Laserfiche WebLink
Councilmember Kuzma questioned if there had been a consideration for retail on the lower level. <br />Asst. City Administrator/Economic Development Manager Brama replied that option was not <br />discussed in detail. He stated that the initial reaction was that the element of retail was not <br />common but acknowledged that Ramsey is doing something unique in The COR and if the <br />Council feels strongly, that direction should be provided. He stated that retail is not part of the <br />deal as proposed and is not anticipated. <br />Councilmember LeTourneau stated that while he would like to see the retail, that would be the <br />Council driving the market rather than the market driving development. He stated that it <br />certainly would be worth asking. <br />Mayor Strommen stated that one of the thoughts is that the housing will help to drive the rest of <br />the development but stated that the City needs to make sure that they can still get to the rest of it. <br />She stated that she would want to ensure that the housing selections are helping to reach that end <br />goal rather than precluding the City from reaching the end result. <br />Councilmember Riley stated that he has not heard any resident state that they would like to see <br />more apartments in The COR but he has heard many residents state that they want more <br />businesses and restaurants. He stated that he would be uncertain why the City would want to <br />subsidize something that residents are not asking for, especially at the levels being asked. He did <br />not think it would make sense to discuss at the level they are asking and stated that he would be <br />open to the suggestion of staff to discuss something more reasonable. <br />Mayor Strommen stated that the Council has been consistent that they will review reasonable <br />offers but are not looking to fully subsidize a project. She questioned if the Council would be <br />interested in discussing a counteroffer or whether they are interested in moving forward at all. <br />Councilmember Johns agreed with the comments made but stated that she does like the idea of <br />senior independent housing somewhere in The COR, and suggested that perhaps there would be <br />a better location for the project. <br />Councilmember Kuzma stated that Dominium is a great developer and he would like to see the <br />project somewhere in Ramsey, noting that perhaps a better location could be found. <br />Councilmember Riley stated that senior affordable housing requires a subsidy because of the <br />limited rent and asked for additional information regarding low income housing tax credits, <br />which he believed are used to make up for that gap. He stated that in some cases the developer <br />sells those credits as equity and then comes back to the City for additional funding. <br />Stacie Kvilvang, Ehlers and Associates, provided information on tax credit deals noting that this <br />would be at a four percent tax credit. She explained that the lower interest rate and tax credits <br />are sold to investors in order to bring equity needed to move the project forward. She explained <br />that because of the rent restrictions and the cost of construction needed to generate a high quality <br />project, even the bonds, credits and equity will not be enough and that is why a subsidy is <br />needed. <br />City Council / June 9, 2015 <br />Page 12 of 18 <br />