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To: Mayor Hicks & City Council From: John Hinzman, Community Development Director Date: October 1, 2012 Item: Hudson Redevelopment Update Council Action Requested Following is an update
of recent Hudson Redevelopment activities including partial demolition, environmental review, and marketing. A summary of the Initial Market Assessment will be presented at the meeting.
Hudson was purchased by the Hastings Economic Development and Redevelopment Authority (HEDRA) in 2010. HEDRA seeks to redevelop the property as a catalyst for downtown development. No
formal action is necessary. Demolition On September 13th HEDRA awarded the contract to demolish a portion of the Hudson Manufacturing facility to Rachel Contracting. The $147,000 demolition
bid was substantially less than the engineer’s estimate of $316,000. HEDRA has received $250,000 in grant funding from the Dakota CDA to pay for demolition expenses. It appears the entire
demolition can be funded with grant dollars, with no out of pocket expenses to the City. City. Demolition of the 48,000 s.f. addition should begin in early October and be completed by
mid November. Demolition updates will be posted on the City’s website and social media. Demolition will include the following: ! Remove the 48,000 s.f. 1974 addition ! Remove adjacent
parking lot south of addition ! Remove retaining walls and exterior features. ! Grade site to accommodate the 8-10 foot elevation drop between the parking lot and low floor elevation
of the addition. ! Provide erosion control and turf restoration ! Provide asbestos and lead paint abatement, regulated waste removal and disposal. Hudson Market Assessment Maxfield Research
has completed an Initial Market Assessment to determine the market potential for various real estate uses for the Hudson Redevelopment project. The assessment includes a review of the
trade area, inventory of existing commercial uses, summary of planned uses and recommendations of real estate types that have the highest potential to be City Council Memorandum
successful in today’s market. The complete report and following summary have been posted on the City’s website.
Environmental Review Environmental review for the site is nearly complete. The Phase II Environmental Review Study has been completed by Stantec and submitted to the Minnesota Pollution
Control Agency (PCA) for review and guidance on any further action. The Phase II report is a comprehensive assessment of hazardous substances including ground water monitoring, soil
boring testing, and vapor probing. Stantec identified the following as the “most significant conclusions” from the Phase II analysis: ! Soil Impacts – including arsenic, lead, DRO, and
TCE ! Groundwater Impacts – including TCE and DRO ! Soil Vapor Impacts – including TCE and VOC ! Historic Fill – including former dump sites Environmental Cleanup Environmental cleanup
will be the next stage. The extent of environmental cleanup is dependent on the type and extent of redevelopment and reuse of the site. A Response Action Plan (RAP) will be developed
in coordination with the Minnesota PCA once development details have been further established. Tax Increment Financing (TIF) District HEDRA has contemplated the establishment of a TIF
District to assist with site cleanup and improvements. Prior to issuing the contract for partial demolition, HEDRA adopted resolutions to enable creation of a future TIF District and
to utilize an interfund loan account. Adoption of the resolutions does not obligate the City or HEDRA to establish a district, but preserves the opportunity at a later date. Grant Funding
The City of Hastings and HEDRA has been the recipient of nearly $600,000 in grant funding from a variety of County, State, and Federal Agencies for the acquisition, environmental review,
and market study of the site. The project is well positioned to receive further grant funding for future environmental cleanup and site improvement activities. Next Steps HEDRA will
meet on October 11th to review next steps for the Hudson project including refining site development options and marketing for development.