Economic Development

Introduction

Revitalizing buildings, businesses and the work force to meet community needs and retain capital.

Overview

This section includes contacts for City and County Economic Development Departments, Community Development Intermediaries & Funders, Community Development Corporations, Economic Development/ Business Association Consultants, Business Incubators/ Entrepreneurship , Commercial Corridor Projects, Local Business Associations, Workforce Development Projects

Page Index

  • Key Issues
  • Common Problems and Solutions
  • Successful Strategies
  • Annotated Web Resources
  • Topic Library
  • Sub-Topics and Vendors


    • Key Issues Related to this Topic

  • A good mix of businesses and services makes a neighborhood attractive. All neighborhoods want a good mix of restaurants, stores, businesses (including a coffee shop) in their neighborhood. Neighborhood associations can do much to attract and keep good businesses and employers in their community.

  • Shopping, working and hiring locally can strengthen your neighborhood economy. All neighborhoods have a tremendous underused resource: the spending power of residents on groceries, health care, housing, transportation and other goods. Many neighborhoods are encouraging people to shop locally through neighborhood papers, welcome wagon coupons and shopping guides (for an example see www.minneapolisunwrapped.com.) Several neighborhood groups have started home-based business networks to support residents who are choosing to work locally by starting home-based businesses. Neighborhood groups that help attract new businesses to their area can also encourage the businesses to hire local residents.

  • The three kinds of work to be done: revitalizing buildings, businesses and the work force. Rehabilitating commercial properties can be done through fix-up grants and loans and through purchasing and rehabbing or building new commercial properties. Business development includes attracting new businesses to your neighborhood, supporting residents who want to start their own business and strengthening existing businesses through technical assistance, marketing, and business expansion loans. Work force development includes supporting area businesses to hire locally, job training and job placement services as well as work readiness and employment support services.

  • Local area business associations are a strong asset for neighborhoods , helping to convene residents and business owners to develop a shared vision and plan of action to strengthen their local business district.

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    Common Problems and Solutions

  • Market forces are changing neighborhood commercial districts. Trolley lines gave birth to many of the commercial areas in Minneapolis and St. Paul neighborhoods. As the trolley lines disappeared, freeways emerged and national chain-stores arrived the neighborhood customer base for local commercial areas declined. The Cities of St. Paul and Minneapolis feel they have excess commercial space. Some neighborhoods are converting some under-used or vacant commercial lots into residential or mixed uses.

  • Attracting desired businesses and services. Often low income neighborhoods want a coffee shop or co-op grocery store or other business to locate in their area but are told that their neighborhood does not have the income to support it. Some neighborhood have begun to break out of this mold by hiring consultants to do alternative market studies which show the full range of potential customers for their neighborhood.

  • Start-up entrepreneurs have good ideas and few skills. High quality trainings are available for local entrepreneurs to provide them with the skills they need to develop and implement a successful business plan.

  • Negative perceptions of a commercial area. Some commercial areas located in low income neighborhoods are perceived by outsiders as being dangerous and unattractive. Many neighborhoods have successfully changed the perception of their business district through comprehensive approaches that include reducing crime, exterior paint and fix up grants, street scape improvements and attracting new businesses.

  • Linking low-income residents with living-wage jobs. Many of the workforce development agencies listed in the MCN’s Resource Guide combine, life skills training, ELL training, job skills training and employment referrals and follow-up to link low income neighborhood residents with good jobs.

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    Successful Strategies

  • Neighborhood associations can partner with CDCs to meet their economic development goals. The Community Development Corporations (CDCs) active in Minneapolis and St. Paul neighborhoods have the staff capacity, and connections to help your neighborhood plan, fund, develop and manage economic development projects. Please see the MCN’s Resource Guide for CDCs that offer help with economic development.

  • LISC’s Mainstreet Program takes a comprehensive approach to revitalizing commercial districts. The Twin Cities Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC) is partnering with neighborhood development companies working to revitalize the Payne and Robert street corridors in St. Paul and the West Broadway and Central Ave. Corridors in Minneapolis through their Neighborhoods MainStreet Initiative that uses strategies that have proven successful in revitalizing rural main streets.

  • The Great Good Place : Cafes, Coffee Shops, Bookstores, Bars, Hair Salons, and Other Hangouts at the Heart of a Community by Ray Oldenburg Paperback - 368 pages 3rd edition (August 1999) Marlowe & Co; ISBN: 1569246815 Contents- Part One- The Problem of Place in America , The Character of Third Places , The Personal Benefits , The Greater Good Part Two- The German-American Larger Beer Gardens , Main Street , The English Pub , The French Cafe , The American Tavern , Classic Coffeehouses Part Three Hostile Habitat , The Sexes and the Third Place , Shutting out Youth , Toward Better Spaces (available for a discount from Amazon.com and Ruminator Books.)

  • Enterprise facilitators can help new entrepreneurs connect with the resources they need. Several organizations listed in the MCN’s Resource Guide do “enterprise facilitation” to connect new entrepreneurs with resources, mentoring and markets. The staff work with a local community board to mentor the aspiring business owners.

  • Commercial corridor revitalization projects are active along the 10 major corridors in Minneapolis and St. Paul. The Center for Neighborhoods, LISC, MCDA and St. Paul PED hosted a Corridors Institute during 2000-2002 to help members of these local efforts in Minneapolis and St. Paul learn from one another’s experiences. Neighborhoods can call these organizations to find out how to best partner with the commercial corridor revitalization efforts happening in their area.

  • Community building can be an outcome of a economic development. A good example is the Mercado Central, located at Bloomington and Lake, developed by Mexcian Latino residents in South Minneapolis with the Whittier CDC, Project for Pride in Living and Interfaith Action. Two dozen Latino families active with several churches developed a vision for a shared business incubator space, to reduce overhead costs for emerging businesses and to create a shared focus of community life for the Mexican/Latino community in South Minneapolis.

  • Creating “destination businesses”. Many neighborhoods have successfully attracted a key “destination business or attraction that brings in shoppers from the whole metro area, who also shop at local stores.

  • Connecting residents with good jobs can also be an outcome of economic development projects. Examples: Whittier CDC & Nico Plating, and Mississippi Market in the Selby and Dale neighborhood.

  • Mixed use developments, that include both housing and commercial space are more complicated and more costly than traditional housing or economic development projects.

  • Transit-oriented development opportunities are now becoming available around the light rail stops planned for the Hiawatha LRT corridor (Seward/Phillips LRT- Seward Redesign.)

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    Annotated WebLinks

  • Economic Development Intermediary
    Economic Development Association of MN (EDAM),   06/15/04
    Trade association for economic development professionals, working to advance the profession of economic development

  • Economic Development Intermediary
    Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis   06/15/04
    Hosts conferences and produces publications to help local communities adopt successful approaches to economic development.

  • Economic Development Intermediary
    Local Initiatives Support Corporation, Twin Cities   06/15/04
    Nonprofit intermediary that channels financial and technical support to community development corporations (CDCs) in St. Paul and Minneapolis. Twin Cities LISC is a local field site of the national organization.

  • Links to Mpls CDCs doing economic development
    Minneapolis Consortium of Community Developers   06/15/04
    Support organization to Minneapolis CDCs doing economic development in neighborhoods.

  • State Economic Development Contact
    Minnesota Department of Trade and Economic Development   06/15/04
    State resources for business development

  • Economic Development Intermediary
    Northcountry Cooperative Development Fund   06/15/04
    Community development loan fund making loans to consumer, worker, producer and housing cooperatives

  • US DOC Economic Development Administration
    US Department of Commerce   06/15/04
    Excellent clearinghouse listing with all EDA services, programs, publications and reports.

  • US Housing and Urban Development
    US Housing and Urban Development   06/15/04
    Many useful local and national links

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    Library

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    Vendors by Sub-Topic

    Business Incubators/ Entrepreneurship  
        Asset-Based Community Development Institute
        East Side Neighborhood Development Company
        Frogtown Action Alliance
        Green Institute
        Lyndale Neighborhood Development Corporation
        Minneapolis Community Development Agency
        Minneapolis Community Development Agency
        Minneapolis Consortium of Community Developers
        Minneapolis Neighborhood Revitalization Program
        North East Neighborhoods Development Corporation
        North End Area Revitalization
        Northcountry Cooperative Development Fund
        Northside Residents Redevelopment Council
        Phalen Corridor Initiative
        Sparc
        St. Paul Planning and Economic Development (PED)
        Stairstep Initiative
        Whittier Community Development Corporation


    City, County and State Economic Development Departments  
        Minneapolis Community Development Agency
        Minneapolis Neighborhood Revitalization Program
        St. Paul Office of Licensing, Inspections, and Environmental Protection-
        St. Paul Planning and Economic Development (PED)


    Commercial Corridor Projects  
        Center for Neighborhoods
        Dayton's Bluff District 4 Community Council
        Design Center for Urban American Landscape
        East Side Neighborhood Development Company
        Hope Community, Inc.
        Minneapolis Neighborhood Revitalization Program
        North East Neighborhoods Development Corporation
        North End Area Revitalization
        Northeaster/North News
        Northside Residents Redevelopment Council
        Phalen Corrdior Initiative
        Sparc
        Whittier Community Development Corporation


    Community Development Corporations  
        Artspace Projects, Inc.
        Central Community Housing Trust
        Dayton's Bluff Neighborhood Housing Services
        East Side Neighborhood Development Company
        Exodus Community Development Company
        Greater Frogtown Community Development Corporation
        Greater Metropolitan Housing Corporation
        Green Institute
        Habitat for Humanity of the Twin Cities
        Hamline-Midway Area Rehabilitation Corporation
        Hope Community, Inc.
        Lyndale Neighborhood Development Corporation
        Minneapolis Consortium of Community Developers
        North East Neighborhoods Development Corporation
        North End Area Revitalization
        Northside Neighborhood Housing Services
        Northside Residents Redevelopment Council
        Phillips Community Development Corporation
        Powderhorn Residents Group (PRG)
        Project for Pride in Living
        Selby Area Community Development Corporation
        Seward Redesign
        Southside Neighborhood Housing Services
        Sparc
        West Seventh/Fort Road Federation
        West Side St. Paul -- Community Neighborhood Housing Service
        Whittier Community Development Corporation


    Community Development Intermediaries & Funders  
        Alliance For Metropolitan Stability
        Center for Neighborhood Technology
        Center for Neighborhoods
        Family Housing Fund
        Greater Metropolitan Housing Corporation
        Local Initiatives Support Corporation, Twin Cities
        Minneapolis Community Development Agency
        Minneapolis Consortium of Community Developers
        Minneapolis Foundation
        Minnesota Housing Finance Agency
        Minnesota Housing Partnership
        St. Paul Planning and Economic Development (PED)
        US Housing and Urban Development (HUD)


    Economic Development/ Business Association Consultants  
        Effective Communities Project
        George Garnett Community Development Consultant
        Mary Grace Flannery Consulting
        Schatzlein Associates
        Sustainability Associates
        Vohs Consulting & Management Services


    Local Business Associations  
        Dayton's Bluff District 4 Community Council
        East Side Neighborhood Development Company
        Lyndale Neighborhood Development Corporation
        Whittier Community Development Corporation


    Workforce Development Projects  
        Minneapolis Employment and Training Program
        Phalen Corridor Initiative
        The Stair Step Initiative
        Whittier Community Development Corporation


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