EDSR INFORMATION #1 11-13-2012 - Laserfiche WebLink

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10/25/12 Finance&Commerce>Print>The great property tax free-for-all property taxes, and the cost was $3,761.17 per permanent job, according to F&C's analysis. The total public and private investment was an average of$92,817.20 per construction job and $48,617.77 per permanent job. Such dollars-per-job numbers are in line with what the U.S. Economic Development a $a Administration has described as typical in such 3T, deals, said Janna King, president of Economic Development Services in Minneapolis. ' When it came to Target's double-dipping into the program, company spokeswoman Jessica Deede responded that"projects that involve incentives represent significant capital investment by Target and must provide a j4„3 superior financial return as well as expected ed,r guest, team member and community benefits." Finance & Commerce's analysis of the 76 projects also found: e # • Decisions about spending the money t''- often involved local officials'particular .- goals or aspirations rather than a focus e � on creating jobs. This included • "<:.. 44,06 appetites because $1.6 million went to Brooklyn Park gave $2.5 million for Target's Cossetta Italian Market & Pizzeria in St. northern office campus expansion. (above) Paul, $250,000 helped fund the new Pizza Luce location in Richfield, $90,000 helped bring a Pizza Ranch to Elk River, and as much as $1.545 million went to the Shoreview Retail Center, where Leeann Chin and Chipotle are tenants. • Target wasn't the only multibillion-dollar company enjoying the largesse. Its chief competitor, Bentonville, Ark.-based Wal-Mart Stores Inc., indirectly benefited from $2.4 million going toward the redevelopment of the former Brookdale Center in Brooklyn Center, now anchored by a Wal-Mart superstore that opened in September. • For big companies, receiving the property tax dollars was part of a smorgasbord of economic development opportunities. Duluth, for example, used the 2010 law to steer $350,000 to aircraft maintenance company MR Corp. as part of a $7.5 million city and $ state grants and loans package. • Statewide, the program was unfocused in how money was spent. Property tax cash helped build gas stations in Sauk Rapids and St. Peter, spruce up downtown businesses in Breckenridge and Stillwater, and tear down blighted homes in West St. Paul. Money also went to manufacturers, apartment developers and health care providers. • The largest award — $3.8 million in grants and loans — is making up for past mistakes in Ramsey, where the city had to pick up the pieces after the Ramsey Town Center development went bankrupt. Property tax dollars are helping to build the $28 million, 230-unit Residence at the COR luxury apartment complex in Ramsey, slated for completion next spring. How the excess TIF program performed matters because home and business owners pay a higher share of local property tax dollars when money is diverted to building projects, according to critics of such incentives. Governments at all levels also continue to spend tax dollars to stimulate the economy. Earlier this year, the Minnesota Legislature provided the state Department of Employment and Economic Development with $47.5 million in bonding funds for"business development through capital project grants." DEED made sure to include construction and permanent jobs projections with the projects that Gov. Mark Dayton eventually picked. For example, $25 million went toward a $54 million St. Paul Saints baseball stadium that is expected to create 225 construction jobs and at least 23 permanent jobs. I In contrast, 24 of the 76 TIF money awards were simply outright grants. Another 17 were f finance-commerce.com/wp-content/plugins/tdc-sociable-toolbar/wp-print.php?p=52262 2/8