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Curtis Gilbert and Kia Farhang
St. Paul, Minn.

Developer adjusts downtown deal; Mpls. leaders skeptical

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Hoping to salvage a deal with Minneapolis to build apartments near the new Minnesota Vikings stadium, Ryan Companies Wednesday unveiled a plan that would let the city kill the deal if Ryan moved too slowly.

City officials earlier this year picked Ryan to build an apartment tower and a Radisson hotel on the parcel at Fourth Street and Park Avenue. When Radisson backed out, Ryan cut the price it was willing to pay for the property from $5.6 million to $3 million.

The Vikings stepped in last week with their own proposal, offering $4.6 million up front and urging the city to re-open the bidding process, a move that generated a heated hearing in front of the city's community development committee.

• More: Tensions over downtown land test Ryan Companies-Minneapolis relationship

On Wednesday, Ryan laid out a revised plan for the tower and said Minneapolis would have the right to terminate the contract if the developer failed to make progress on the project by the end of next year.

Miles Mercer with the city's economic development office urged the council to stick with Ryan.

"My view is this is the best deal that we can get from Ryan, and I think that the Ryan team is the best team to pull off this development," said Mercer.

Several council members remain skeptical because the deal includes less money and less certainty for the city than the one Ryan offered this spring.

"It sounds like...we have absolutely no option to meet our timeline," Council Member Cam Gordon said at Wednesday's meeting. "We are pushed to come to some kind of agreement with Ryan."

The full City Council is expected to consider the proposed agreement with Ryan on Friday.