Hennepin County has formally approved the transfer of money that will help local businesses manage the expansion of Shady Oak Road.

The County Board on Tuesday agreed to transfer $3 million in Community Works project funds to the Hennepin County Housing and Redevelopment Authority.

The transfer is part of an agreement to alleviate some of the pain from the Shady Oak Road expansion.

The tentative plan for the money is similar to an arrangement discussed in March. Under that plan, someone would buy two properties, demolish one building, build a new structure, renovate another and then rearrange the tenants.

(Check out the PDF above to see how the project could look. Click here for a more-detailed look at the plan.)

That would require the Leaman’s Liquor property and the Dorholt property. If those owners aren’t interested, the city could talk with the VFW. If the city wants to go in a different direction, it could also approach the County Board for permission to change the requirements.

Although the agreement originally required at least one 10,000-square-foot redevelopment site, the site could be 8,000 square feet if it’s owned or occupied by a business already in the project area.

Redevelopment activities will begin in December. The Shady Oak Road reconstruction is scheduled to begin in the spring of 2014. 

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