St. Cloud city leaders are making the case that going bigger could mean paying less.
At a May 14 city council meeting, Mayor Chris Robertson and council members defended a $60 million mixed-use development planned for downtown, arguing that expanding the commercial tax base is the best way to keep residents’ tax bills from climbing.
The development, called “St. Cloud Commons,” is being led by Atlantic Housing Partners. Plans include a 542-space parking garage with an attached four-story building featuring retail on the ground floor and apartments on the upper three levels.
A second building will include additional commercial and apartment space, bringing the total to 150 apartments and more than 17,000 square feet of commercial space, all next to City Hall.
The parking garage will be built first, with construction expected to take about six months. The full project is slated for completion within two years.
“This is being funded by the CRA, which is a separate entity from the city. The CRA’s specific purpose is to redevelop properties to build the tax base for our city, and that’s exactly what this project is doing. If the city were to build its own parking garage, we would pay double, probably triple, to build our own. This is really going to be a huge catalyst for our downtown, and I think great for the residents of St. Cloud,” he said.
The St. Cloud Community Redevelopment Agency is contributing $6.25 million toward the project.