07-15-2016 - Laserfiche WebLink

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EDC Minutes May 20, 2016 Page 8 of 10 use any remaining funds from the sale of Crossroad Pointe towards the purchase of other properties. The Council has been hesitant to pass any EDA levy until they can better understand how this would be impacted by the State Statues and City Charter which address levy limitations. They are also trying to clear up who has the authority since the original EDA documents don’t address the authority. Some interpretations of State Statues address HRA’s as having the authority. Until the issues can be sorted out, the city will not have a means to purchase and redevelop properties as they come available. A business in Mounds View recently requested funds to improve the façade of their building. Mounds View has a loan program for this type of use, however the program currently is not funded and therefore, we couldn’t offer the business financial assistance. The city still hasn’t been contacted on the new proposal for Crossroad Pointe since they decided to double the number of units. However assuming the financing gap is large, even with the Housing TIF, Tax Credits, and Ramsey County’s $85,000 financing, a land write down of $1 still may not be enough. We won’t know for certain until they are ready with their new plans and they contact the city with their proposal. Rice Creek Commons (TCAAP) Development Update Next, Coordinator Beeman provided an update on the Rice Creek Commons Development improvements which also affect Mounds View. Many of Mounds View’s businesses in the construction area have complained that the County failed to place large enough signs along the construction route for vehicles to see them and some of the signs should be moved so that vehicles have time to turn. Some vehicles were not seeing the signs then realized they couldn’t make a U-turn. Instead of coming back, they kept on going and the local businesses lost customers. The County was informed and larger signs have been installed in strategic locations. Beeman believes this will be a major improvement to that intersection once completed this fall. However, until then, businesses and residents will have to put up with the inconvenience. Commissioner Helgemoe asked if the construction is still on-time to be completed this fall. Beeman confirmed, stating so far, the construction is on schedule and the plan is to have substantial completion this fall with the remainder touch ups to be completed in the spring of 2017. They are trying the best they can to keep at least one lane open at all times. There may be rare instances where they would need to close all lanes, but if this happens it will only be temporary. The County will notify the City if they plan on closing all lanes. Beeman mentioned that the Rice Creek Commons development committee selected Alatus as the master developer who beat out Opus and Ryan Companies. The first phase of development will be to construct 200 homes and find an anchor grocery store like Cub Foods. They are also looking for a medical anchor. Once these have been established, they will begin phase two. They are setting aside 40 acres for light industrial which could help out some of the expanding businesses in Mounds View. This will at least keep them in the region instead of them going to another state.