St. Cloud civic center expansion

St. Cloud has sought funding for an expansion of its civic center for five consecutive legislative sessions. They’re hoping this will finally be the year.

Rep. King Banaian (R-St. Cloud) sponsors HF1337 that would authorize $10.1 million in bond proceeds to help expand the St. Cloud River’s Edge Convention Center. The money would go toward adding 35,000 square feet of additional exhibit space and several facility improvements.

Banaian called the civic center expansion a “very, very important project” for St. Cloud and for the people of central Minnesota. He joked that the bill is “becoming an old standard” at the Legislature.

“Each year that we’ve been to the Capitol, this bill has either been in the governor’s request or in the Legislature’s request. We just haven’t had them both happen at the same time,” he said.

St. Cloud Mayor Dave Kleis said the project has made incremental progress since the first bonding request was made in 2008. He said the city took advantage of low interest rates to fund some of the project itself, and is now asking the Legislature for money to finish the job.

“There is no possible way we can finish this project on our own,” Kleis said.

Teresa Bohnen, president of the St. Cloud Area Chamber of Commerce, said the project is very important to the local business community, which sees the civic center as a catalyst for private investment.

The House Jobs and Economic Development Finance Committee laid the bill over March 13 for possible inclusion in the committee’s bonding recommendations. Sen. John Pederson (R-St. Cloud) sponsors the companion, SF292, which awaits action by the Senate Capital Investment Committee.