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Minneapolis Roof Depot project in limbo
A community’s dream to revitalize south Minneapolis’ vacant Roof Depot warehouse is currently in limbo after failing to secure funding.
MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - The East Phillips Neighborhood Institute (EPNI) is making another offer to purchase the abandoned Roof Depot from the City of Minneapolis with the hope of redeveloping it into an urban farm with retail and residential space.
Roof Depot purchase efforts
Big picture view:
The nonprofit says it made a new offer to purchase the site after the proposal lost funding at the end of last year's legislative session.
That offer of $10.2 million was sent to the city on June 27, but EPNI says it is still waiting for a response more than a month later.
The closing deadline for the proposal is Sept. 15, and ENPI said that it is still making community engagement and fundraising efforts while it works "to resolve this hurdle."
Those efforts reportedly include drafting a novel Community Investment Fund to secure $900,000 in grants and outlining a $1 million proposed partnership.
READ MORE: City of Minneapolis extends funding deadline for proposed urban farm at Roof Depot site
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Inside the Roof Depot: Raw video
Despite the $6.5 million authorized by the legislature to begin the process of turning the vacant Roof Depot warehouse in South Minneapolis into an urban farm with retail and residential space, few people have seen inside the 230,000-square-foot structure in the last decade.
The backstory:
In September, the city approved the framework for a potential sale of the property to the East Phillips Neighborhood Institute (EPNI), which plans to turn it into an urban farm.
Under that deal, the EPNI had to raise $3.7 million to pair with state funds to complete the $15.9 million deal.
READ MORE: Roof Depot proposal in limbo after legislative session ends
The Minnesota Legislature previously approved $2 million to go towards a deposit on the sale. If the EPNI could raise its portion of the money, lawmakers promised to put up the remainder of the funds for the site, $5.7 million, during this year’s legislative session.
The deal would have been set to close in July 2024.
But the legislative session ended before lawmakers passed a bill to allocate the final earmarked dollars.
"It was agonizing to watch it. It’s like watching the team lose in seconds," EPNI Board President Dean Dovolis told FOX 9. "The portion that didn’t make it across the finish line is $5.7 million."
The Source: This story uses information from a news release shared by East Phillips Neighborhood Institute and previous FOX 9 reporting.