Why was the RFQ/I only for a residential development and did not even try for commercial?

The development site was simultaneously marketed on Loopnet/Costar, a commercial real estate website both times the RFQ/I was issued, and a mailing was done in 2018 to micro-breweries to try to leverage the success of Back Channel and in recognition of the significant investment in a commercial kitchen required for a restaurant made it less likely. The Development Committee at the time met with two interested breweries, with the one who did the most due diligence wanting the City to build the building for $1M and then rent it to them for $5K per month, which was not a realistic payback and would equate to the City subsidizing a business. Area restaurants, in particular, would take issue with that. When the district was first created in the mid 2000’s it was marketed by Welsh Companies, the third largest commercial real estate firm in the Twin Cities. A large restaurant chain initially took interest but withdrew after their market study indicated it was not financially feasible, noting in particular no lunch rush. A hotel was also considered but that developer also withdrew. When Excelsior rejected the boutique hotel proposal by the Dock Theater, the mayor at the time immediately reached out to see if they would consider Mound, but they would not. After the 2009 recession, the preferred status of Mound Harbor Renaissance LLC to be the developer expired and the City commissioned Mary C. Bujold of Maxwell Research to conduct a market study. That full study is available on the City’s website. All of this informed the ultimate conclusion that the next phase of development was likely to be residential.