Bayport has a new plan for land once eyed by failed developer

A new housing development taking shape in Bayport would use the open land once eyed by GreenHalo Builds, the troubled home-building company that collapsed in 2023 when it was revealed to be little more than a debt-ridden shell plagued by allegations of shoddy construction and unfinished homes.

This time, a builder with decades of experience and hundreds of completed homes has laid out a plan that calls for 35 houses and at least 30 multi-family units on the parcel east of Stagecoach Trail near Barker’s Alps Park.

Homes President Leonard Pratt and his representatives told the City Council they would take two to three years to build houses on the 28-acre parcel before the project would move into a second phase that would see multi-family housing rise in the center of the development, to be called Bayhaven.

Bayport Mayor Michele Hanson said she was initially concerned that the developer might focus only on the first phase and leave the multi-family project unfinished.

“I’ve had several conversations with Len and I have confidence that he does quality work and that he cares,” Hanson said. “But it is concerning because he doesn’t normally do multi-family, but after hearing the conversation [at the meeting] he is dedicated to finding a builder that matches his same level of quality and care.”

Jacob Steen of Larkin Hoffman, Pratt’s attorney, told the council that Pratt Homes would agree to a stipulation that the last 10 building permits of Bayhaven’s first phase be released only after a viable plan for the multi-family housing is brought forward.

“It forces us to be committed to finding that,” he told the council.

The company is already in talks with several builders, he added. Pratt also hired architect Pete Keely of Collage Architects to design some preliminary ideas of what the multi-family housing could look like. Showing those plans to the council earlier this month, Keely said the second phase could be a single three-story apartment building or a series of townhomes depending on how many units get built.

If an apartment building is the final decision, Kelly said his design would include numerous setbacks and angles to prevent the construction of something that looked like a brick wall.

A multi-family project of at least 30 units must be built on the site to meet the city’s comprehensive plan requirement of five dwellings per acre. Pratt said the site could hold a maximum of 70 units, depending on what’s ultimately agreed to.

The Bayhaven development would require cutting down 273 of the 701 trees on the site, according to plans shared with the City Council. The developer would plant 279 replacement trees after construction is finished, the council was told.

Two years ago, builder John Sharkey said he would build 46 houses on the site. The City Council was considering the deal when Sharkey was instead pushed out of town as numerous creditors said they couldn’t get him on the phone and were threatening legal action.

He filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy protection and had at least 46 creditors, according to court records. In August, the trustee reported that she had found no assets available for distribution over and above that exempted by law and the case was closed Nov. 15.

Pratt Homes, based in Vadnais Heights, was founded in 1973 and has built hundreds of houses in the Twin Cities. Founder Lowell Pratt worked with the state Department of Commerce in the early 1990s to draft home construction standards, and was granted the first builder license in the state, according to the company website. Some of their latest projects include Laurel Ridge in Scandia, the Villas at the Royal Club in Lake Elmo, and the Villas at Spring Farm in North Oaks.

The Bayport project’s final plat must come back before the City Council for final approval, but city administrator Matt Kline said a significant amount of work remains before that can happen. Once it does, the developer can start installing infrastructure for utilities and roads and then apply for building permits for individual houses.

The council voted unanimously this month to allow both the annexation request and the comprehensive plan amendment required for the project to move forward.

“Welcome to Bayport,” Hanson told Leonard Pratt.