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In this Issue
In January, the Council awarded more than $10 million in
Livable Communities grants to Twin Cities metro area communities for brownfield
clean up, and mixed-use and innovative development that connects Minnesotans
with jobs, school, transit, and other services and destinations. Three of those
projects, receiving a combined $3.4 million in program funds, are planned in
District 5 in Edina and Bloomington.
Both cities have seen notable investment interest over the
past few years and continue to support exciting development and redevelopment
opportunities. These three projects don’t buck that trend.
The Bloomington award will go toward cleaning up a contaminated
surface parking lot to make way for a 214-room hotel and restaurant - increasing
the tax base and commercial portfolio within the city and encouraging
additional investment in the area.
Similarly, the City of Edina’s two awards demonstrate its
commitment to building high-quality mixed-use developments. Not only will both
projects add homes to the city’s housing stock, The Avenue on France will also
include an innovative stormwater management feature that compliments the city’s
and Council’s water sustainability goals.
The Livable Communities program continues to be a highly
competitive pool of funds and I am delighted that three great projects within
the district rose to the top.
Since the Minnesota Legislature created the Livable
Communities Act grant program in 1995, the Council has
approved grants totaling nearly $370 million to assist projects that have
created or retained more than 55,000 jobs, cleaned up 2,400 acres of polluted
property for redevelopment, created or preserved nearly 24,000 affordable
housing units, and leveraged billions in additional public and private funds. The Livable
Communities program provides funding for communities to invest in local
economic revitalization, affordable housing initiatives, and development or
redevelopment that connects different land uses and transportation.
The program is a voluntary, incentive-based approach to help communities
grow and redevelop, and to address the region’s affordable and lifecycle
housing needs.
Congratulations to all
the cities receiving funds this round! Read more about the projects.
Steve
Elkins
 Visitors
to the Metro Mobility website will notice big changes as the Council rolls
out a new look and organization to the site this week. In response to feedback
from users, the site has been reorganized, simplified, and is more compatible
with mobile devices. Visit the new site.
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Gov.
Mark Dayton has advanced three Metropolitan Council initiatives in his 2018
bonding bill. The major line items include:
- $50 million for regional bus
rapid transit projects (like the A Line).
- $50 million for the Heywood II
Bus Garage.
- $5 million for a Council
partnership with Metro Cities to reduce municipal infiltration and inflow
(I&I), which is clean water seeping into the wastewater treatment
system.
The funds are part of Dayton’s overall $1.5 billion bonding proposal. Most of the money is focused on restoring aging buildings in Minnesota’s public higher education system, upgrading sewer and water infrastructure, improving and repairing state buildings, and investing in road, bridge, and transit infrastructure and affordable housing.
Learn more about what the funding will accomplish.
D Line Open Houses. I was able to attend both the Richfield and Bloomington D Line Open Houses this past month. The draft
D Line Station Plan was released in February and we are currently seeking public feedback on proposed station locations. Metro Transit held six open houses on the topic in addition to seeking public comment online. The public feedback
period will end on March 6.
Edina Rotary Club.
on Feb. 8, I had the opportunity to present to the Edina Rotary Club about the Council's functions and work with the City of Edina specifically. About 100 people attend these weekly rotary meetings and include a mix
of community members, local organizational leaders and public officials. Several attendees were very interested in the Council's demography work and talks have begun to have the Council’s
Regional Policy and Research team to give the Edina Rotary an in-depth
presentation on regional trends.
494 Corridor Commission. On the second Wednesday of every month, I attend the 494 Corridor Commission's monthly meeting. This group focuses on transit and transportation issues impacting I-494 in the southern part of Hennepin County.
I-35W Solutions Alliance. On the second Thursday of every month, I attend the I-35W Solutions Alliance gathering. This group has been meeting since 1989 and works to help fund, build, and maintain transportation projects along the I-35 corridor from Lakeville to Minneapolis. |
