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Snelling-Midway "SmartSite" -- an urban village with a $30 million problem

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In St. Paul’s Midway neighborhood, the Snelling-Midway “SmartSite” -- a high-density urban village proposed south of Metro Transit’s Green Line -- remains up in the air.

The Metropolitan Council has been working with St. Paul officials to re-envision a 34.5-acre site between Snelling and Pascal avenues as a future hub of residential and commercial development near the light rail corridor, but there’s a $30 million snag in their redevelopment plans.

A 1-year-old St. Paulite takes in the light rail from the University Avenue patio of Cupcake in Minneapolis.

A 1-year-old St. Paulite takes in the light rail from the University Avenue patio of Cupcake in Minneapolis.

Last June, a consultant’s report for the Met Council found “there is a large gap between the cost of the infrastructure needed and what the market will support.”

A generous estimate of land values predicts that a three-phase project would cost $25 million more to construct than what the market will bear, given infrastructure costs such as structured parking. Lower land values would produce a gap of $30 million.

The greatest costs come in the third phase, when the most demolition, building construction and parking replacement would take place, said Met Council planning staff.

“Projected market values suggest that this gap is unlikely to close in a reasonable time frame,” reads a staff summary of the consultant’s report, which was presented to the Met Council on Wednesday.

The land spans a 10-acre Metro Transit bus barn along St. Anthony Avenue, a five-acre site that remains in private ownership immediately to its east, and the R.K. Midway shopping plaza to the north, which faces University Avenue and the Green Line light rail corridor.

Some of the discussion before the Met Council focused on how much parking was really needed, given the site’s proximity to the light rail, multiple bus routes and Metro Transit’s future Bus Rapid Transit line along Snelling. Council staff said the amount of necessary parking is always up for debate.

"I find it a tad ironic that one of the cost drivers is parking," said Met Council Chair Adam Duininck.

City staff is working with the Met Council to review the possibility of developing a smaller portion of the 34.5 acres.

The council took no action on the report but agreed to keep studying ways to close the funding gap. In addition to parking, the “super block” will need storm water infrastructure, streets and other amenities.

The 34.5 acres are bounded by Snelling to the west, Pascal to the east, St. Anthony Avenue to the south and University Avenue to the north.

Consultants Urban Investment Group, a Colorado-based firm, delivered a final analysis of the site’s development potential to the Met Council last June.

The post Snelling-Midway "SmartSite" -- an urban village with a $30 million problem appeared first on City Hall Scoop.


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