An Auto-Parts Store Angers Lakeville Business Owners Who Expected a Restaurant

Lakeville's approval of an auto-parts store on Kenwood Trail has two nearby business owners angry and considering a lawsuit.

Dave Malmberg, owns the building at 17850 Kenwood Trail, where his son Eric runs RE/MAX Advantage Plus.

The Malmbergs say that when they bought the property in 2004, the city and developer told them the adjacent site would be an upscale, sit-down restaurant.

When Lakeville approved an Advance Auto Parts outlet for the site earlier this month, the Malmbergs felt that their property value would be harmed and the daytime hours of the store would cause a parking conflict.

“It was not on our radar screen that they would be upset by this,” Keith Ulstad, an executive at United Properties, the company that sold the land to the auto parts store, told the Star Tribune." It’s a retail building. It just happens to sell auto parts,” he said.

The Star Tribune has more about the Malmbergs' legal concerns:

The Malmbergs and their attorney, David McGee, met with Lakeville officials last week to discuss the dispute. “We’re trying to make the best of a bad situation,” McGee said in an interview.

“The Malmbergs and their attorney verbally expressed their concerns to myself and the City Attorney,” said Planning Director Daryl Morey after the meeting. He said city staff will try to have a follow-up meeting with the Malmbergs and United.

Although it may be too late to stop the development, McGee said his clients are hopeful that some aspects of it could be adjusted, like the way the new building will be positioned. In a letter to the city last month, McGee said the value of the Malmbergs’ property could be hurt because it will face the back of the Advance Auto Parts building.