and Ladder,” a self-pour tap house and casual dining restaurant with about 150 seats, approximately 28 taps and family-focused amenities including a children’s play area and heritage displays honoring local firefighters and veterans. The Parks Building was proposed as a second location of Machete Cocina Mexicana, a chef-driven concept currently operating on the southwest side of Woodbury. Estimated build-out costs were described as roughly under $1 million for the fire station and just over $700,000 for the parks building.

Staff summarized the scoring rubric used by the EDA committee: community benefit (65 points), land use (30 points), economic impact (10 points), developer qualifications (25 points) and related subcriteria. The presentation noted parking scenarios and estimated a range of 47 to 65 parking spaces (with 30–50 possible on-site), and that the purchase-price proposal under review was $750,000 or $150,000 less than appraised value, whichever is less, with those funds to be considered for business-subsidy uses if appropriate.

Council members asked procedural and substantive questions about next steps: environmental testing and Phase 2 results, the appraisal process based on the bidders’ preferred layouts, the timeline for closing (staff targeted Jan–Feb), possible clawback provisions in a purchase and development agreement to ensure project delivery, whether a business subsidy policy or TIF would be required, and whether outside financial and legal advisers would be needed. City Attorney Sarah said those terms would be spelled out in a purchase and development agreement, including clawback provisions and any business-assistance terms.

Representatives for the proposers described prior experience renovating challenging buildings and said, if selected, they would coordinate design, provide regular community updates and pursue procurement for design and construction; they indicated prior projects where they rehabilitated older or condemned buildings.

Council approved the motion to begin negotiations and to authorize staff to obtain additional professional assistance during the negotiation process by voice vote.