Lake Elmo EDA recommends Tap and Ladder proposal to City Council for Old Village fire station redevelopment

The Lake Elmo Economic Development Authority recommended that the City Council enter negotiations with the Tap and Ladder/Machete team to redevelop the Old Village fire station and adjacent Parks Building, following a ranked-choice vote among three finalists.

The recommendation follows presentations from three finalist teams — Tap and Ladder with Machete Cocina Mexicana; River Siren Brewing with a Lake Elmo Commons mixed-use plan; and Old Village Social (a microbrewery, brick-oven pizzeria and indoor/outdoor mini-golf concept). The EDA voted by paper ballot using ranked-choice rules; the initial tallies were 5 votes for Tap and Ladder, 3 for Lake Elmo Commons and 2 for Old Village Social. After elimination of the third-place choice and reallocation, the final recommendation was 6 votes for Tap and Ladder and 4 for Lake Elmo Commons. The EDA will forward that recommendation to the City Council; staff said the council will consider the item at its next meeting and then may move into a closed session to negotiate details and award terms.

Tap and Ladder’s proposal, led by Brian Hite and partners including Julian Ocampo, would repurpose the fire station as a roughly 150-seat self-pour tap house with a casual dining menu and a children’s play area; the Parks Building would become the second location of Machete Cocina Mexicana. The Tap and Ladder submission described a self-pour 28-tap wall, flexible indoor seating, a children’s zone and year-round programming. The team told the EDA it has lender preapprovals (including a local bank), about $110,000 in private…