East-side family farmland cleared for development

A longtime family home and farmland is being cleared to create a commercial opportunity at a major east-side intersection.

The Burns family has owned the northeast corner of 41st Street and Veterans Parkway since the mid-1950s, and some family members farmed the area as recently as last year.

But a major highway and significant commercial activity in the area have positioned the property for an entirely different use. The house that sat on the site for decades was moved to Baltic last year.

“It was time to clear the site,” said Perry Kolb, manager of Burnsfield Developers, who represents the property. “The barn and buildings have come down, the trees have come down. We’re done using the farmstead and moving into the next chapter opening up that corner.”

There’s about 36 acres available for commercial development, with a sale pending on a 4-acre parcel, he said.

“We’re getting some interest. I’ve gotten some calls, but with the farmstead sitting there, it just doesn’t look ready, and it’s going to look more ready now,” Kolb said.

The concept for what the owners call Burnsfield Village shows a range of potential options for the site.

“I could see all kinds of stuff, just everything,” Kolb said. “It would be nice to have something anchor that corner, and I think we can start talking and being a little more aggressive now that everything is cleared off. We’re looking anywhere from a large anchor store, or we could carve off corners for a coffee kiosk or fast food. I think it would be a good place for a variety of restaurants.”

The plan is to finish a road through the property which will make the entire site accessible this summer, he said.

Along with the lots along the frontage of both cross streets, there’s a concept for a portion of the property to develop as a town center, envisioned a small-scale downtown.

The concept plan calls for  dining, entertainment, recreation, personal services, office, retail and loft living in a pedestrian-oriented design, but Kolb said it’s just shown as a potential idea.

Ophthalmology Ltd. owns 5 acres at the corner of 33rd Street and Veterans Parkway for a future location.

To the east, the PowderHaus Apartments and Townhomes added 425 units, bringing significant density to the area, Kolb said. The owners also have sold 13 out of 29 single-family lots on the east end of the property and plan to add more, along with potential twin homes.

South of 41st Street, U-Haul Moving & Storage of Veterans Parkway has started to open its new retail, moving and self-storage facility at 3500 S. Powder House Road.

The 8-acre property holds a pair of three-story buildings, each encompassing 700 climate-controlled self-storage units, or 1,400 rooms total, plus a separate warehouse to hold 1,250 mobile storage containers that can be delivered and picked up at a customer’s door. The goal is to be fully operational by the end of the year, a spokesperson said.

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