ST. PAUL – The Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development recently awarded funding under the Contamination Cleanup and Investigation Grants Program for 15 different projects totaling more than $3,400,000, including one in Little Falls.
The projects are expected to create and retain jobs and add over 200 affordable housing units.
“Contaminated sites are standing in the way of growth,” Gov. Tim Walz said in a news release. “That’s why we’re working to clean these sites and allow communities to redevelop the land. These projects will create 130 new jobs, 214 affordable housing units, and allow Minnesota to build for the future.”
“These cleanup projects will restore previously unsafe sites into homes for families and new places of business for communities,” DEED Commissioner Steve Grove said. “It’s an effective way for Minnesota cities and counties to restore previously unusable land.”
The grants cover up to 75% of the costs to investigate and cleanup approved polluted sites. The rest of the funding comes from the Metropolitan Council, cities and counties, other units of local government and private landowners and developers.
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The Contamination Cleanup program has awarded 551 grants worth $186 million since 1995. The program has reclaimed 3,690 acres of contaminated property, created or retained over 50,000 jobs around the state, created 20,000 total units of housing and is credited with generating over $132 million in new tax revenue.
In Little Falls, the CentraSota Site was the subject of the grant.
The City of Little Falls is awarded $32,000 in investigation funding for this 7.30-acre site. Formerly used as a bulk oil station, gas station, fertilizer plant, feed warehouse and other uses, the site is expected tol be redeveloped into multifamily residential use. Matching costs will be paid by the city and the EDA. Local contact for the city of Little Falls is Jon Rademacher, 320-616-5500
Go to https://bit.ly/2IauISj the DEED website for more information on the Contamination Cleanup and Investigation Grants program.
