The faces of the men who will be responsible for the latest redevelopment plan for the Wayzata Bay Shopping Center were revealed to the city of Wayzata and its residents.

During the March 6 Wayzata City Council meeting, Ed Briesmeister, managing partner of the Wayzata Bay Redevelopment Company - the entity created by Presbyterian Homes to manage the master plan for the site - introduced the team, which consists of planners Mike Fischer and Michael Schroeder of LHB Architects and Engineers of Minneapolis and Dan Ionescu of Dan Ionescu Architects and Planners of San Mateo, Calif. Also attending the meeting was John Mehrkens, vice president of development for Presbyterian Homes.

Before turning the brief presentation over to Ionescu, Briesmeister said the point of appearing before the council was to introduce the design team to the city and to answer any questions the council might have. He added, however, that to date the team is working on background and no actual planning has taken place.

Ionescu shared that sentiment, saying that the planners have begun reviewing the history of the site and the previous plans for redevelopment that have come before the city.

"[We] want to have up-to-date information," he said. "We have not put a pencil on paper yet."

He added that the design team is still dedicated to meeting with as many groups in the city as possible to find out what their visions for the Bay Center and the city are. While all of the planners have extensive experience with redevelopments such as the Bay Center, he stressed the importance of gaining as much feedback as possible in this situation.

"This is Wayzata; this is different."

When asked by council members if any sort of plans as far as a use for the site had been decided, Ionescu conceded that the plan is for senior housing - Presbyterian Homes' primary business - as well as some retail space.

Mayor Andrew Humphrey said that an outline from the developers regarding listening sessions within the city was "different" from what he originally expected, but added that he thought the plan would allow a great opportunity for an open planning process between the city and developers.

To that end, Briesmeister has taken on an office in the Bay Center and is open to meeting with anyone from Wayzata to get their feelings on the project.

Wayzata Bay Redevelopment Company took on the Wayzata office in mid-January, Briesmeister said March 9. So far, he said, the office is functioning as it was intended to.

"We wanted to make ourselves as accessible to the community as possible, and to make the community as accessible to us as possible."

Briesmeister said that so far he is taking appointments, but has seen a fair number of walk-in visits as well. During these visits he said he's received a combination of questions about plans for the site and recommendations on what residents would like to see.

"We don't make any secrets of what we're trying to do [with the redevelopment]," he said. "Right now I probably do more listening than anything."

In addition to the meetings in his office, Briesmeister said he's in the process of setting up a series of meetings, which will be moderated by Schroeder and Ionescu, with different groups in Wayzata. He anticipates it will take two to three months to get the meetings set up.

"It's much easier to talk about setting up meetings than it is to actually set them up," he said. "We're expecting to get a lot of feedback."

Because of the open planning process that will be employed on this project, Briesmeister said that no timetable for completion of the project has been set.

"[During the open planning process] you might get input that sends you in a direction you never anticipated."

For more information on the Wayzata Bay Redevelopment Company or to request a meeting call 651-631-6300 or go to www.wayzatabaydevco.com.

(Comment on this story at our website, www.mnsun.com.)

Briesmeister said that so far he is taking appointments, but has seen a fair number of walk-in visits as well. During these visits he said he's received a combination of questions about plans for the site and recommendations on what residents would like to see.

"We don't make any secrets of what we're trying to do [with the redevelopment]," he said. "Right now I probably do more listening than anything."

In addition to the meetings in his office, Briesmeister said he's in the process of setting up a series of meetings, which will be moderated by Schroeder and Ionescu, with different groups in Wayzata. He anticipates it will take two to three months to get the meetings set up.

"It's much easier to talk about setting up meetings than it is to actually set them up," he said. "We're expecting to get a lot of feedback."

Because of the open planning process that will be employed on this project, Briesmeister said that no timetable for completion of the project has been set.

"[During the open planning process] you might get input that sends you in a direction you never anticipated."

For more information on the Wayzata Bay Redevelopment Company or to request a meeting call 651-631-6300 or go to www.wayzatabaydevco.com.

(Comment on this story at our website, www.mnsun.com.)