St. Paul Mayor Melvin Carter is speaking out for the first time on the destruction of the old West Side Flats neighborhood.

5 EYEWITNESS NEWS first reported several weeks ago that St. Paul city leaders are talking with former residents of the West Side Flats about reinvestment and a possible apology for the displacement of 2,500 adults and children to make way for an industrial park between 1960 and 1962.

Some former West Side Flats residents, who were children at the time, told KSTP their parents and grandparents received little or no compensation for their displacement after their homes were torn down by the St. Paul Port Authority.

On Tuesday, Carter told KSTP that talks with the former residents, the West Side Community Organization (WSCO) and city officials are progressing and it is time to address the issue.

“You can just bulldoze 700 homes and get those folks out of the way and make the neighborhood better,” said Carter. “But, our question is, ‘who are we making the neighborhood better for?'”

Carter said helping surviving family members is a priority and could end up resembling something similar to the Rondo Neighborhood Inheritance Fund.

“The same story played out in the West Side Flats where we saw families that lost their homes and had those family inheritances gutted,” said Carter. “If we know that our city has participated in something that has resulted in economic harm, then it’s our duty, and this is one of the oldest concepts in history, it’s our duty to be a part of kind of redressing that harm.”

WSCO hired a research firm that has been working for over a year to identify people who were displaced and locate any remaining family members who might be eligible for redress or reinvestment on the West side.

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WSCO is expected to announce its final report on the West Side Flats sometime in late June or early July.