East Phillips group gets 1-year extension to buy Roof Depot site

A neighborhood organization planning to purchase the Minneapolis Roof Depot site now has an extra year to come up with the funds, after hitting road blocks in finding the money. 

The City Council passed a measure Thursday extending the deadline from next week to September 2025.

The city agreed last year to sell the empty warehouse to the East Phillips Neighborhood Institute (EPNI), a local environmental group. But just over a week ahead of the deadline, EPNI was still $5.7 million short, after the state Legislature failed to pass the funding before the end of its last session. 

Council member Jason Chavez, who represents the East Phillips neighborhood, introduced the measure for a deadline extension. He said the extra time is a win for EPNI.

“I’m proud of the tenacity, the strength of Phillips neighbors, their persistence on human rights and advocacy for clean air,” Chavez said. “This gets us closer to changing the lives of Phillips residents for decades to come.”

Neighborhood groups pushed to buy the site for several years. The city wanted to convert it to a waterworks facility; local advocates worried that project would pollute the neighborhood. The city agreed to sell it to EPNI last year, after state legislators agreed to partially fund the project.

The extension gives the Legislature another chance to pass the remaining funding. In its last session, the money passed in the House, but the Senate missed its end-of-session deadline to vote on it.

State Rep. Samantha Sencer-Mura, speaking at an EPNI press conference Thursday, said passing the funding will be a priority this session for her and other Minneapolis legislators.

“We have all been working this summer at different levels of government, at different levels of community, to think about how we can ensure that this project can still come to fruition,” Sencer-Mura said.

In return for the extension, EPNI is increasing its collateral with an additional pledge of marketable securities.

The City Council unanimously passed the deadline extension, but not without concerns from some council members.

Council member Linea Palmisano said she’s frustrated by the continued delays that cause the site to sit empty, after years of tug-of-war over the site between the city and neighborhood advocates.

“I’ve spent years working to put this property to productive use,” Palmisano said. “Often it takes many legislative sessions to get state funding, and I’m willing to give it one more. If the state doesn’t come through, that is not something I think is in the interest of the public, of the city, or of the neighborhood to continue any further.”

EPNI leaders said the delay complicates some of their work on getting funding for developing the site. With its ownership of the land pushed back, the organization said it will likely have to alter plans for grant applications and look for other funding sources down the line.

“While it is a day to celebrate for our community, it isn’t all roses in terms of the impact that it has for future development of the project,” Chavez said at the EPNI press conference.

EPNI plans to convert the site into a community center, with an indoor urban farm, retail spaces and community services.

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