Longfellow Community Council (LCC)
SCOPE OF SERVICES
The board approved Neighborhood Revitalization Program (NRP) scope of service plans for the Housing Office, Housing Programs, River Gorge, and Corridor Revitalization Phase II initiatives. These scope of service plans are broadly worded contracts that then allow the board to allocate NRP money for specific program activities.
The board also agreed to allow the use of NRP dollars to fund a security lighting program and approved its scope of service plan.
PURINA SITE DEVELOPMENT
Former board member Beverly Conerton updated the board about the community benefits agreement (CBA) that the South 38th Street Station/Purina Task Force has negotiated with a developer interested the former Purina mill site at South 38th Street and Hiawatha Avenue. The developer is currently proposing two four or five story buildings with commercial/retail on the first floor and rental-only residential above.
The CBA includes provisions that limit the size of each commercial tenant’s space to a maximum of 30,000 square feet to prevent big box retailers. It limits the national chains to 70 percent of the commercial space and requires that a minimum of 30 percent be used for local businesses. The CBA requires that at least 12,000 square feet of the development land be publicly accessible landscaped space.
The agreement also requires the developer to offer one free transit pass per residential unit. Conerton reported that Metro Transit was excited about the idea of selling passes on-site and plans to have a program for group discounts for residents of the development in place by the end of 2007.
The task force’s larger directive is to shape the development of the four blocks between South 35th Street and South 39th Street on the east side of Hiawatha Avenue and to help set a precedent for transit-oriented development in the area. Conerton reported that the task force plans to negotiate a CBA for all future development. The board thanked her for her efforts.
COUNCIL MEMBER COLVIN ROY
Council member Sandra Colvin Roy presented the Minneapolis 2007 Sustainability Report to the board. The report covers the city’s 2006 work on 24 sustainability indicators relating to health, environment and economic and cultural vitality. Roy reported that the city achieved its goals on affordable housing, teen pregnancy, graduation rate and permeable surfaces. The report is available on-line at www.ci.minneapolis.mn.us/sustainability.
NEXT: Board meeting, July 19, 2007
MEETINGS: 3rd Thursday monthly, 6:30 p.m. at Hiawatha School Park, 4305 East 42nd Street
CONTACT: 722-4529, www.longfellow.org
BORDERS: Mississippi River to Hiawatha Ave., Minnehaha Park to 27th St. railroad tracks
last revised: August 9, 2007