Metropolitan Council awards Livable Communities funds for brownfield cleanup
$1.3 million helps with clean up for eight redevelopment projects
Contact: Bonnie Kollodge
651.602.1357
ST. PAUL—July 14, 2010—The Metropolitan Council has approved $1.3 million to help fund brownfield clean up at eight redevelopment project sites in Minneapolis and St. Paul. The Council awards cleanup funds twice a year. This funding round will help clean up 27 acres, create or retain nearly 900 new jobs, increase the net tax base by $1.3 million and encourage $88 million in private investment.
Projects include clean up at a Minneapolis site for a New French Bakery warehouse expansion and redevelopment of a portion of the former 3M campus in St. Paul.
“This is one of the best things we can do to help cities promote redevelopment and address polluted properties,” said Council Chair Peter Bell. “This program is a proven tool, helping communities leverage many additional public and private dollars for investment in jobs, the environment and livability.”
To be eligible and compete for funding, metro-area cities must participate in the Livable Communities program. More than 100 metro-area communities participate in the program, which provides funding for:
- affordable housing
- development that promotes mixed-use and connected land uses linking housing, jobs and services, and
- brownfield or polluted site cleanup.
Projects awarded funding in July 2010:
- 4th Street Flats, Minneapolis--$347,500 for environmental investigation, soil remediation and asbestos and lead-based paint abatement on the one-acre site of a former church and a school. Some of the soil was contaminated by a large fuel-oil underground storage tank installed more than 50 years ago. An apartment building will be built on the site, with more than 100 market-rate apartments, including an affordable apartment.
- Linden Hills, Minneapolis--$35,900 for asbestos abatement, soil remediation and soil vapor mitigation at the one-acre site of a former gas station and auto service station and a tire and battery repair business. Redevelopment includes a mixed-use building with 32 units of housing for ownership, including an affordable unit, and 8,000 square feet of commercial retail space.
- New French Bakery Expansion, Minneapolis--$137,100 for additional environmental investigation, soil remediation and sealing groundwater monitoring wells at a 5.3-acre site that was used until the mid-70s for dumping ash and other wastes and more recently for industrial purposes. An existing building on the site will be expanded to accommodate a 15,000 square-foot warehouse addition.
- New Millennium Charter School, Minneapolis--$50,000 for a hazardous materials survey, environmental site investigation and a contamination cleanup plan for the five-acre site of a former industrial laundry facility. Plans call for development of a charter school at the site.
- North Loop Gateway, Minneapolis--$213,500 for asbestos and lead-based paint abatement on the half-acre site of a former gas station. Redevelopment includes construction of a 12,000 square-foot commercial retail building.
- Renaissance Box III, St. Paul--$84,200 for additional asbestos and lead-based paint abatement at a vacant seven-story commercial building, as well as soil remediation on the nearly half-acre site of a former shoe factory and warehouse. Redevelopment will include 70 new affordable rental units and approximately 5,000 square feet of green space.
- Pelham Business Center, St. Paul--$100,000 for soil remediation and soil vapor mitigation at a five-acre site associated with a variety of industrial activities related, primarily, to trucking and vehicle maintenance. Plans call for development of an 80,000 square-foot commercial/industrial building.
- Beacon Bluff (Phase 2), St. Paul--$350,000 for soil remediation and soil vapor mitigation on a 13-acre site that is the former 3M campus in St. Paul. Seven new buildings will be constructed for light industrial, commercial/retail and office uses.
The Council received nine applications for brownfield cleanup awards this funding round.
Since the Livable Communities program became law in 1995, the Council has made 273 brownfield clean up grant awards to 38 communities totaling nearly $80 million. The awards are helping to leverage another $4.4 billion in private investment, create more than 35,000 new jobs, increase the net tax base by more than $80 million and clean up more than 1,800 acres of contaminated properties.
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, manages regional water resources, plans regional parks and administers funds that provide housing opportunities for low- and moderate-income individuals and families. The Council is appointed by and serves at the pleasure of the governor.
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