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Economic Development Authority (EDA) <br />Meeting Date: 05/14/2026 <br />Primary Strategic Plan Initiative: Promote economic growth and development. <br />4. 4. <br />Title: <br />Adopt Resolution #26-109 Initiating Process for Establishment of a Redevelopment Plan <br />Purpose/Background: <br />The purpose of this case is to consider adoption of Resolution #26-109 Initiating Process for Establishment of a <br />Redevelopment Plan. This resolution and subsequent actions by the City Council, Planning Commission and <br />EDA will start and complete the process to allow the City of Ramsey to access HRA funds held by the County to <br />provide a loan to the Anoka Ramsey Athletic Association (ARAA) for construction of a 100,000 square foot <br />indoor athletic facility south of Hwy 10 on land owned by PSD LLC. Establishment of the Redevelopment Plan <br />and Area will allow the City to reallocate the loan payments for HRA eligible costs within the defined area. At <br />this point, those future costs are not identified. PSD has indicated that this project will ultimately lead to <br />investment and economic development by PSD and others in the land adjacent to the facility and have the <br />potential to bring in more restaurants and retailers. The City has been working with ARAA since 2021 on various <br />iterations of an impactful athletic facility and the locations, sizes and types of the structures have evolved over <br />time. Staff is confident that the current proposal, at its current location, is the best iteration of the project to date. <br />ARAA is a non-profit and has provided a valuable service to the Ramsey community since 1979. The provision <br />of financial support for the project would be consistent with the public purpose of the city. Other local businesses <br />have expressed interest in providing financing or assistance to help bring the project to fruition as shown in the <br />proposed financing structure. <br />The City Council has met at multiple work sessions to review the proposed project and to direct staff to identify <br />viable funding sources from the cit and others to fill the financing gap. The City Council met most recently at the <br />April28, 2026, work session and reached consensus, not approval, on the structure of this deal and level of city <br />participation. The current financial structure is a combination of traditional bank financing, a City HRA loan, <br />Loans by others, and cash and equity by ARAA (see attached). Formal City Council and EDA approvals will be <br />needed which will include public hearings and additional meetings A proposed schedule to create the mechanism <br />to unlock this funding source for the city is attached. In addition to items on this schedule, a Resolution will need <br />to be adopted by the City Council to request the HRA funds from Anoka County in an amount not to exceed $2.3 <br />Million. <br />Redevelopment Plan / Area Process <br />In order to access HRA funds for the purpose of providing an HRA loan to ARAA, a Revelopment Plan and Area <br />needs to be created. The proposed Redevelopment Area Map includes the current site of the ARAA project and a <br />larger area in which potential eligible redevelopment and economic development activities can be financed with <br />receipted loan payments from ARAA. TAFT Law has put together a detailed schedule outlining each step in this <br />process and which City Board or Commission is responsible for starting with the Ramsey EDA. The process is <br />intricate and time extensive and will cost somewhere between $20-$35,000. The first $10,000 will be paid for by <br />ARAA and the rest by the HRA fund once it is released by Anoka County. Ultimately the HRA loan will be <br />issued from the EDA to ARAA. <br />Finance / CorTrust Bank <br />After an exhaustive search for feasible financing, ARAA has chosen to work with CorTrust Bank for the <br />traditional bank financing component. Staff is comfortable with this selection and the City HRA loan is proposed <br />to be in second position, ahead of other funds with the real estate as collateral. Before issuing an HRA loan to <br />ARAA, a Credit memo will be provided by CorTrust Bank or others to ensure the repayment ability of the HRA <br />