Apple Valley Gets More Than $1 Million in Met Council Grants

The city of Apple Valley has received more than $1 million in grants from the Metropolitan Council for development projects—more than any other suburb in the metro area, according to a report by the Star Tribune.

A grant of $896,000 was awarded to buy land for a 214-unit senior housing complex in the Cobblestone Lake area, and add features to the park space there. The Star Tribune article says 30 units would be affordable housing.

A grant of $174,800 will go toward the creation of pedestrian trails from Founders Lane and Garrett Avenue, where housing is planned, to the .

The Met Council awarded $9 million in grants in 2011 from the Livable Communities Act Grant Program.

The Apple Valley City Council to submit proposals to the Met Council for four different projects, which at the time were estimated to cost $1,387,600 total.

The two other projects they for which they considered submitting applications included:

• Time Square strip mall renovations: $171,300

• Fiber optic conduit line along the future extension of 147th Street West, between Pilot Knob Road and Flagstaff Avenue: $145,000

The Met Council, a regional planning body for seven Twin Cities metro counties, evaluates grant applications based on many factors, like how efficiently projects would use land, the extent to which a plan of execution is laid out, innovation and housing performance.

Incorporating affordable housing into the community is a condition for each of the 94 cities that elected to participate in the Livable Communities Act Grant Program. Apple Valley needs 1,000 to 1,999 units between 2011 and 2020, according to a report by a Met Council advisory panel.

Read more on the Apple Valley grant projects