ST. CLOUD (WJON News) -- St. Cloud has received some state grant money to help prepare a downtown parking lot for development.

The Department of Employment and Economic Development has awarded the city a contamination clean-up grant of just over $41,000 for the Riverboat lot.

Historically the property at the corner of 1st Street South and 5th Avenue South has been occupied by commercial buildings, but it has been a parking lot for more than 30 years.

The plan is to develop it into a mixed-use building with 20 to 30 residential units and commercial space on the ground floor. It has the potential to increase the local tax base by over $50,000.

St. Cloud Economic Development Director Cathy Mehelich says "The city is working with an interested party."

A rendering of what the development could look like is below.

Image courtesy of the City of St. Cloud
Image courtesy of the City of St. Cloud
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The state Contamination Clean Up and Investigation grants pay up to 75 percent of the costs to assess and clean up polluted sites.

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Back in October, the Planning Commission and City Council approved the plan to sell the property, It has been a catalyst site for redevelopment since 2015.

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