Hennepin County Housing and Economic Development

Hennepin County was excited to take part in the groundbreaking celebration Friday for the Unity Project on Lake Street in Minneapolis. This was the fourth groundbreaking this month for community-driven projects in Minneapolis that have received support from Housing and Economic Development department programs. ? “The Unity development has such a fitting name – it celebrates the confluence of Latine and African cultures on Lake Street and will provide affordable commercial space to businesses owned by immigrants and people of color,” said Hennepin County Commissioner Angela Conley. “Not only will new businesses add to the richness of the Lake Street corridor, but the building itself was thoughtfully designed to contribute to a vibrant public realm in the community.” This project exemplifies the values at the heart of our economic development strategy at Hennepin County. We focus on entrepreneurs and believe entrepreneurship drives economic growth and innovation, and we value supporting community-driven development like Unity in vital communities like Lake Street, places rich in cultural diversity that have historically faced disinvestment. ? In addition to the Unity development, Hennepin County has invested more than $32 million in small businesses, housing, and commercial development projects along the Lake Street corridor in the past few years.

Hennepin County was honored to join the groundbreaking celebration yesterday for the Artspace NKB Lofts, which will bring new life to three historic industrial buildings within the Northrup King Building campus in the heart of Northeast’s vibrant Arts District. The campus is home to the most artist studios in Minnesota and is one of the most substantial cultural hubs in the country. We are excited to see this transformative project, which will feature new affordable studio and commercial spaces – increasing access to emerging artists, entrepreneurs of color, and cultural organizations, and the addition of new affordable units for artists from a variety of cultural backgrounds. NKB Lofts will make it possible for artists to live here, create here and build community here. Hennepin County has made significant investments in NKB Lofts, awarding it more than $1.8 million from a variety of funding sources to support environmental remediation, to achieve greater affordability of the housing units, and to maintain the affordability of the new commercial spaces. ? https://lnkd.in/gcjZtpBQ

The Northside Economic Opportunity Network (NEON) broke ground Wednesday on its Collective Kitchens food incubator project on West Broadway Avenue in North Minneapolis, celebrating the milestone with funders from the public and private sector. This project will be transformative for North Minneapolis in so many ways: * The kitchen incubator project is projected to create more than 260 new permanent jobs. * It will provide hundreds of food entrepreneurs with affordable commercial kitchen space to start and grow their businesses – something we know is very scarce in the Twin Cities. * It will provide residents access to healthy foods and a place to come together and share a meal with their friends and family. Hennepin County is proud to be one of many project funders for the food incubator. Supporting local entrepreneurs and community-driven development in communities that have historically faced disinvestment is at the heart of our economic development strategy. At Hennepin County, we have made significant investments in supporting small business and emerging entrepreneurs. We believe that entrepreneurship drives economic growth and creates more resilient communities.?

The Indigenous Peoples Task Force (IPTF) celebrated a groundbreaking Tuesday for its new center for culture, arts and wellness called Mikwanedun Audisookon, which translates to “remember our teachings” in Ojibwe. Once complete the new center in the Phillips neighborhood of south Minneapolis will feature a community café and commercial kitchen that will serve food grown in gardens surrounding the building and a new black box theater for youth-led performances. “Once completed this new building won’t be just a building. It will enhance and expand the vital community services that you are already delivering with a special focus on culturally relevant wellness and arts programming,” said Hennepin County Board Chair Irene Fernando. “It’s more than just a project and building. It’s absolutely a commitment in terms of our relationship moving forward.” Hennepin County is proud to have supported Mikwanedun Audisookon with a $750,000 Community Investment Initiative award. The initiative was created to advance economic recovery and increase long-term economic opportunity in Hennepin County communities most significantly impacted by the pandemic.?

Congratulations to Polar Semiconductor and the City of Bloomington, MN on this transformative CHIPS award that will support significant expansion of its Bloomington manufacturing facility. Hennepin County was proud to collaborate with the City of Bloomington in 2011 to support a previous Polar expansion project. Hennepin County’s $405,000 Transit Oriented Development award helped fund infrastructure and pedestrian improvements between Polar’s building and the light rail station. This local government collaboration was critical to ensuring Polar could grow and expand in our region.

Read the latest edition of Thrive, our newsletter highlighting Hennepin County's community development efforts and initiatives. You can read about the following: * City-county partnership strengthens suburban business districts * Several Hennepin County funding opportunities available to support cities in creating vibrant places * A tour of people-friendly infrastructure in Richfield * Current funding opportunities and resources for cities, developers, and other community partners? Read and subscribe for future editions: https://lnkd.in/giNFgBv3

Active Living Program, Business District Initiative, Hennepin Planning Grants RFAs open now Business District Initiative and Hennepin Planning Grants Municipalities in Hennepin County can now submit applications for funding through the Business District Initiative and Hennepin Planning Grants programs. Proposals are due by 3 p.m. Tuesday, October 1. A total of $200,000 is available across both the Business District Initiative and Hennepin Planning Grants program. ? Business District Initiative supports activities to maximize the potential of main streets and commercial nodes. ? Hennepin Planning Grants (formerly Corridor Planning) support cities' planning efforts that help create vibrant communities and more sustainable built environments. Active Living Program grants Municipalities in the Hennepin County Public Health jurisdiction (all cities except Bloomington, Edina, Minneapolis, and Richfield) can now submit applications for funding through the Active Living Program. A total of $60,000 is available. Proposals are due by 3 p.m. Tuesday, October 8. Active Living Program grants provide support for activities that improve walkability and bikeability. Projects should prioritize the needs of residents most likely to experience health disparities, including low-income residents, communities of color and indigenous people, seniors, young people, and people with disabilities. Request for applications are currently posted to the Hennepin County Supplier Portal: https://lnkd.in/ghDSNg6G (Illustration courtesy of Bolton and Menk)

More exciting news for Hennepin County! Our Climate and Resiliency Department, in partnership with our friends from Housing and Economic Development, were selected for the Communities Sparking Investment in Transformative Energy (C-SITE) grant. Our “Bridging Energy Equity” project will provide residential audits, weatherization, energy efficiency upgrades, and solar installation in disadvantaged communities. We will also deploy solar rooftops on two resilience hubs, while creating trainings and green jobs. In sum, we were awarded 2.5 million, and we cannot wait to strengthen and serve our most energy-burdened residents. As always, amazing work team! Jessica Spanswick, M.A., Mauricio León, David Schuett, Cliff Mountjoy-Venning, Jasmira Colón, MSW, LSW, Didier B Gonzalez, MDP. Many thanks to our partners and friends for their leadership and vision! Julia Welle Ayres, Mike Jensen, Stephanie Weir, Sabathani Community Center and Minneapolis American Indian Center

Great article by Christopher Magan in the Star Tribune about Hennepin County's Repair+Grow program: "Margaret Kaplan, president of the Housing Justice Center, said the new metro sales tax for affordable housing will send important resources to communities to address the housing crisis. 'Having this locally controlled, dedicated source of funding is a new thing for a lot of communities,' Kaplan said. 'Funds like this create tools and incentive to get to the level of affordability our communities desperately need.'” https://lnkd.in/g9sK2AKR

Hennepin County has released its Repair + Grow RFP, funded by Local Affordable Housing Aid (LAHA). Repair + Grow will provide one-time assistance to local non-profit affordable housing owner-developers to help mitigate challenges standing in the way of new development. Proposals are due by 3 p.m. on Thursday, September 26 and must be submitted via the Supplier Portal. Hennepin County needs a healthy ecosystem of developers and owners to expand affordable housing production for low-income residents. Yet many non-profit partners are still struggling to keep existing projects in operation due to industry-wide rental revenue decreases and operating cost increases. Repair + Grow works to alleviate some of those challenges, with the goal of increasing local capacity to create new affordable housing that meets the needs of all Hennepin County residents. Access the RFP via Hennepin County’s Supplier Portal: https://lnkd.in/g6TFHYnB