EPNI’s Statement on receiving a rejection from the City of Minneapolis three long months after sending an amended purchase offer for the Roof Depot Site

Image courtesy of Scott Russell

MINNEAPOLIS, MN - On September 10th at 11:05 AM, almost three months after the East Phillips Neighborhood Institute (EPNI) provided the City of Minneapolis a $10.2 million offer for the Roof Depot site, EPNI received a response rejecting this offer. 

“Myself and other members of the Minneapolis legislative delegation remain committed to working with the city and community to make the East Phillips urban farm project happen. So much time, energy, passion, and organizing has gone into this process over the years, and we owe it to community to ensure the work moves forward. I believe all parties can come to the table to talk about our shared goals and the reality of the resources needed. I look forward to sitting down with the mayor and EPNI in the coming weeks.” 

- Rep. Samantha Sencer-Mura 

After halting demolition of the Roof Depot warehouse in 2023, EPNI agreed to a purchase agreement made with the City of Minneapolis and the Minnesota State Legislature. The Roof Depot site is not just a piece of property. It sits at the heart of a neighborhood that has suffered more than 100 years of environmental racism and historic divestment. This led to a community-led decade-long fight for clean air, health equity and economic opportunities working with multiple levels of government to secure $10.2 million of the $15.9 million required for the purchase. The residents of East Phillips; philanthropic institutions and individuals; County, municipal & Minnesota state government elected officials tirelessly worked together through the 2023 and 2024 legislative sessions to secure the funds needed for the Closing. 

For two years, the City’s stewards of the Water Fund allowed incidental site costs to accumulate at a rate of roughly $2 million a year. For two years, the City chose not to renegotiate the purchase agreement with EPNI, curtail its losses and execute a new, fair deal that reflected the appraisal value of the property. Rather than give East Phillips a fair deal, they held the Roof Depot site, only to lose the remaining $5.7 million pledged by the State Legislature due to historic federal funding cuts that led to a state deficit.

EPNI recognizes the City’s responsibility to be prudent stewards of public funds. But stewardship must also include ethical accountability to the people most impacted by policy decisions. True stewardship considers not just dollars spent or recovered, but lives affected, futures enabled, and communities made whole.

While The City continued spending millions on the publicly disdained Hiawatha Expansion Project, EPNI spent the last two years cultivating a farm program, an innovative community investment fund, and a loyal following of climate justice advocates.

EPNI believes its bid for the Roof Depot has always been competitive. Furthermore, we believe the City’s rejection of our counteroffer represents a missed opportunity to prioritize environmental justice, racial equity and authentic community partnership. Good fiduciary responsibility to the residents of Minneapolis is accepting an offer more than 2X the appraised value to ensure the future profits from its redevelopment are reinvested in the neighborhood for generations to come.

We remain committed to working with all levels of government, philanthropic partners, and our neighbors to secure the funding needed and pursue the vision our community has fought for over the last decade.

Please contact daniel@epnifarm.org to learn more about these purchase agreement negotiations and to be connected with sources for interviews.

The East Phillips Neighborhood Institute (EPNI, epnifarm.org) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization fighting for environmental justice and sustainable economic development in the East Phillips neighborhood of Minneapolis, MN. Started by neighbors with a shared dream of reduced pollution and increased access to healthy food, good jobs, and other needed resources, EPNI led a 10-year fight against the city of Minneapolis to win communal stewardship of a 7-acre vacant warehouse in the heart of East Phillips. Now, EPNI and its many collaborators hold the opportunity and responsibility to transform the warehouse into a community-owned, solar-powered multi-use hub and indoor urban farm, with community care at the core.