The Metropolitan Council has awarded nearly $4.6 million in Livable Communities funds to transit-oriented development (TOD) projects along transit corridors. These grants support development that improves mobility and access to transit, generates economic investment and jobs, advances local efforts to ensure residents have connections to jobs and housing, and enhances the local tax base.
Expected outcomes from these investments include 361 affordable homes and more than 1,500 new permanent and temporary jobs. The Council’s $4.6 million investment leverages nearly $216 million in private investment and nearly $26 million in other public investment.
TOD Grants are awarded to projects that help promote economic development, housing, and jobs along transit corridors, both where the transit infrastructure already exists or is expected in the future.
“Transit and development are a dynamic duo,” said Alene Tchourumoff, Metropolitan Council Chair. “They work better together. Transit is most successful when it provides service where people live and work, and development is successful when people can readily get there. Investments in projects like these help make our region more livable.”
The four projects awarded funding support development near rail stations on the Green Line, Green Line Extension and Blue Line.
TOD grant awards
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Northwest University & Dale, St. Paul - $1.45 million to assist with site acquisition near the Dale Street Station on the Green Line. A mixed-use project will include retail/commercial space, office space and affordable senior housing. The building that will anchor the redevelopment is intended for smaller businesses and will lend enhanced landscaping, a plaza/seating area and green space.
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38th Street Station, Minneapolis - $1.5 million to help with site preparation, public realm and new street configuration at a mixed-use development that will feature a large commercial/retail area and 133 units of housing. Station enhancements on the Blue Line include a plaza, streetscaping and other enhanced public space.
Elevate, Eden Prairie - $750,000 to assist with site acquisition and preparation, and stormwater management, at a new mixed-use development at the planned SouthWest Station on the Green Line Extension. The project will be located between the rail corridor and the existing park-and-ride for SouthWest Transit. It will include market-rate and affordable housing, along with commercial space, an outdoor plaza, public art and connections to the regional trail system.
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PLACE, St. Louis Park - $850,000 to help fund placemaking, solar panels, and stormwater management at a mixed-use, mixed-income ecovillage at the Wooddale Station on the Green Line Extension. The station area is surrounded by live-work units, retail spaces, a coffee shop and hotel. The project includes a solar canopy over a nearby parking area, anaerobic digester to manage waste and generate power, a green house and urban forest.
Livable Communities grants make a difference
Grants are awarded to metro-area communities on a competitive basis. Applicants must be participants in the Livable Communities program and their proposed projects must meet criteria approved by the Council.
The Livable Communities program was launched in 1996. To date, the Council has awarded nearly 1,000 grants to communities, totaling $351 million.