BLOOMINGTON, Minn. (AP) — Triple Five Corp., the City Council and the Bloomington Port Authority have signed a development agreement for the proposed mega-mall that puts final action on the proposed $1.5 billion facility one step closer to reality.
The last major stumbling block has been approval of a package of tax breaks by the state Legislature—an action legislative leaders said likely won't be discussed until next year.
The agreement signed Monday would allow the terms to end if lawmakers cannot reach agreement by Nov. 1 on a funding proposal that would provide the developer $15 million in subsidies for the next 24 years.
The Nov. 1 deadline is unrealistic, legislative leaders have said, and Bloomington Mayor James Lindau has said it may not be absolute. But he insists that unless the Legislature acts by year's end, the mega-mall will be dead.
The Port Authority's vote for the agreement was unanimous; the City Council's vote was 6–1.
The one "no" vote was cast by council
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member Neil Peterson, who said he fears the mall could change the "demeanor" of Bloomington into something more akin to Las Vegas.
The mega-mall proposal is "like having a gorilla in your back yard," he said. "How do you feed it after it grows up?"
According to the agreement, if Triple Five abandons the project before construction starts, the city is entitled to $5.5 million in damages. Additionally, the property at the old Met Stadium site reverts to city ownership if construction does not go forward.
As soon as the Legislature approves what the agreement calls a "state participation package," Triple Five is required to provide a $2 million letter of credit.
The city is counting on the revenue from a lodging and liquor tax in the city, an exemption from the metrowide tax-base sharing pool for the mega-mall site and the dedication of one-sixth of the 6 percent sales tax collected on retail sales at the mega-mall, said Bloomington finance officer Lyle Olson.
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Exercise 16.4
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2007 McGraw-Hill Higher Education