Politics & Government

Council Approves Purchase of Ten 17th Avenue Homes

The purchase is part of the revamp of Richfield Parkway and a bike trail near Cedar Point Commons.

After years of waiting, owners of 10 homes on 17th Avenue will soon be receiving checks from the City of Richfield.

The Richfield City Council approved the purchase of the homes Tuesday night. The homes are adjacent to the Cedar Point Commons shopping center between 63rd and 65th streets. Purchase prices ranged from $145,000 to $180,000.

McKenzie Novak, who lives with her fiancé Adam Gaertner at 6438 17th Ave. S., said the process was frustrating, but they were excited to move on.

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"It's official," Novak said excitedly in a message to Patch. "We are moving!"

The couple is getting married later this year and with the purchase approved by the council, they can start moving ahead with their lives together.

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"[We're] excited and glad we got through the last step. I should say excited to find our first home together," she added. "Technically this one is only his."

Like the happy couple, many of the 17th Avenue homeowners have been waiting for nearly a decade for a buyout. According to a Star Tribune article, when Cedar Point Commons was built in 2004, senior apartments were planned for the west side of 17th Avenue, but those plans fell apart when the economy took a nose dive—leaving those homeowners out in the cold.

Now, the purchases were necessary to complete the Richfield Parkway Improvement and Intercity Regional Trail projects. The Richfield Parkway project will add another access point to Cedar Point Commons and improve connectivity to the Bloomington Avenue access, to and from, Highway 62. The Intercity Regional Trail will connect Minneapolis' biking and walking trails to the Minnesota River in Bloomington.

Twelve properties in total are needed to complete the projects. According to Tuesday's council agenda, negotiations are still going on with the other two homeowners.

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