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410 Mound Redevelopment Questions & Answers , • MOUND VISIONS—BUILDING A BETTER COMMUNITY • CITY OF MOUND In 1991, an effort to revitalize Downtown The downtown is chopped up by railroad and county Mound was initiated. Much progress has been roads that provide no on street parking.Retail store made since that time, but more work remains. fronts are disconnected and do not form continuous shopping loops.The beautiful lakes that surround This Q&A provides some answers to frequently downtown and that historically played an important asked questions about this project. role in the community are hidden.The area is not pedestrian friendly.Redevelopment would reorient the Q. What can you tell me about plans to downtown to the lakes,relocate County Road 15, redevelop Downtown Mound? bring new investment into Mound and provide public A.The Mound Housing &Redevelopment Authority facilities such as a small recreational harbor,boat docks, voted at its meeting Tuesday, December 14,to approve a greenway along the Lost Lake shore and a transit station. Lost Lake Canal has already been restored as a redevelopment plan for Downtown Mound based on the Mound Visions Concept Plan first introduced in part of this project. 1992.The plan calls for reorienting downtown towards Lost Lake and Lake Langdon and featuring new cornQ.4r/a How will the redevelopment be financed mercial development, new housing,a transit station,a and what will it cost? public greenway, pedestrian walkways and opening the A.The redevelopment will cost about$23 million and Lost Lake Canal to boats.The redevelopment area it will be financed by land sales,developer fees,and tax encompasses about 100 acres of downtown. (See the increment finance (TIF).The City has also received a map on back page). federal ISTEA grant to help pay to rehabilitate the Lost Lake Canal.The City has also used gas tax dollars Q. Why is downtown being redeveloped? to reconstruct Auditors Road and will use the same to A.Mound's down- reconstruct County Road 15. town once was a ,..e•,,r3.- � � " : Q. What is tax increment finance (TIF)? � � , � .�� z central commercial - a ,, district and heart of A.Tax increment is a tool that Minnesota communities - + ^--; the community use to attract residential and commercial development .. _lf. � :«�� where people met, that would not normally come to a community be- : `` r dined,gathered, cause of the costs to build there.When a new develop- 7;" = shopped and did ment is built, the property taxes from the increased ': ' ,. �I, business.However, value go to pay site costs such as acquisition,demoli- �. r► - over the years the tion,utilities and transportation improvements.Mean- �,,�,.� , , downtown has while,a steadystream of property tax revenue a uiva- �' .., � P P Y q Downtown today suffered from a lack lent to what the previous property had been paying of reinvestment and continues to the city and all other taxing jurisdictions. new investment.In 1991,the City Council spear- The Commerce Place development in Mound was headed a downtown revitalization effort and gathered financed using TIF. a large group of community volunteers to work with the City's Economic Development Commission to Q. When will the redevelopment occur? look at strategies for revitalizing downtown.They determined that a big reason for the decline of down A.The entire redevelopment is expected to occur over town was that it didn't work well as a district because the next three to five years.This type of redeve11100 lop of its layout and orientation. ment is dependent upon a number of factors outside of city control,such as market conditions.Therefore,it is WINTER 2000