Title
Resolution approving and authorizing the sale and conveyance of 471 Wabasha Street North, District 17, Ward 2
Body
WHEREAS, the Housing and Redevelopment Authority of the City of Saint Paul, Minnesota (the “HRA”) is a public body corporate and politic established pursuant to the provisions of Minnesota Statutes, Section 469.001, et seq.; and
WHEREAS, the HRA has the power to engage in development or redevelopment activities under Minnesota law and the HRA is authorized to engage in activities relating to (a) housing projects and development, (b) removal and prevention of the spread of conditions of blight or deterioration, (c) bringing substandard buildings and improvements into compliance with public standards, (d) disposition of land for private redevelopment, and (e) improving the tax base and the financial stability of the community; and to engage in the aforementioned activities when these needs cannot be met through reliance solely upon private initiative and which can also be undertaken in targeted neighborhoods; and is authorized to create redevelopment projects as defined in Minnesota Statutes, Section 469.002, Subdivision 14; and
WHEREAS, the HRA has duly adopted and there is now lawfully in effect in the City of Saint Paul, Minnesota, a City Wide Comprehensive/Redevelopment Plan providing for the acquisition, clearance and resale of land for redevelopment; and the City Consolidated Five-Year Plan (collectively “Citywide Plans”); and
WHEREAS, the legal description of the property described in this Resolution (the “Property”) is as follows: The middle 1/3 of Lots 11 and 12, Block 8, Bazil and Guerin’s Addition to St. Paul also known as N 1/2 of South 2/3 of said lots being 50 feet front on Wabasha St. and 100 feet in depth at right angles to Wabasha St., and parallel with 9th Street, being more particularly described as follows: Commencing on Wabasha Street 50 feet North of 9th Street; thence North along Westerly line of Wabasha Street 50 feet; thence Westerly across said lots on a line parallel with 9th Street 100 feet more or less to Westerly line of Lot 11; thence Southerly along Westerly line of Lot 11 50 feet; thence Easterly on a line parallel with 9th Street 100 feet more or less to place of beginning, according to the recorded plat thereof, and situate in Ramsey County, Minnesota; and
WHEREAS, in 1983, the HRA acquired the Property and cleared the Property of structures so that the Property could be part of a larger redevelopment effort adjacent to the Property; and
WHEREAS, the HRA determined that the Property would not be used by the adjacent redevelopment so the HRA improved the Property for surface parking use. The HRA has operated a pay parking operation on the Property since that time; and
WHEREAS, in 2020, HRA staff received an unsolicited proposal by CCI Properties (the “Purchaser”), the owners of 467 Wabasha Street, and the adjacent, mixed-use, residential building, for the purchase of the Property for using the Property as a parking and outdoor dining space; and
WHEREAS, the Purchaser offered to purchase the Property for $240,000, the full appraised market value as determined by an independent, professional appraiser; and
WHEREAS, as a condition of the sale, the Purchaser has agreed to enroll the 467 Wabasha residential units into the City of Saint Paul’s 4(D) Affordable Housing Incentive Program for ten years; and
WHEREAS, if the Purchaser fails to maintain 4(D) affordability in its residential units, the Purchaser will have defaulted in the Purchase Agreement and the Property will revert to the HRA; and
WHEREAS, HRA staff has determined that the Purchaser’s proposal to purchase the Property for its full appraised market value, along with the Purchaser’s commitment to enroll its residential units into the 4(D) enrollment program, is consistent with Citywide Plans and the HRA therefore recommends proceeding with selling the Property to the Purchaser; and
WHEREAS, consistent with the HRA’s land disposition policy, HRA staff publicized the Purchaser’s proposal through the City’s Early Notification System, and no other interest in the Property or offers for the Property were received during the required 45-day period; and
WHEREAS, by this Resolution, the HRA finds a public purpose for the sale and conveyance of the Property, for the following reasons: the sale proceeds can be re-invested in other HRA redevelopment activities; and, 4(D) enrollment of 467 Wabasha will expand the preservation of affordable residential units.
NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED by the Housing and Redevelopment Authority of the City of Saint Paul, Minnesota, as follows:
1. The HRA Board hereby approves and authorizes the sale and conveyance of the Property to the Purchaser on the terms and conditions described in the staff report and this Resolution.
2. The HRA Board hereby authorizes and directs staff to take all actions necessary to carry out the activities authorized by this Resolution, and the Executive Director is hereby authorized and directed to execute all documents and instruments necessary to effectuate the activities to be undertaken by this Resolution except that the HRA Chair shall execute the deed of conveyance of the Property to the Purchaser.