The Strib reports: State gives city new tool to fund streetcars :

“One provision in the state tax bill could have a significant impact on Mayor R.T. Rybak’s dreams of building a streetcar in Minneapolis.
The bill allows the city to dedicate tax revenues from several specific parcels around Minneapolis to help pay for a new streetcar line. The city pushed for the new funding method because, unlike regional transit like light rail, streetcars would be a localized project requiring more municipal investment.
Federal funding is still key to the deal. The city won federal funding to perform an alternatives analysis for a line along Nicollet and Central Aves. — which is almost complete — and city staff are preparing to apply for a TIGER grant to help fund the line itself.
The ‘value capture district’ designated by the state for funding streetcars is similar to tax increment financing. It uses revenues from parcels near the transit line to pay off bonds issued to build it. “

More on value capture.