Title
Authorizing the Department of Planning and Economic Development to apply for the Metropolitan Council Livable Communities Demonstration Account Pre-Development Grant Funds for projects at 680-694 Minnehaha Avenue East. (Hamm's Brewery Redevelopment: West End) and 1449 Reaney Avenue East. (East Side Tennis and Community Center), which will include indemnification obligations.
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WHEREAS, the City of Saint Paul is a participant in the Metropolitan Livable Communities Act (“LCA”) Local Housing Incentives Program for 2024 as determined by the Metropolitan Council, and is therefore eligible to apply for LCA Livable Communities Demonstration Account (“LCDA”) funds; and
WHEREAS, the City has identified that the project at 680-694 Minnehaha Avenue E. (Hamm's Brewery Redevelopment West End) and 1449 Reaney Avenue E. (East Side Tennis and Community Center), embody the LCDA purposes and criteria, and are consistent with and promote the purposes of the Metropolitan Livable Communities Act and the policies of the Metropolitan Council’s adopted metropolitan development guide; and
WHEREAS, the City has the institutional, managerial and financial capability to adequately manage the LCDA Predevelopment grants; and
WHEREAS, the City certifies that it will comply with all applicable laws and regulations as stated in the grant agreements; and
WHEREAS the City agrees to act as legal sponsor for the projects contained in the grant applications to be submitted on July 22, 2024; and
WHEREAS, the City acknowledges LCDA grants are intended to fund projects or project components that can serve as models, examples or prototypes for LCDA predevelopment activities elsewhere in the Region, and therefore represents that the proposed projects or key components of the proposed projects can be replicated in other metropolitan-area communities; and
WHEREAS, only a limited amount of grant funding is available through the Metropolitan Council’s Livable Communities LCDA initiative during each funding cycle and the Metropolitan Council has determined it is appropriate to allocate those scarce grant funds only to eligible projects that would not occur without the availability of LCDA grant funding;
Now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, after appropriate examination and due consideration, the Saint Paul City Council hereby:
1. Finds that the following proposed LCDA projects are in the best interests of the City’s development goals and priorities:
• 680-694 Minnehaha Avenue E. (Hamm's Brewery Redevelopment: West End), not to exceed $200,000
• 1449 Reaney Avenue E. (East Side Tennis and Community Center), not to exceed $100,000
2. Finds that the LCDA project components for which LCDA funding is sought:
a. will not occur solely through private or other public investment within the reasonably foreseeable future, and
b. will occur within the term of the grant award (two years for Predevelopment grants) only if LCDA funding is made available for this project at this time.
3. Represents that the City has undertaken reasonable and good faith efforts to procure funding for the project components for which LCDA funding is sought but was not able to find or secure from other sources sufficient funding that is necessary for project component completion within three years and states that this representation is based on the following:
• The City of Saint Paul has no general fund resources to invest in these sites; and
• The City of Saint Paul encourages developers to seek additional sources of funding to leverage award and address financial gaps,
4. Authorizes its Director of Planning and Economic Development to submit applications on behalf of the City for a project at 680-694 Minnehaha Avenue E. (Hamm's Brewery Redevelopment West End) and 1449 Reaney Ave. E. (East Side Tennis and Community Center) seeking LCDA Predevelopment grant funds for the eligible project components identified in the applications, and authorizes proper City officials to execute such agreements as may be necessary to implement the LCDA projects on behalf of the City, wherein said agreement contains indemnification provisions in favor of the Metropolitan Council.