Politics & Government

First Stop for Streetcar to 46th and Nicollet: $60 Million from Neighbors

The Minneapolis City Council OK'd taxing properties for first leg of transit line ending near Lake Street.

The clang of new streetcar bells in Southwest Minneapolis got closer Tuesday when the Minneapolis City Council approved a finance plan for part of a project estimated to cost at least $200 million, according to media reports. 

KSTP-TV reported the "revenue capture system ... is brand new to Minnesota": 

Minneapolis will issue bonds to borrow the money for the streetcar line to get the project started.

The city is then banking on new development to keep growing along the streetcar line and it will capture the increased revenue from enhanced property values to pay off the $60 million in bond debt.

Find out what's happening in Southwest Minneapoliswith free, real-time updates from Patch.

It is a bit risky because, if the developments don't materialize, or existing developments fail, taxpayers then are on the hook to pay off part of the debt.

See the full KSTP-TV report. 

Find out what's happening in Southwest Minneapoliswith free, real-time updates from Patch.

The source of the rest of the funds isn't yet clear, MPR reported

Mayor R.T. Rybak said he will announce a plan to secure the rest of the funding by the end of the year.

"I'll go to Mars if it gets us more money for this thing, but the bottom line is that we need to knock down every door possible to finish the job here. This is a huge, huge action for not only transportation, but growing this city," Rybak said.

See the full MPR post. 

This was the first of two key council decisions, according to the Southwest Journal

The other will likely come later this year to choose a more precise route of where the line will go. 

Details of a first phase of a streetcar system are gaining clarity. While the city has hopes of building a 9.2-mile line that runs all the way from 46th Street and Nicollet to where Central Avenue meets Columbia Heights, it has turned its focus to a 3.2-mile stretch known as Kmart to Kramarczuk’s, or roughly Lake Street to University Avenue, with a pass through Nicollet Mall.

See the full Southwest Journal article



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