On February 12th at 6 pm, there was a Hastings Economic Development and Redevelopment Authority
(HEDRA) meeting.
Under the business portion of the meeting, the HEDRA council approved the appointment of Cynthia Kirchoff as official city attorney and legal counsel.
In the agenda, there was a Façade Improvement Grant Amendment. Economic development coordinator, Alex Menke, spoke to the proposed verbiage and timeline changes. A change is by way of when applicants submit a W9 form to the city. A W9 tax form is required by an applicant, but this document was received further into the grant process. The city would require a W9 upfront during the application process. Menke pointed out the greatest change will be the reimbursement submission window. At the moment, the Façade Grant applicants have a six-month window to submit for reimbursement. City staff recommended that the reimbursement window be changed from six months to one year to accommodate for project delays that can happen during construction.
The Façade Improvement Grant Amendment was approved.
The Red Rock parking lot lease termination was also in the agenda. The city originally built the 100‑stall Red Rock parking lot (Block 16) using Metropolitan Council funding supported by state bonding. As a result of that funding, the city and HEDRA entered into a 40‑year ground lease with the Met Council to ensure the lot remained in place for that duration. The city receives no annual revenue from this lease.
The Met Council has agreed to terminate its lease interest—especially since the Red Rock Corridor bus line is unlikely to reach Hastings in the foreseeable future.
City staff requested authorization to sign the lease termination. This does not indicate an active development proposal; this is “removing a barrier,” says Menke. Once the Met Council signs, the city will regain full control of the site.
The motion was approved for the Red Rock Parking Lot ground lease termination.
For Block 28, the Tax Base Revitalization Account (TBRA) Grant, which the City of Hastings applied for last year, was approved. This is a reimbursement grant for a maximum amount of $55,300 to pay for continued environmental work on Block 28.
Menke says that “the signed grant agreement is required before work can begin.” Phase two of the study will be handled by GZA GeoEnvironmental, who also conducted the environmental study for phase one.
The TBRA environmental investigation grant agreement was approved.
Under development updates, the Hastings City Council will take action to set a demolition timeline for the fire‑damaged Hastings Creamery building. Although the city has worked with the creamery on site remediation, the information, submitted by the creamery on February 6th, did not include the required timeline or specific action steps. KDWA connected with John Hinzman, community development director, for further insight.
Hinzman noted that private‑sector pressure, including insurance interests, may also push the process forward.
The full February 12th HEDRA meeting can be found on the Hastings City website.
For the full broadcast, listen to the soundbite.