Metropolitan Council Brownfield Grant Forms Available

The Metropolitan Council's Livable Communities 2014 grant application forms -- including its Tax Base Revitalization Account -- are now available, with over $19M in available funding. View the notice of funding availability here.  Applicants may  apply online using WebGrants here.

New AgVIC Site Application Available
The MN Department of Agriculture's Voluntary Investigation and Cleanup Program has released a new application, also available on the MDA website. Among the changes to the form is the request for the property identification number (PIN) and the state and federal taxpayer IDs #s. Application is found here. 

$1.4M Awarded for Redevelopment & Demolition Projects 

The MN Department of Employment & Economic Development (DEED) recently announced two redevelopment grants awards to the cities of Fosston for its Johnson Avenue Project and St. Paul for its former downtown Post Office site, as well as two Demolition Loans for the cities of Glencoe and Ogilvie. The redevelopment projects are expected to create and retain 84 jobs, increase the tax base by more than $870,000 and result in commercial development.  View the full announcement here.     

Mortenson Tops off Washburn Center for Children 

Mortenson Construction recently held a topping off ceremony for the $25.6 million Washburn Center for Children building under construction at Dupont and Glenwood Avenues in north Minneapolis. The new 76,000-square-foot building, which received early funding from Hennepin County's Brownfield Gap Financing Program, will be twice as big as the existing facility for the Washburn Center, which provides mental health services for children. Read Finance & Commerce's coverage here.  

On the Trail of Vapor:  Inquiry Expanding Statewide 

The discovery that toxic vapor can rise from contaminated groundwater has undercut decades of pollution cleanup efforts in Minnesota, prompting state regulators to revisit 293 sites to determine wether underground contamination has been producing health hazards.While cleanups in southeast Minneapolis and St. Louis Park have been well publicized, the Minneapolis Star Tribune reports that the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency is reviewing 293 cleanup sites statewide for potential vapor issues. Find the full article link here.

Recycling Metrodome Materials 

More than 80 percent of the former Metrodome structure is being reused, including: concrete (foundation and supports), steel, the Teflon fabric roof, the soil beneath and around it, the bright-blue seats and field turf within it.  Crews have removed 540,000 cubic yards of soil from the site, with about 310,000 cubic yards to go. Soil has undergone extensive environmental testing, and it will revert to the construction site when needed.