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public stays involved and informed about the status of the redevelopment effort. In addition, communications will target potential funding sources. JMS communications will continue to provide assistance with"internal"city communications including newsletters and project fact sheets. Land Acquisition , The City is already receiving questions regarding the timing of potential land acquisition. Given the preliminary nature of the development process; the appropriate response is that it is too early to initiate any land acquisition. Acquisition generally does not occur until after a final development agreement is signed. A final development agreement would not be expected until late 2002 or early 2003. The developer will be contacting property owners in the next few months to discuss their concept and get input from businesses and owners. Project Funding A key activity in the initial stages of this project is identification of potential outside funding sources. The majority of the cost for funding land acquisition, relocation, demolition, public improvements and other related costs are paid by the developer. A secondary source that will be considered is tax increment. Outside sources currently being explored include Metropolitan Council grants for Livelable Communities, transit initiatives, asbestos abatement (Tax Base Revitalization), innovative storm water systems; Department of Trade and Economic Development grants and Ramsey County grants. Lockridge Grindal Nauen& Holstein, specialist in this area will be assessing funding potential and strategies for these sources and identifying other possible federal, state and local sources. Tax Increment Financing Given the likelihood that tax increment financing(TIF) assistance will be requested by the developer, Ehlers recommends that St. Anthony initiate an assessment to determine if the site would qualify as a"Redevelopment" district as permitted by State Law. The first step in that process is an inspection of properties that may be included within the district. A draft RFP will be provided to you for your consideration. A number of local firms have demonstrated capacity for this work. A key question (and communication issue) is what properties should be included in the "study" area for inspection. A TIF district can be made smaller after the process begins but may not be larger. For that reason it is recommended that the City include as much of the study area as feasible. Specifically we suggest including the Equinox apartment buildings and the Apache'Medical. Neither of these properties has been identified for redevelopment. However, it is possible that the City and/or the developer may want to utilize tax increment to make improvements other than acquisition for these properties.