Development in review 2006

And the community cried “TOO BIG! TOO BIG!”

There were several development projects in 2006 that have been stalled or quashed because of their size. 

The Bridges of St. Paul project on the West Side of St. Paul took their project to get a rezoning permit but didn’t push it all the way to the City Council.  The application was withdrawn when Council Member Dave Thune brokered a deal to work with the community councils in the area that had been opposed to the project due to its size and concerns that the height would block the view of the Bluffs. At its annual meeting the WSCO board was turned over nearly completely to supporters of the project due to an influx of volunteers from outside the district voting in the election.

The Wave development in Minneapolis along the Mississippi River is facing similar problems with its proposed 18 low-rise luxury town-homes. The project, which had at one time been approved by the Downtown Minneapolis Neighborhood Association, now faces opposition from it regarding the height of the project.

Twin Lakes and Spicer also had projects that faced significant enough community opposition to shut them down.

More inside…And the community cried “Give us jobs!”

Projects to add jobs to the community were developed across the state from the JOBZ program touted by Governor Tim Pawlenty. The program created jobs but experts were unsure if the jobs would have been created anyway even with out the tax breaks provided. Renewable energy was a theme in rural Minnesota with several new ethanol plants opening; a biomass plant in Benson, and an India-based Suzlon Energy wind turbine plant in Pipestone.

The state has added a total of 67,600 jobs so far this year with a growth rate of 2.5%, nearly double that of the national rate of 1.3%. The state had a 5.0% unemployment rate at the start of the year, which dropped to 3.6% staying well ahead of the national rate now down to 4.3% in November.

And the community cried “House us!”

While some development projects were crushed many went forward,  such as the Rondo Community Outreach Library and the housing units that are above it.

Minnesota Housing projects the preservation of over 3,500 units of housing that would have otherwise deteriorated and been unusable. 

While there is still a need for affordable housing the new homes market is down significantly nearly 30%. A significant layoff at Andersen Windows is one of the unfortunate results of this sharp decline.