The Metropolitan Council is injecting a total of $1.1 million through 10 grants to support various cities in their quest to kick-start development projects and to forge policies shaping physical growth, as per the Thrive MSP 2040 initiative. Details provided by the Met Council reveal that the grants will be divided among cities including Bloomington, Brooklyn Center, Falcon Heights, Minneapolis, Newport, Richfield, and Saint Paul.
"Many proposals demonstrate innovation and address critical needs," Met Council Vice Chair Reva Chamblis pointed out, lauding cities for applying for funding that will not only prep projects for eventual construction but also tackle urgent prerequisites such as affordable housing in areas like the Glenwood project, which includes both as well as a grocery store in a food desert. The Met Council’s predevelopment grants will underwrite activities from feasibility studies to soil testing in various urban projects, while also drumming up designs and infrastructural plans; on the flipside, policy development grants are initiating reviews and updates to local zoning codes, all with the end goal of cultivating more diverse housing options, economic opportunities, and environmentally considerate development.
The range of projects benefiting from these grants is broad – the Center for Asian and Pacific Islanders in Brooklyn Center grabbed a hefty $296,000 to expand its Immigrant Opportunity Center, while the diverse housing project New Nicollet in Minneapolis is slated for a $75,000 input, enabling it to weave a mixed-use tapestry in the city fabric with hundreds of new housing units. In Minneapolis again, PennWood Village and Community Center wooed $50,000 to transform parcels into serviceable spaces tackling the area's food scarcity. Sustainable venture Swank Eatery, to be located at 328 W. Broadway Avenue in Minneapolis, is awarded $75,000 for its innovative business and job-creation design.
St. Paul's Rondo Community Land Trust has its eyes on a mix of affordability and sustainability with $75,000 dedicated to making homeownership more accessible through energy-efficient design, comments the Met Council. Notably, localities have hustled to retrofit their development policies to mirror this drive for sustainable, equitable growth – Bloomington, Richfield, and Newport are all tweaking their zoning codes with respective grants of $45,000, $35,000, and $20,000, looping in enhanced architectural standards and greater multifamily housing density.
Since 1995, the Livable Communities program has been at the heart of the Met Council’s strategic push for regional development, offering grants spotlighting affordable housing, brownfield cleanup, and skillful blending of residential, commercial, and community spaces. With 75 cities and one township currently participating, the program's spider web of initiative and investment is pulling the seven-county metro area into a future that promises both quality of life and mindful urban growth.
