Blaine Station Development Request For Qualifications

The City of Monroe is pleased to offer the following development opportunity on the site of the former Walton Plaza Shopping Center, located at 140 Blaine Street in East Monroe.  The city purchased the 96,400 SF vacant retail center in late 2017 and has rehabilitated 49,100 SF at the north end of the center to provide space for the Monroe Police Department, Municipal Court, and Utility/Infrastructure Department.  We are now offering the “excess” portion of the 8.84-acre site, including the remaining vacant space within the shopping center, to the private sector for redevelopment.

In 2021 Monroe engaged Lord Aeck Sargent (LAS) to help the city develop a master plan for this site.  That plan offers “a vision of a walkable, mixed-use district that serves as a destination. The vision includes stand-alone retail, restaurants and other commercial in small format settings. Commercial uses are supplemented with small public shared open space and adjacent residential development.”  In late 2021 the Monroe City Council approved the Blaine Station Master Plan and rezoned the site to enable the property to be developed for a mix of rehabilitated commercial/retail space, new construction on commercial out-parcels, and housing.  The complete Master Plan report and PCD zoning are available to download as attachments to this offering.

As the property owner, the City of Monroe has the flexibility to convey the real estate in a manner that achieves the public sector’s objectives as expressed in the Master Plan, while providing the development community with attractive financial terms to enable the Project to succeed.  The City is seeking to convey development rights to an experienced developer, or multiple developers, who are willing to build all or parts of the Project in substantial conformance with the Master Plan.  The purpose of this document is to invite qualified parties to express interest in acquiring all or part of the site for that purpose.  We encourage you to take a few moments to review the enclosed information to better understand the real estate and the full scope of this opportunity. 

If you are interested in exploring this matter further, please do not hesitate to call or e-mail the primary contact person identified in Section III of this RFQ.  Staff will be prepared to answer your questions, share all relevant information, and assist you in inspecting the property upon request.

We thank you for your interest in Monroe and look forward to the possibility of receiving your response.