Metropolitan Council Awards $8.4 Million in Livable Communities Grants

Communities awarded are Anoka, Apple Valley, Bloomington, Chaska, Columbia Heights, Minneapolis and St. Paul

ST. PAUL—Jan. 25, 2006—The Metropolitan Council today approved $8.4 million in Livable Communities grants to ten projects in seven cities that demonstrate land uses that link housing, jobs and services, including transit. Communities awarded funding include, Anoka, Apple Valley, Bloomington, Chaska, Columbia Heights, Minneapolis and St. Paul.

Metro-area communities that participate in the Livable Communities program are eligible to compete for the Livable Communities “demonstration” (LCDA) grants. More than 100 communities participate in the program. In 2005, the Council received requests for funding totaling more than $40 million from the demonstration account.

“The competition is fierce for funding that promotes more efficient use of land, resources and infrastructure,” said Council Chair Peter Bell. “We’re thrilled to be able to help local units of government pursue their vision and goals for their communities and promote livability and vitality throughout the region.”

The Livable Communities program also allocates funding for two other purposes--affordable housing and polluted site clean up for redevelopment. Since the program was established in 1995, the Council has awarded more than $140 million to participating communities, levering several billion dollars in private and other public investments.

Livable Communities Demonstration Account grants awarded include:

North Central Business District, Anoka--$1 million to help the city redevelop a 13-acre site in the city’s downtown, specifically helping to pay for a parking structure that will consolidate existing surface lots, improve access to the site, improve pedestrian circulation and promote a more connected development pattern.

Central Village—Legacy Park North, Apple Valley--$425,000 to provide continued assistance to the city, which is creating a compact, mixed-use development to supplement the existing downtown with commercial and residential development. LCDA funds will help support a neighborhood park.

Central Station, Bloomington--$2.2 million to help create a mixed-use redevelopment on 45 acres that will connect housing, jobs, retail, services, recreation, entertainment and transit, including the Hiawatha light-rail line. When completed, the project will host 7,000 employees and house up to 2,000 residents. LCDA funds will contribute to construction of Central Station Park, the hub around which development will occur.

The Sinclair, Chaska—$965,000 to help the city complete the Clover Ridge neighborhood development. The Sinclair will include 10,000 to 15,000 square feet of commercial space, beneath more than 100 affordable rental units. LCDA funds will help provide underground parking, helping to promote more connected activity above ground, streetscape improvements, public plaza enhancements and a neighborhood park and playground.

Huset Parkway, Columbia Heights—$580,147 to help redevelop a blighted industrial area of about 30 acres. The redevelopment will include more than 500 new homes and about 12,000 square feet of commercial space. LCDA funds will help pay for improvements to a new parkway, including sidewalks, lighting, trails and landscaping. The project is also in close proximity to Huset Park.

Heritage Park, Minneapolis--$1 million to provide continued assistance in reconstructing a site where four public housing developments were located into a mixed income, mixed density, culturally diverse urban neighborhood connected to adjacent communities, jobs, schools, gathering places and services. LCDA funds will help complete the Van White Memorial Boulevard connecting the neighborhood and downtown Minneapolis.

Ripley Gardens, Minneapolis--$450,000 to help redevelop the site of the former Ripley Maternity Hospital in the city’s Harrison Neighborhood. The project will re-use three existing historic buildings and construct three new buildings to provide a range of housing types for a mix of incomes. Underground parking, with the help of LCDA funds, will enable more housing and open space opportunities.

Midtown Exchange Condos, Minneapolis--$600,000 to help develop a 52-unit condominium project, with a parking structure, as part of the Midtown Exchange campus at the site of the former Sears building at Lake Street and Chicago in South Minneapolis. The condos provide workforce homeownership opportunities, with a parking structure that serves as a good model of integrating parking into the larger development.

Victoria Park, St. Paul--$798,439 to help the city create a new mixed-use urban village to eventually replace a 65-acre brownfield between West 7th Street and the Mississippi River at Otto Avenue. Once completed, Victoria Park will be home to a mix of housing and some commercial uses along a transit corridor. LCDA funds will help pay for construction of underground parking in the Hathaway building, which will include affordable and market rate condominiums and some commercial uses. The underground parking allows more efficient land uses and a more connected development pattern.

Chestnut Plaza, St. Paul--$400,000 to help build a signature public space as part of the Upper Landing Urban Village. The plaza is described as the “keystone” that will tie together the various elements of the new neighborhood, including the Mississippi River, Samuel Morgan Regional Trail, Science Museum of Minnesota and other amenities. The plaza will be located at the intersection of Shepard Road and Eagle Parkway.

In conjunction with approving the grants, the Council adopted a resolution to review and revise the program’s eligibility criteria to ensure that the demonstration grants support elements of the projects and infrastructure improvements that provide the highest public benefit.

The goal is to tighten existing eligibility criteria so that certain uses of the funds may not be eligible for future grant awards, including private parking and amenities that are not deemed necessary to the project, such as playground equipment and water features.

The Metropolitan Council is the regional planning organization for the seven-county Twin Cities area. It runs the regional bus and light rail system, collects and treats wastewater, coordinates regional water resources, plans regional parks and administers funds that provide housing opportunities for low- and moderate-income individuals and families. The Council board is appointed by and serves at the pleasure of the governor.

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