Thanks, Dave Harstad, for trying to shed some light on the costs and complexities of putting a project like Nicollet Commons together. I'd like the project to succeed, but I have a few more questions.
1. What would it take to NOT use TIF? How much more density, how many more units or fewer parking spaces would it take to make the project work financially without any TIF? 2. Saying that Sherman Associates is putting in $28.5 million in equity into this project is misleading isn't it? You're saying the developer is putting $25 million cash into the residential component of this project, but typically a developer has little or no money invested in an apartment project financed with bonds or low income housing tax credits. The equity comes from selling the bonds and tax credits, and the rest is mortgage financed. The developer usually has less than 1% equity in the project. 3. Why does the residential development cost so much ($166,000) per unit? I've consulted on lots of apartment projects (with and without tax credits). I don't recall any of them costing more than $90,000 per unit, and some of these were high-quality mansion-style apartments with pools, etc. What drives up the cost here? 4. Someone else posted a question about the costs of relocating existing businesses. I know its not part of the project's financing, but it is a real cost to the city. How much will the MCDA have to pay to relocate businesses? 5. Is the city using eminent domain for this project? John Rocker Calhoun _______________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A Civil City Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Unsubscribe, Digest option, and more: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
