Metropolitan Council awards nearly $6 million in Livable Communities grants

Funds promote mixed-use, efficiency and livability

ST. PAUL—Dec. 13, 2007—Senior housing in Forest Lake, redevelopment at University and Dale in St. Paul and improvements to West Broadway in North Minneapolis are among the projects approved for Livable Communities funding by the Metropolitan Council.

The Council on Dec. 12 approved nearly $6 million in funding for seven projects in five cities, including Forest Lake, Minneapolis, Rosemount, Roseville and St. Paul. The grants help fund elements of projects that promote mixed-use and demonstrate land uses that connect housing, jobs and services, including transit.

The Council received 16 applications for funding totaling $18.4 million. The projects are reviewed and evaluated by the Livable Communities Advisory Committee, which recommends projects for funding to the full Metropolitan Council.

“The Council has been funding these types of developments and activities for over 10 years and I’m always pleased to see the range of projects underway in the metro area and the creativity and partnerships that result,” said Council Chair Peter Bell. “The Livable Communities program has been an important tool in helping to promote investment in community livability and vitality.”

Projects recommended for funding

Washington County Senior Housing/Headwaters, Forest Lake--$700,000 to help fund land acquisition for a project that serves as a model of partnership among public and private organizations and as a catalyst for a major development in a growing “edge” community. The project is an affordable senior housing facility within the proposed Walker Methodist Senior Living Campus, part of the planned 620-acre, mixed-use Headwaters development in the city. Residents of the affordable senior housing building will have access to senior services and other amenities included in the development.
Longfellow Station, Minneapolis--$500,000 to help fund an innovative, integrated stormwater management system that helps to address some of the stormwater challenges at the site, where a high-density, transit-oriented development is proposed next to the 38th Street transit station on the Hiawatha line. The development itself will include about 200 new housing units, including affordable housing, up to 50,000 square feet of commercial space and structured parking.
West Broadway Curve, Minneapolis--$1,325,000 to help fund elements of a project in North Minneapolis that will be used primarily to acquire and demolish properties, and support a good design strategy that will demonstrate visible improvements at a challenging site and location. The project includes mixed-income rental and ownership housing and pedestrian-friendly streetscape.
Stonebridge Core Block East, Rosemount--$1,587,500 to help fund elements of a mixed-use development in the city’s downtown that will serve as a catalyst to the project, including land acquisition, street alignment and reconstruction, sidewalks, street lighting and other infrastructure, and a stormwater management system. The development includes apartments, including affordable units, commercial space for retail or office use and underground parking. It is consistent with architecture and design guidelines developed by a citizen task force, and will help the community transition from its agricultural roots and improve the vitality of the downtown.
Har Mar Apartments, Roseville—$305,000 to help pay for improvements and updates needed to redesign the existing 120-unit apartment building complex built in 1965 and promote more housing at the site. Livable Communities funds will help pay for stormwater management improvements and removing obsolete infrastructures, like retaining walls and pavement. Plans call for diversifying the unit type to provide increased housing choices for low- and moderate-income workers, as well as some median income.
Dale Street Village, St. Paul--$1,050,000, primarily to help purchase properties at the northeast corner of University and Dale, making way for development that will serve as a model for more intensive development along a transit corridor. The city is proposing a redevelopment to improve the vitality of that intersection. A four-story development is proposed, including commercial space and 46 units of affordable housing, primarily for active seniors. Livable Communities funds will help pay for the acquisition and demolition of the Saigon Restaurant building, Lendways Restaurant building and Nordic Electronics.
Rivoli Street, St. Paul--$468,897 to help fund stormwater pond construction in a development that shows good integration of open space and stormwater elements with the rest of the development. The proposed Village on Rivoli development between Minnehaha and Tedesco Street will include 38 single-family detached dwellings in close proximity to transit. The project will help encourage more moderate-income homeownership in the Railroad Island neighborhood, while also providing affordable ownership opportunities for low and very-low income renters in the neighborhood.

More than 100 metro-area communities participate in the Livable Communities program and are therefore eligible to complete for funding.

The Livable Communities program also allocates funds for affordable housing and brownfield clean up for redevelopment. Since the program was established in 1995, the Council has awarded nearly $164 million to participating communities, leveraging several billion dollars in private and other public investment.

The Metropolitan Council is the regional planning organization for the seven-county Twin Cities area. The Council 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.