St. Cloud Distribution Center Gets Approval for New Road Despite Resident Concerns

(KNSI) – Four people spoke in opposition to a St. Cloud-based distribution center adding another entrance and exit for semi-truck traffic near a neighborhood.

In a 4-1 vote Tuesday night, the planning commission approved building an access road on the east end of the Bluestem/Fingerhut’s property at 6250 Ridgewood Road. Commissioner Marty Czech cast the lone no vote.

The Planned Unit Development would allow a private road to connect the northern parking lot to 22 future loading docks directly east of Saukview Drive. The paved connection will be 24 feet wide and cut through an environmentally sensitive area.

Brian lives across the street and spoke to KNSI News moments after the vote saying it will create a tunnel of noise with the mature oaks on the land gone. “It’s a buffer zone with beautiful oak trees they want to take down. I feel we kind of got robbed tonight. I feel that the people that are designing this should have been up first, so we could have spoke our opinion on it then because I feel we kind of got blindsided a little bit and exactly why they’re doing this.”

Bluestem/Fingerhut isn’t asking for the addition. They have a long-term lease for the south building only and won’t benefit from the new loading docks.

According to Brennan Investment Group, which owns the property, the loading docks are needed to attract new tenants or entice a buyer for the land. Brian wonders why that should concern him. “Because this person can’t rent out his space—he bought this building, I didn’t—now you’re going to make our residential neighborhood noisier and [have] more traffic because you can’t rent your space. That’s not my problem.”

In 2023, an environmental and development team assessed the property and recommended a route with the least impact on the trees. Under the current proposal, any trees larger than six inches across that are cut down must be replaced with ones at least three inches in diameter.

___