The Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED) is hosting a 1 1/2 day redevelopment conference focused on brownfield and redevelopment topics and projects.
The Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED) will be hosting the Brownfields and Beyond: 2023 Minnesota Redevelopment Conference on Thursday, October 26 and Friday, October 27, 2023, at the DoubleTree by Hilton in Bloomington, Minnesota.
This conference will convene 100+ of Minnesota's leading professionals from the private, public, and nonprofit sectors engaged in all facets of brownfield and redevelopment including economic development, local and state government, environmental science, finance, law, engineering, development, real estate, advocacy and education, planning, and consulting. Our audience will range from seasoned veterans to those new to the field. Attendees will be from all corners of Minnesota including metropolitan areas, regional centers, and rural communities.
DEED is seeking proposals for conference sessions which will be relevant to our diverse audience, and which will advance the conference's goals of professional development, sharing best practices, sparking curiosity, fostering innovation, and catalyzing new opportunities for attendees. Conference sessions will be approximately 60-75 minutes in length, including Q&A, and will be a blend of plenary and breakout sessions.
Our conference programming may have all or some of these areas of focus
Community Development and Stakeholder Relations
Sessions address the "non-financial" elements of brownfield redevelopment projects including citizen engagement; managing and mitigating project opposition and NIMBY; communications and public relations; engaging with elected officials; competing goals and visions in a community or neighborhood; how redevelopment is a valuable economic development strategy; managing community expectations; community planning; when the project's vision collides with market realities; and effectively managing the relationship between the developer, city staff, and public funders.
Environmental Issues
Sessions discuss topics related to environmental science and engineering as well as consulting such as vapor intrusion; groundwater and soil contamination; abatement; environmental site assessments; demolition; legal/liability issues; regulatory compliance; and remediation.
Project Finance
Sessions show how brownfield and redevelopment projects are financed and help attendees learn about elements of a capital stack including local public finance tools such as tax increment financing and tax abatement; local and state grants and loans; federal EPA grants; commercial banks and senior debt; equity investors; economic development loan funds and subordinated/gap lenders; tax credits; Community Development Finance Institutions (CDFI's); and Opportunity Zones.
Other/Emerging Topics
Sessions maybe related to Brownfields or Redevelopment topic unrelated to those mentioned above.
Session proposals must be received no later than 3:00 p.m. CST on Thursday, March 30, 2023.
Sessions selected for the conference will be notified by April 15, 2023.
All session speakers must be registered attendees of the conference unless they are attending only the session at which they are speaking.
Depending on the amount and type of responses received, speakers may be asked to collaborate with another proposed session, resulting in a combined session.
Sessions are to be educational in nature and not focused on being a marketing opportunity for a company or organization.
Registration Fee: $125 for both days, plus lodging.
Register for the conference (available soon).
Please notify Christine Pribbernow by October 1, 2023 if you require any accommodations (seating, Mother's Room, etc.) or dietary preferences to attend.
Additional opportunities to host a welcome reception on Wednesday and a Thursday evening reception. Please contact Kristin.Lukes@state.mn.us for more information.
All exhibitor table personnel must be paid/registered conference attendees.