No TIF for Bridges

The Bridges of St. Paul will not be getting any TIF money. A letter from Cecile Bedor, St. Paul’s HRA director,  to Bridges developer Jerry Trooien on Thursday said the city had worked with outside legal counsel and determined that the land does not fit the definition of blight required by TIF.

The letter did offer an out: “One possible solution to these issues is to seek a special legislation from the Minnesota Legislature.” This is extremely unlikely to happen with the project because the legislature would not consider a change without support of the City Council, which is not very supportive of the project as currently envisioned. This could potentially change with elections coming up this fall. The letter said, “In order for us to collaborate with you on any proposed special legislation, the revised Bridges plan must be consistent with TN3 zoning.”

The project will not meet TIF requirements of 90 percent of money generated going to correct the conditions and substandard buildings reasonably distributed throughout the proposed area. The city worked with a consultant to determine the condition of buildings they said were structurally substandard. But legal counsel said that the other requirements for blight distribution and where the money would go would not be met.

Bedor also pointed out at the start of the letter, “I read your notice in the newspaper scheduling the community meeting for tonight to begin the discussion on the new planning process for The Bridges.” The lack of notification of this meeting has caused much distrust among members who are coming to the table.