Edina advances plans for downtown pedestrian underpass, real estate sale
The Edina City Council heard updates on three major development projects on June 12, including a conceptual design for a pedestrian underpass at France Avenue and progress on selling a former public works site. No votes were taken, but the council discussed next steps for each initiative.
The council received an update on a proposed pedestrian underpass at France Avenue that would connect new developments on both sides of the road. The underpass design was chosen because Hennepin County, which manages France Avenue as a county road, prioritizes vehicle traffic flow over pedestrian accommodations. Staff are gathering public input through the end of June, with a potential decision to move forward with preliminary engineering in July or August. However, the project's success depends heavily on the Enclave development beginning on the east side of France Avenue, as the new property taxes from that project would fund the underpass locally. Commissioner Risser raised concerns about safety perceptions, while Commissioner Jackson requested that the underpass vision connect to nearby Fred Richards Park.
The council also heard about the sale of the former public works site at 5146 Eden Avenue. The Housing and Redevelopment Authority received 11 proposals for redevelopment and identified several as compatible with the project's goals after reviewing them in closed session. Selected development teams will be invited to make public presentations at a July 24 HRA meeting. Commissioner Jackson requested that the RFP's guiding principles be made public before those presentations so residents understand the criteria being used to evaluate proposals.
In other business, the council learned that the state legislature approved changes to Edina's Tax Increment Financing districts at 70th & France and 72nd & France, providing options to extend project timelines and durations. The Maison Green apartment project in the Eden Wilson TIF District is about 50% leased—slower than expected—but is still generating sufficient property tax revenue. All legal paperwork, including affordable housing commitments for 20 units, has been completed, allowing the full TIF note to be issued to the developer.
The council also discussed concerns raised at a recent meeting with the Hennepin County administrator about potential federal Medicaid cuts that could jeopardize $800 million in annual funding for Hennepin County Medical Center. County officials are exploring a 1% sales tax as a potential replacement funding source.
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Votes (4)
Update on Potential Sale of Real Estate at 5146 Eden Avenue
The Economic Development Manager provided an update on the sale process for the former public works site. Eleven proposals were received, and the HRA board reviewed them in closed session, identifying some as more compatible with the RFP goals. The next step is to invite selected development teams to make public presentations at the July 24th HRA meeting. Commissioner Jackson requested that the RFP's guiding principles be made public to inform residents ahead of these presentations.
Update on France Avenue Pedestrian Underpass
The Economic Development Manager presented a conceptual design and video for a pedestrian underpass at France Avenue, connecting the redeveloping areas on both sides. The underpass is favored due to Hennepin County's road priorities. The discussion highlighted the need for ADA accessibility, natural daylight within the underpass, and how to manage pedestrian and cyclist interactions. Commissioner Risser raised concerns about the demographics shown in the video and safety perceptions, while Commissioner Jackson requested connecting the underpass vision to Fred Richards Park. A key financial dependency for advancing the project is the definitive start of the Enclave development on the east side of France.
Legislative Update and Eden Wilson TIF District Update
An update was given on the successful inclusion of Adina's TIF requests in the state legislature's tax bill, providing options to extend TIF project timelines and durations for two key areas (70th & France, 72nd & France). For the Eden Wilson TIF District, the Maison Green project's compliance with all legal requirements allowed for the issuance of its full TIF note, even with slower-than-expected leasing. Discussion ensued about the city's financial protections in TIF agreements and ongoing oversight of affordable housing commitments, confirming all paperwork issues have been resolved.
Hennepin County Administrator Meeting Takeaways
The Chair summarized key points from a meeting with the Hennepin County administrator. Primary concerns included the potential $800 billion federal Medicaid cut, which could significantly jeopardize the $800 million annual funding for Hennepin County Medical Center, leading to discussions about a possible 1% county sales tax to compensate. The county's past unsuccessful attempts to redirect Twin Stadium tax revenue to the hospital were also noted. Positive remarks were made about the county's social services efforts in helping residents secure jobs with living wages.
Notable Quotes (11)
You know the role of the HA as a property owner is to get the best outcome and the best deal for the property so we can we are allowed to have those conversations and close doors.
So in our meeting one of the elements that we had were the list of um attributes that were in the RFP. Can we make that public sooner rather than later? So that because I think I view that as is the distillation of the public input we've had on this site to date.
Hennepin County reminds us that in their eyes, uh, this is county road 17 and its purpose is to flow as many vehicles as f it can as quickly as it can from the cross town to 494. So traffic calming and changing the signal timing for for pedestrians were not compatible with their vision.
To me, the most critical piece of this is seeing the Enclave project on the east side of the street started because um the the local funding for this. We there's there's no interest in hiking the tax levy to to build this, but the revenue would come from the new property taxes created from these parcels.
I'm curious. Was the the demographic shown in the video selected because people thought that would be the most likely users? ... The people who I hear from who are most reticent to use it um are not the demographics shown in the video.
The good news for us is these uh two pieces of legisl of legislation for Adina did get approved. ... So the good news is now we have an option.
The city council would have to approve it, the H would have to approve it, the school board would have to approve it, and Henipin County would have to approve it. So, before we ask you much about that one, we need to do additional homework to see if we actually need it and how we could use it to our advantage.
As a finished building, even when it's not fully leased, they pay $1.1 million in property taxes. So the school, the city get their share, the state gets a smaller share. school gets a bigger share and then a lot of that is the increment.
It wasn't that the units were not occupied. It was not that the units are not occupied by uh as an affordable unit. It's that some pieces of paperwork were missing.
Our safety net hospital which is Henipin County Medical Center for our whole state and even some folks from nearby states that don't have coverage in their own states or can't get health care coverage come to Henipin County Medical Center. that safety net hospital uh receives at present $800 million a year in Medicaid and all of that is at risk because the federal government has decided now they're going to cut $800 billion dollars out of Medicaid.
The county has been wanting to use to to redirect that revenue stream to the hospital. And so they've made this request a couple of times in the legislature and without success and I think are interested in trying to do it again but maybe uh getting u a wider group of advocates to to assist them with that.
Ordinances & Resolutions (11)
Document outlining goals and requirements for the redevelopment of 5146 Eden Avenue.
Legislation allowing the HRA to meet in closed session for real estate negotiations.
Report from November 2024 recommending the 'under the road' option for the pedestrian crossing.
A 2007 study that recommended pedestrian and cyclist improvements, including a safe crossing at France Avenue.
Engineering report from November 2024 on grades, soils, and ADA accessibility for the underpass.
Document containing information about development proposals, to be published before the July 24th meeting.
State legislative bill that included TIF requests from Adina and other cities.
Hundreds of pages of legal documents detailing Tax Increment Financing projects.
Document issued to developers upon completion of TIF agreement requirements.
Financial instrument representing the city's commitment to reimburse the developer through tax increment.
Required for the Enclave project to commence construction, critical for triggering TIF funding for the underpass.
Source document
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Other Topics from This Document
France Avenue Pedestrian Underpass Feasibility and Conceptual Design
State Legislative Update on TIF Districts
Eden Wilson TIF District (Maison Green) Update
Hennepin County Discussions (Medicaid Cuts, Stadium Tax, Social Services)
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