Two significant projects in Pipestone and Tracy have just put Southwest Minnesota on the redevelopment map.

The city of Pipestone, located in Pipestone County, was awarded $100,000 for demolition, abatement and infrastructure on the Old Loopy’s/Dance Studio site. This 0.26-acre site will be redeveloped into a 14,000-square-foot fine dining restaurant in the downtown historic district. It’s anticipated the redevelopment will create 14 jobs and increase the tax base by $35,084.

This redevelopment project is one of six projects in Minnesota awarded more than $1 million in grants by DEED. Read the complete press release here.

The Redevelopment Grant Program helps communities with the costs of redeveloping blighted industrial, residential or commercial sites for planned projects. Grants pay up to half the redevelopment costs for a qualifying site, with a 50 percent local match required. 

“The Redevelopment Grant Program is extremely important in both the urban core and in rural downtowns,” said Kristin Lukes, director, Office of Brownfields and Redevelopment. “These funds help remove impediments from previous uses, so that developers aren’t building in undeveloped areas in need of infrastructure and other resources.”

Pipestone Mayor Myron Koets doubles as a storyteller on the Pipestone Ghost Walk.

“A good 50 percent of the people that are on that Ghost Walk are from Rochester to the Metro to St. Cloud. And when they come, the comment is how unique the town is and how we have so many good things going for ourselves. A project like this would really add to that positive image,” Mayor Koets told the Pipestone County Star.

The program has awarded more than $66 million for 177 projects since it was created 19 years ago. Nearly 1,300 acres of blighted property have been returned to productive use in Minnesota with the help of program funding.

In addition to the redevelopment grant, DEED awarded a $290,000 loan under its Demolition Loan Program for a project in Tracy, located in Lyon County. This project involves demolishing a former Masonic building on the 0.143-acre site. The site has the potential to be redeveloped into a commercial project. 

The Demolition Loan Program helps with the costs of demolishing blighted buildings on sites that have future development potential but where there are no current development plans. Low-interest loans can pay up to 100 percent of demolition costs for a qualifying site and can be used for site acquisition costs.