On July 10, 2012, the Northfield City Council voted to approve the EDA’s request for a total of $14,000 EDA funds to finance the Phase II environmental assessment and necessary title clearance for the city-owned land on the Q-block, the future home of the 1888 Northfield depot.
The previous week, the EDA had met to consider the request from Save the Northfield Depot for financial assistance with legal work to clear the city title and the Phase II environmental assessment for the proposed new depot site. Save the Northfield Depot noted that because the area is near the tracks, the site may be contaminated with arsenic from old railroad ties and mercury from coal cinders from old steam engines; the Phase II assessment will determine what, if anything, must be done to clean up the site regardless of the redevelopment project. Because land near the railroad property has often exchanged hands, the use easements and encumbrances of the legal title to the property also need to be identified and ‘cleaned up’ before transfer of the land to Save the Northfield Depot.
The EDA unanimously approved this financial assistance pending Council approval. In their discussion, EDA members noted that it is reasonable to expect the city to pay for such work since it still owns the land and would need to do the same for any future redevelopment project on the site.
The allocated $14,000 for the Phase II assessment and title clearance legal work cover those line items in our $300,000 budget to move and renovate the depot, putting us one step closer to our fundraising goals. You can support our efforts with a one-time, weekly, monthly, or annual online donation using GiveMN.
Save the Northfield Depot 