Laserfiche WebLink
<br />Councilmember Elvig inquired ifthe project would require the purchase ofthe land from RTC. <br /> <br />Mr. Johnson noted that there currently is an active purchase agreement on the property that <br />would need to be acted on within the next month. <br /> <br />Mayor Gamec inquired if there is faith that that agreement will be honored. <br /> <br />City Administrator Norman noted that they have been in discussions with the appropriate people <br />regarding the purchase agreement and hoping to act on it in the next four weeks. <br /> <br />City Administrator Norman questioned if they were to place all market rate units on this site <br />where would be another location for them to place affordable housing within Town Center. The <br />advantage to this site is that it is located near the future train station. <br /> <br />Mayor Gamec agreed that this site is the best location within Town Center for affordable housing <br />to be constructed. His one concern was if they were to construct all affordable units would that <br />impact the salability of the commercial retail space. <br /> <br />Mr. Johnson replied that he didn't believe that if the building were constructed all affordable it <br />would have any impact on the salability of the commercial/retail space. What they need to have <br />is a strong partner in the commercial/retail space in order to move forward with the project. He <br />also noted if the City were to be involved in the commercial/retail space there would be uses <br />with the space that could be done that may not be available if it was open to the private sector <br />retail. The question is does the City want to look into it or should they look into negotiating with <br />a private sector. <br /> <br />Mayor Gamec replied that he personally would prefer to have an outside entity manage the <br />commercial/retail space rather than the City. <br /> <br />Councilmember Elvig stated that he was not sure exactly what they are looking to achieve <br />tonight, but he stated that he was "gun shy" about constructing an all affordable housing <br />complex. He was worried that that would send a message to the City that they are looking at <br />building something out of nothing with Ramsey Town Center. They keep hearing from the <br />residents of Ramsey that the Town Center needs commerce and by constructing all affordable <br />units that is a difficult political message to share. He suggested that another avenue that may be <br />workable would be looking at assisting in the land cost. Maybe the City could get involved with <br />the land cost and do a land lease without managing the properties. <br /> <br />Mayor Gamec noted that in order to get MHF A financing they needed to have affordable <br />housing. <br /> <br />Councilmember Elvig replied that he understood that. <br /> <br />Mayor Gamec stated that he really wanted to see the commerciallretail portion of the project <br />move forward and could probably agree with an all affordable housing complex. <br /> <br />City Council Work Session / December 4, 2006 <br />Page 4 of9 <br />