With no bonding bill this year, East Phillips neighborhood advocates of developing an indoor urban farm failed to raise the full $11.4 million they needed to buy a city-owned warehouse by Monday’s deadline.
East Phillips neighborhood activists miss Monday’s funding deadline for Roof Depot purchase
The city will start the process of terminating the purchase agreement on Tuesday, triggering a final 60-day period for the East Phillips Neighborhood Institute to come up with $5.7 million.
The Minnesota Star Tribune
July 15, 2024 at 10:32PM
The East Phillips Neighborhood Institute (EPNI) “was not able to purchase the Roof Depot property,” according to a statement from Erik Hansen, Minneapolis’ director of Community Planning and Economic Development. “The city will issue a notice of termination tomorrow (Tuesday), which triggers a 60-day period for EPNI to complete the purchase. If that does not happen, the purchase agreement will fully expire. The city has made staff available to find a path forward throughout this process and will continue to do so during the 60-day cure period.”
EPNI Board President Dean Dovolis of DJR Architecture said he is confident the neighborhood group could raise the remaining money within 60 days, but declined to say how.
“We do have very viable solutions to this,” he said, indicating EPNI may have more details to share in coming weeks. “We do have a path forward and we will come forward when we’re ready.”
EPNI has fought the city for a decade for control of the former Roof Depot property at 1860 E. 28th St. and 2717 Longfellow Av., pressuring the city through lawsuits and protests to relinquish its plans of building a Public Works water yard there. The city ultimately agreed to sell the property to EPNI if the group could come up with a $3.7 million personal guaranty, and the Legislature provided $2 million last year followed by another $5.7 million this year. The first two legs of the purchase agreement were satisfied. The third was not because the Legislature failed to pass a bonding bill this year.
The city is exploring other locations for a new water yard to consolidate water maintenance staff, their equipment and vehicles. The Legislature committed $4.5 million to Minneapolis for that purpose.
Minneapolis spokesperson Greta Bergstrom previously said the city would not continue to develop the water yard at Roof Depot, a plan that received community opposition partly due to the diesel trucks it would have brought to the East Phillips neighborhood.
A powerful storm rolled through quickly, but residents emerged from their shelter and pointed their phones to the sky to revel in the scenery.
