If you wish or intend to apply for funding in the May 1, 2024 (spring) brownfield grant round, the City’s pre-application deadline is 4:00 p.m. on March 7, 2024.
DEED and Hennepin County ERF Pre-applications: The City will be using its on-line SharePoint site for the submission of all pre-application materials related to DEED and Hennepin County ERF applications. To get access to the SharePoint site, email Kevin Carroll (as soon as possible) with SHAREPOINT ACCESS REQUEST in the subject line; include in that email the following:
- the name of your project
- the names and email addresses of any parties who will need SharePoint access to work on your project’s DEED and/or ERF pre-application(s).
Log-in instructions will be emailed to you. When you log in, there will be a folder (with your project’s name) that contains a blank DEED cleanup application form, a blank Hennepin County ERF application form, and a blank Grant Assessment Worksheet (GAW) form.
Your completed GAW and your completed DEED and/or Hennepin County ERF pre-application(s) must be uploaded to your project’s SharePoint folder by 4:00 p.m. on March 7, 2024.
MET COUNCIL TBRA and SEED APPLICATIONS: The Met Council’s TBRA and SEED programs have their own online procedure for submitting applications via the Met Council's WebGrants site. If you wish to seek TBRA or SEED funding, you must submit a pre-application via the Met Council’s online WebGrants portal. To get access to the WebGrants site, email Kevin Carroll (as soon as possible) with WEBGRANTS ACCESS REQUEST in the subject line; include in your email:
- the name of your project
- the names and email addresses of any parties who will need WebGrants access to work on your project’s TBRA or SEED pre-application
Please note: this email must be separate from the SharePoint Access Request referred to above (see above). Do not combine the two access requests.
Further instructions regarding the WebGrants site will be emailed to you. Your completed TBRA and/or SEED pre-application(s) must be completed in WebGrants by 4:00 p.m. on March 7, 2024. By that same deadline, you need to upload to your project’s City SharePoint folder a completed Grant Assessment Worksheet [GAW].
Amended City Council Policy Regarding Brownfield Grant Assistance for Housing Projects
At its meeting on August 3, 2018, the Minneapolis City Council directed City staff to require compliance with the affordability provisions of the City’s Unified Housing Policy (“the Policy”) for any Minneapolis development project that (a) includes a housing component and (b) wishes to seek brownfield grant funding. This requires, for example, that at least 20% of the units in a residential rental project be affordable to (and occupied by) households earning 60% or less of the Area Median Income (AMI) for a period of not less than 30 years, unless a shorter affordability period is specifically approved (see the Policy for other potentially applicable affordability requirements).
The potential exceptions to the Policy’s affordability requirements have been amended by the City Council, effective June 23, 2023. There is one potential exception to the Policy’s affordability requirements. The City Council has the discretion to approve a waiver of the City's affordability requirements to facilitate a phase or building in a large development project that will meet the affordability requirements on a blended basis.
Any project that wishes to request a waiver must submit a letter to City staff requesting that waiver, accompanied by documentation supporting the project’s eligibility for said waiver. The letter and documentation must be submitted with your project’s pre-application(s) by the March 7, 2024 pre-application deadline. City staff will review waiver requests and recommend approval or denial to the City Council, which will then make the final decision(s) regarding whether a waiver shall be granted.
Requirement for Housing Projects Seeking Affordable Housing Trust Funds or Housing Revenue Bonds
A project that intends to apply (or that has applied) for City Affordable Housing Trust Funds (AHTF) or Housing Revenue Bonds is not eligible to submit City pre-applications for DEED, Met Council TBRA/SEED, or Hennepin County ERF brownfield clean-up grants until at least a portion of that funding has been secured.
This new requirement does not apply to City pre-applications for investigation funding provided by the DEED, Met Council TBRA/SEED, or Hennepin County ERF grant programs.