February 15, 2012

By: Isabel Broyld, Neighborhood Development Center - U7 Project Manager

Nearly four years ago, the Neighborhood Development Center (NDC) invited seven community development organizations to partner together to help Saint Paul small businesses thrive during the Central Corridor Light Rail Construction. This collaborative became the University Avenue Business Preparation Collaborative or U7. The U7 collaborative has now provided quality services and resources to small business owners for a full round of Central Corridor Light Rail Transit construction along University Avenue. And what a round it was! In 2011, we learned quite a bit, we were glad to be part of the effort, and we are now busy preparing for round two.
 
Lessons learned in 2011
 
In 2011, construction focused on the stretch of University between Hamline and Emerald Street, also known as Segment 1. In this area, U7 Staff, consultants, interns and volunteers worked one-on-one with 51 small business owners; 25 of which successfully applied for the Ready for Rail Forgivable Loan. U7 provided extensive services and resources to those 51 business owners, totaling 1548.8 hours of technical assistance, material production and coaching. Specific examples include assistance with bookkeeping, accounting, cash-flow projections, preparing financial statements, legal, logo development, branding, interior design, window signage, pre-façade improvement work, city issues, construction issues, marketing, social media, securing catering opportunities for restaurants, assisting with forgivable loan applications, media press and promotions. In addition, U7 staff engaged several businesses in the Discover the Central Corridor marketing efforts, promoting a coupon book, loyalty cards and other events.
 
Our observation of construction impacts so far is that small business owners drastically underestimated the impacts that construction would have on their businesses and often requested assistance from U7 at the last minute. Those last minute requests were difficult for us to address effectively. U7 has also found that businesses that survived Segment 1 construction are still experiencing a downturn in sales due to changes in customer traffic patterns – both vehicle and pedestrian. This year, our efforts will be to reach out to those Segment 1 businesses and engage our partners in a coordinated effort to restore traffic patterns.
 
Challenges in 2012
 
In 2012, construction will begin on Segment 2 which is the portion of University Avenue between Hamline and Rice. The biggest challenge facing U7 as we seek to serve these business owners is to gather more hands on deck to enable us to respond to last minute requests. Another challenge is that there are significantly more storefronts in Segment 2 when compared to Segment 1. This means higher demand for our services, and our corresponding work load will likely be much larger than last year. This brings us to our last challenge; a large majority of the businesses that operate in Segment 2 are Asian-owned small businesses. Although our engagement and partnerships with the Asian community continue to develop and improve, we still have considerable work ahead in developing strong relationships with this community.
 
How will U7 overcome the challenges?
 
We will work to form new and strengthen current partnerships with Asian organizations and increase our current level of outreach to Asian business owners. Recently we have seen positive results from these efforts. We will make stronger connections with Asian press agencies and place articles and advertisements in local papers about U7 services.
 
U7 will continue to conduct extensive door-to-door, print promotions and web outreach about the forgivable loan program targeted at eligible businesses. U7 will again conduct specific workshops about the forgivable loan in conjunction with Neighborhood Development Center’s Loan Officers. We will also provide one-on-one accounting, bookkeeping assistance and offer the full menu of U7 services to program applicants.
 
U7 staff and partners (Sparc, Greater Frogtown Community Development Corporation, and Aurora St. Anthony Neighborhood Development Corporation) recently launched the U7 Façade Improvement Program and will facilitate about 15 façade improvement projects. U7 will continue to coordinate with the Asian Economic Development Association on façade improvements for Little Mekong (the area around the Western Station).
 
We are excited to partner with the Business Resources Collaborative to launch a new program, hopefully in May 2012, called the Discover the Central Corridor Business Backer Program. The purpose of the program is to provide moral and financial support for the businesses struggling with disruption from light-rail construction.  Simply put, the program provides communities – such as neighborhoods, churches, or employees of nearby businesses - a short-term, informal “adoption” process to help one or two specific Central Corridor businesses get through the hard times.
 
All in all, we feel encouraged by the work U7 accomplished in 2011 and are hopeful that our preparations and planning will prove fruitful for 2012.
 
For more information, visit us online at http://universityseven.squarespace.com.

Nancy Homans, Office of Saint Paul Mayor Christopher B. Coleman
February 2, 2012

The Ready for Rail Forgivable Loan Program was launched in May 2011 as a modest “safety net” for small businesses whose sales would be affected by light rail construction. 

Data collected through the first year of construction reveal that the loans successfully mitigated the losses experienced by dozens of small women- and minority-owned businesses in the Corridor.

In total, 82 businesses shared over $1.3 million in loans.  Of the 66 businesses for whom data are available, two-thirds are owned by people of color or women.  Sixteen of them reported pre-construction monthly sales less than $5,000 and suffered, on average, a 47% loss of sales—with some as high as 80%.  For 13 of them, the loan covered all of the sales lost during construction. 

Financed by the Metropolitan Council, City of Saint Paul and the Central Corridor Funders Collaborative, the one-of-a-kind $4 million fund offers loans of up to $20,000 per business to cover lost sales.  The no-interest loans will be forgiven in equal installments over five years as long as the business remains in the Central Corridor.  Businesses that move will be expected to repay the remaining balance.

The program is administered by the Neighborhood Development Center in St. Paul and the Metropolitan Consortium for Community Developers in Minneapolis, both of whom have long established relationships with small businesses, especially those owned by women and people of color. 

Forty-seven of the 82 businesses served were on University Avenue in Saint Paul with the balance split between Minneapolis’ Cedar-Riverside and Stadium Village (27) and St. Paul’s Lowertown/ downtown (7). The individual loans ranged from $1,105 to $20,000.    

Based on the data provided by businesses in their loan applications, we are better equipped to understand how they have been affected by construction.* A few summary conclusions based on the program’s first year:

• Different types of businesses were impacted differently.  In general, bars and restaurants suffered less of an impact than small retail stores.  Average monthly sales for bars and restaurants fell 20 percent during construction while retail stores experienced a 39 percent decline.  Having said that, there was considerable variability within all classes with losses for bars/restaurants ranging from 2 percent to 65 percent and retail stores from 4 to 84 percent.

• The smallest businesses, typically independent retail stores, experienced the greatest impact, but that impact (because the dollar amounts were relatively small) was substantially mitigated by the loan fund. 

• There is variability between geographic segments with respect to loss of sales—Lowertown/Downtown loan recipients reported an average loss of 10% while those on the south side of University Avenue around the Raymond Station posted a 39% average loss.  The explanation for that variability, however, is not readily apparent. (It does not appear to be explained by, for instance, the duration of construction, the residential density of the surrounding area or socio-economic status.)  Part of it is explained by the number of restaurants in a given segment. Stadium Village, for instance, where two-thirds of the loan recipients are restaurants, experienced a lower average loss (21%) than other segments in the Corridor.  Losses for non-restaurants, however, are comparable to those in other segments so the presence of restaurants does not appear to affect the surrounding businesses.  Lowertown/ Downtown St. Paul, by contrast, posted an average loss of 10% that is not explained by the number of restaurants in the area. 

With construction for the first year ending on November 30, applications were accepted until December 31, 2011.  The process will be re-opened after construction gets underway again in the spring.  In the interim, the loan administrators and funders will be reviewing the experience of the first year and, potentially, making adjustments suggested by that review.

Further information on the Ready for Rail Loan Fund is available at http://www.ndc-mn.org/ReadyForRailForgivableLoan. 

* 12 businesses were found to be ineligible to apply for loans, half of which were not able to document any loss in sales.  This analysis does not include data from those businesses or, of course, businesses that chose not to apply for whatever reason.

Chris Ferguson, Stadium Village Business Owner, BRC Chair
January 25, 2012
 
As we head into the New Year, the Business Resources Collaborative (BRC) is pleased to report that we have made significant progress on many of the goals we set for 2011. Granted, not all of our goals have been met in full; but with a year of construction under our belts, we are better educated about the supports and resources Central Corridor businesses will need to survive – and thrive – during the 2012 construction season. And we are ready to look ahead to a “post-construction world” by exploring economic development strategies that will help ensure locally-owned businesses flourish and good jobs grow along the corridor.

Construction Mitigation

• With ongoing input from the BRC, the Met Council has continually developed and improved upon communication protocols for notifying affected properties about construction starts, temporary access plans, and disruptions to utilities, sidewalks and driveways. Unforeseen changes in the construction schedule that are not communicated to the Council continue to surprise business owners with impacts or outages that can make a day’s work untenable.  The BRC is working very closely with Met Council staff and contractors to lessen these occurrences in the 2012 construction seasons.
• The City of Saint Paul has created a $1.5 million fund to help businesses retool their parking. To date, $1,325,000 in funding for 24 parking improvements projects has been approved. Customer awareness of and access to parking continues to be a challenge. The BRC will continue to seek additional parking solutions.
• The BRC continues to work with the CCPO and the cities to improve signage to better direct customers to open businesses and available parking. In the year ahead, we will work to increase directional signage, use of social media and websites to inform the public of both.

Business Support

• The BRC’s Ready for Rail website, readyforrail.net, is in the process of a small evolution. The site provides timely information about construction schedules and resources available to support businesses along the corridor in Minneapolis and St. Paul, and the intention is to make the site more user-friendly and action-oriented. The companion Ready for Rail packet, available in Spanish, English, Hmong, Vietnamese and Somali, has been widely distributed. It will be updated and redistributed in early 2012.
• A $4 Million Ready for Rail Forgivable Loan Program was funded by the Metropolitan Council, City of St. Paul and Central Corridor Funders Collaborative. Loans of up to $20,000 are available to locally-owned small businesses along the Central Corridor with a loss in sales due to the construction. To date, $1,170,736 in loans has been disbursed to 71 businesses. Many businesses have used the loan for basic expenses, including payroll, inventory, rent/mortgage, utilities, taxes, marketing, and insurance. Early in 2012, funders and loan administrators will review data from the first year of the loan program to determine what, if any, improvements should be made to the program going forward.
• “Discover Central Corridor,” a corridor-wide marketing initiative led by the St. Paul Area and Midway Chambers of Commerce has successfully encouraged supporting businesses along the Central Corridor. The grassroots marketing campaign, led by Nemer Feiger, is designed to drive customer traffic during construction. Programs have included a progressive dinner sponsored by Target, a coupon book, sponsorship of the first Gopher football game and street teams at several events in St. Paul and Minneapolis. For more information, visit DisoverCentralCorridor.com.
• In February, 2012, the Met Council will hire a firm to lead marketing duties along the Corridor. The BRC will continue to play an advisory role to the new marketing team.
• BRC members have and will continue to provide invaluable business planning and preparation, financial, legal, and marketing services to businesses along the corridor. To date U7 has helped more than 218 businesses. For more information visit universityseven.squarespace.com. 

Economic Development

Looking ahead, the BRC will dedicated more energy to its economic development objectives – namely, ensuring locally-owned business retention and growth along the Corridor, and helping residents up and down the Corridor prepare for and access living-wage jobs that are created. The BRC will convene meetings specifically around economic development topics to help us identify and promote strategies for ensuring sustainable growth along the Corridor. There are already some tools in place:

• In 2011, the Twin Cities was awarded a Living Cities “Corridor of Opportunities” grant to advance the implementation and construction of sustainable development along the Central Corridor and other transitways in the metro. As part of the award, a $700,000 small businesses loan fund for expansion and real estate acquisition, managed by the Neighborhood Development Center, is available. To date, $58,000 has been distributed.  
• Jobs Central is an employment and workforce pilot project also sponsored by the Corridors of Opportunity. The pilot’s goal is to support local industry job growth—and increase access to existing and emerging jobs for Corridor residents who are immigrant, low-income and/or persons of color. The BRC will work closely with Jobs Central to accomplish these goals.

We see a bright future along the Central Corridor – one that benefits existing and future business owners along the Corridor and throughout the surrounding neighborhoods. We are grateful for very close working relationships with, and support from, Met Council, contractors, and the Central Corridor Funders Collaborative to be able to bring forward our vision for a thriving commercial corridor.
 
For more information, visit www.FundersCollaborative.org.

By Funders Collaborative, January 19, 2012

Building light rail infrastructure is a major feat unto itself, but as Central Corridor stakeholders are well aware, doing so is only half of the task. Planning for connections to and from the light rail is of equal importance. Can people easily access the line? How do we ensure their safety? Are connections convenient and timely? Are we addressing the needs of the local community? How can we best maximize opportunities to create welcoming places to live, shop and work?

On January 12, Funders Collaborative members and Central Corridor bicycle, pedestrian, and transit stakeholders came together to discuss “Connections to the Central Corridor” as part of the Funders Collaborative’s first Learning Session of 2012. The event was hosted by the Funders Collaborative, in partnership with the Metropolitan Council, the City of St. Paul and Transit for Livable Communities.

During the session, attendees learned about transit connections, infrastructure connections, and ‘programming’ connections to the Central Corridor, including several dozen efforts currently planned or underway. 40% of all riders are expected to use transit to access the line, and 60% will be bikers and pedestrians, according to John Levin with Metro Transit, highlighting that planful connections are critical to the line’s success.

While different types of connection planning are underway across cities, there are consistencies in the work taking place along the Central Corridor, as learned from presentations featuring John Levin (Metro Transit), Jessica Rosenfeld (St. Paul Planning and Economic Development), Shaun Murphy and Haila Maze (City of Minneapolis Public Works and Community Planning and Economic Development, respectively), and Joan Pasiuk (Transit for Livable Communities).

• Even outside of the Central Corridor, there is an immense amount of work already taking place to plan for bicycle, pedestrian, and transit connections (Presentation materials with examples are included below).
• Community input is crucial to success. One example where extensive community engagement is taking place is Metro Transit’s Central Corridor Transit Services Study, which seeks to maximize efficiency and effectiveness of bus service in and around the corridor.  For this study, Metro Transit will expand upon its tradition community input practices and incorporate the Trusted Advocate Outreach model in partnership with the District Councils Collaborative of Saint Paul and Minneapolis. This model outreach effort will hire community members to directly engage their neighbors.
• Extensive planning has been done by both cities for bicycle and pedestrian connections to and from the Corridor. Implementation of these plans is well underway, but it will take time to fully realize the plans.  Often, route improvements are easier and less expensive to implement if they are incorporated into other projects or improvements already in the works. For example, adding on-street bike lanes to roads that are being repaved or restriped requires minimal effort to make a big difference. Similarly, bridges being built or rebuilt can add a bike/pedestrian path for minimal incremental cost, especially when compared to the cost of building a completely separate structure.
• Safety is a primary concern across all connection modes. From traffic planning to countdown timers to clear signage to pedestrian-friendly sidewalks and ramps, planners are working to ensure the safest access possible in and around the Corridor.
• Given extensive plans and limited resources, each presenter talked about how they prioritize projects along the Corridor. When asked about how cities make decisions, Saint Paul City Council Member Russ Stark suggested that it’s necessary to be both planful (including setting strategic priorities) and opportunistic (being able to take advantage of opportunities as they arise).  

During the discussion, participants raised areas of opportunity (where they might work together), in addition to raising questions that remain open.

• How do we fill in the connection “blanks”? For example, how can cities, businesses and communities leverage opportunities like Nice Ride or HOURCAR to help bridge gaps?
• When implementing bicycle and pedestrian connections: what are the essential elements versus elements that make a great place? What is the mechanism to make sure that great placemaking occurs?
• How do we get choice riders to think that they are a part of transit?
• How do we change the conversation to think about how much cars cost versus what transit costs? (Ex: parking becomes a commodity, not an expectation.)
• Can this be the corridor that changes how families use transit? Can we create an easy, safe and enjoyable experience, perhaps even enabling families to build wealth (eliminating the need for an extra car)?
• While cities are creating locally relevant strategic plans, how do we begin creating a regional plan that can guide all of our work and allow us to tap into Federal funding?

Participants recognized while there are still gaps to fill and work to be done, the Central Corridor stakeholders are well down the path to creating workable and inviting connections that will enable people to access the new light rail line by transit, bicycle or on foot.

January 13, 2012 Learning Session Materials

Meeting Agenda

Bike, Ped and Transit Connections - Resources and Information

Central Corridor Sector Study- Project Summary

Minneapolis Central Corridor Bike Ped Update

Saint Paul Central Corridor Developments

Bike Walk Central Corridor Action Plan

January 12, 2012

By Carol Swenson, Executive Director, District Councils Collaborative of Saint Paul and Minneapolis

"You've made a difference and we will use you as an example across the country...that if you hang together, have great projects that are for the people, and work with your delegation, you can make things happen."  Department of Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, January 2010.

What was Secretary LaHood talking about?  The successful Stops for Us community campaign to restore three missing stations to the Central Corridor Light Rail Transit line. After three years of community organizing, research, advocacy, and plain old tenacity, there would be light rail stations at Western Avenue, Victoria Street, and Hamline Avenue to provide equitable transit service to those who needed it the most. And, along the way, the coalition provided Federal Transit Administrator Peter Rogoff with the ammunition he needed to change a federal policy and clear the path for building these stations.

The significance of this accomplishment was marked on December 11, 2011, when Lisa Garcia, Senior Advisor on Environmental Justice to Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Jackson, presented the Stops for Us coalition with a National Achievements in Environmental Justice award. Nearly 175 community members and public officials gathered at the Gordon Parks High School on University Avenue to celebrate the occasion. Professor Nekima Levy-Pounds emceed the ceremony, which opened with photographs from Wing Young Huie’s acclaimed University Avenue Project. Saint Paul Mayor Chris Coleman delivered the Proclamation of December 11, 2011 as Stops for Us Environmental Justice Day and Ramsey County Commissioner Toni Carter and Metropolitan Council Chair Susan Haigh delivered remarks honoring the community and recognizing the governmental units and the Central Corridor Funders Collaborative, who assembled quickly the 50 percent local match to federal funding for the stations.

The centerpiece of the evening, though, was the telling of the Stops for Us story. Coalition leaders Anne White, Va-Megn Thoj, and Nieeta Presley recalled the devastating impact that construction of I-94 had on the Rondo neighborhood and the African American community, what was at stake for the community if the stations weren’t built, the organizing and research that put the stations back on the table for consideration, the agonizing times when relationships were tried and trust had to be rebuilt, and the final realization that indeed the missing stations would be built and a Draconian federal policy would be changed to boot!

Despite all the complexities and nuances of the tale, the message was really quite simple. The victory of building the stations is something to be celebrated, but the story isn’t finished. There is much work yet to do and we all need to work together to ensure that all communities along the corridor benefit equitably — that no community is left behind.

Through the generous support of the Central Corridor Funders Collaborative and the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, the Stops for Us coalition is proud to share the campaign story and lessons learned in a short publication that is available online. For more information, please contact the District Councils Collaborative of Saint Paul and Minneapolis at info@dcc-stpaul-mpls.org or 651-528-8165.

The Central Corridor Light Rail Transit line stands out as a national model on many fronts, as well it should. But without the community standing united, it would not have raised the bar on transportation equity as much as it has.

Upcoming Events:

Save the Date: Funders Collaborative Annual Stakeholder Event

May 9, 2012

8 a.m. – 10 a.m.

Wilder Foundation, St. Paul

January 6, 2012

In the fourth quarter of 2011, the Funders Collaborative awarded nine grants totaling $363,375. The grants support three of four Funders Collaborative goals, including the creation of a Strong Local Economy, Vibrant Transit-Oriented Places, and Effective Coordination and Collaboration.

A few highlights from Q4 include:

STRONG LOCAL ECONOMY

Ramsey County received a grant of $75,000 to support the convening of the Jobs Central initiative, a project seeking to integrate economic development and workforce development efforts along the Central Corridor. Sponsored by the Corridors of Opportunity initiative, this pilot project will demonstrate how to align skills assessment, training, and employment services provided to local residents with the employment needs of businesses, institutions, and industry clusters along the Corridor. The pilot’s goal is to support local industry job growth—and increase access to existing and emerging jobs for Corridor residents who are immigrant, low-income and/or persons of color.

VIBRANT TRANSIT-ORIENTED PLACES

District Councils’ Collaborative of Minneapolis and Saint Paul received a $75,000 grant, which will be used to support the Trusted Advocate Community Engagement project for the Central Corridor Transit Sector Study. Successfully used in Seattle, Washington and Oakland, California, the Trusted Advocate engagement model contracts with a member of specific communities to lead engagement of his/her community in a public process. In anticipation of the Central Corridor, Metro Transit is reviewing bus service to maximize effectiveness and efficiency. The study will look at development projects and other plans to ensure that transit service meets needs now and in the future, and Metro Transit and DCC of Minneapolis and St. Paul want to ensure deep community involvement in this process. Trusted Advocates will serve as liaisons and reduce cultural and language barriers to receive effective input.

A $10,000 grant was given to Historic Saint Paul, a non-profit organization with a mission to preserve, protect and enhance the historic character of Saint Paul neighborhoods. The grant will be used to promote the redevelopment of historic properties in the Central Corridor.

2011 Annual Grantmaking Total

In 2011, the Funders Collaborative made 28 grants worth $1,631,375, bringing the overall total to 65 grants worth $4.7M within four key areas, including Access to Affordable Housing, Strong Local Economy, Vibrant Transit-Oriented Places, and Coordination and Collaboration. For a full list of investments, click here.

Upcoming Events

May 9, 2012: Save the Date! Funders Collaborative Annual Stakeholder Event

8 a.m. – 10 a.m.

Wilder Foundation

By Funders Collaborative, December 20, 2011

The Central Corridor Funders Collaborative will head into the new year with close to $5 million available to invest in the Central Corridor during 2012-13. The latest round of pledges from its members pushes the total raised to just over $10 million since the group was formed in 2008 to ensure that residents, leaders and business owners are involved in and benefit from the investment in and around the light rail line connecting the Twin Cities.
 
“Through our Catalyst Fund, we’ve awarded close to $4.5 million to inform, engage and support community partnerships that are helping to build strong neighborhoods along the new rail line,” said Polly Talen, program director for the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation and Funders Collaborative co-chair. “The efforts are working – and have drawn in an additional $48 million for related work in the Corridor area and region.”
 
The Funders Collaborative surpassed the $10 million mark with new, $250,000-plus per year commitments from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, McKnight Foundation, F.R. Bigelow Foundation, Ford Foundation and The St. Paul Foundation.
 
The Catalyst Fund investment model aims to encourage residents, leaders and business owners to learn about Corridor issues together, develop solutions that address shared goals and then work together to implement innovative, high impact projects. The effort focuses on working across the public and private sectors – and across geographic boundaries – to engage groups that have not typically been included in policy making and implementation.
 
Most of the Catalyst Fund grants have supported and been aligned with broad-based working groups building corridor-wide, shared solutions for affordable housing, business and economic development, contractor and workforce inclusion, job access and development of an investment framework to maximize the impact of public, private and non-profit sector investment in the Corridor.
 
Grants have ranged from $2,500 toward a consultation on creating manufacturing jobs in the Corridor to a $500,000 contribution to the Ready for Rail loan program helping small businesses prepare for construction.
 
The working group that has received and coordinated the largest share of funding, with $1.4 million so far, has been the Business Resources Collaborative (BRC), which was created to encourage businesses to prepare for construction and be in a position to thrive once the Central Corridor line begins operation. The BRC and its members have together coordinated over $10 million of new investment benefiting businesses along the Corridor.
 
Another major initiative is The Big Picture Project, which is helping to coordinate investments in affordable housing. So far, the project has brought together 24 participants from government, finance, development and community groups to look at how affordable housing can be preserved, developed and financed throughout the Corridor.
 
“We’re not just engaging the traditional participants in traditional policy areas,” said Ann Mulholland, vice president of grants and program at The Saint Paul Foundation and Funders Collaborative co-chair. “For example, we invested $75,000 in Springboard for the Arts to support Irrigate, an artist-led community development project that aims to engage artists and community members to create a cultural corridor along the line.
 
“A community grows and prospers where people share a strong attachment to place,” she said. “In the next two years, the Funders Collaborative will be focused on supporting inclusive, community-based projects that fit the focus of these working groups.”
 
About the Central Corridor Funders Collaborative
The Funders Collaborative is a coalition of 13 local and national funders who came together to ensure that the adjoining neighborhoods, residents and businesses broadly share in the benefits of public and private investment in the Central Corridor Light Rail Line connecting Minneapolis and St. Paul.
 
Members include:  Annie E. Casey Foundation, F. R. Bigelow Foundation, Ford Foundation, John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, Living Cities, Inc., McKnight Foundation, The Minneapolis Foundation, Northwest Area Foundation, Otto Bremer Foundation, Jay and Rose Phillips Family Foundation of Minnesota, The Saint Paul Foundation, Surdna Foundation, and Travelers Foundation.
 
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Irrigate Photo Credit: Zoey Prinds Flash 

Erik Takeshita, Twin Cities Local Initiatives Support Corporation
Betsy Altheimer, Springboard for the Arts
Joe Spencer, Saint Paul Mayor Chris Coleman’s Office
Laura Zabel, Springboard for the Arts
Carol Coletta, ArtPlace
Jun-Li Wang, Springboard for  the Arts

By Funders Collaborative

November 22, 2011

The role of Anchor Institutions in local economies is having a resurgence of sorts according to research done by the Initiative for a Competitive Inner-City (ICIC), which focuses attention on the natural competiveness of location and infrastructure provided by our nation’s inner cities. With the Central Corridor under construction, the Twin Cities offers a platform to explore the role of local anchors – especially in relation to the aligned efforts of the “Corridors of Opportunity”.  On November 3, the Central Corridor Funders Collaborative and other collaborating partners including the Met Council explored how the educational and health care institutions (“eds” and “meds”) located along and near the Central Corridor can work together in a more coordinated way to enhance their self-interest while benefiting the neighborhoods along the corridor. (Program materials available here.)

At the event, Mary Kay Leonard, president and CEO of Initiative for a Competitive Inner City (ICIC), presented the idea of “creating shared value”, or the blending of anchor competitiveness and community vitality, as a way anchor institutions can positively impact cities across the country. The way in which medical and educational campuses and arts/cultural institutions are often geographically clustered offers the ability to collaboratively develop common workforce, purchase goods and services, and build community.

The big question for the Central Corridor, according to Leonard, is threefold: what are the anchor institutions, what do they do currently, and how can we leverage their location and attributes? An Environmental Scan of the corridor commissioned by the McKnight Foundation addressed these questions. The approach of the Environmental Scan was to concentrate on “the three Ps;” Placemaking, Personnel and Procurement. Perhaps most striking was a simple map of the Twin Cities illustrating the proximity of its anchor institutions to transit, which highlights nine medical facilities (“meds”) and seven college campuses (“eds”) along the Central Corridor alone, accounting for 67,000 jobs and 111,500 students overall.

The 100 capital projects worth $5 billion presently underway or planned at the anchor institutions along the Central Corridor, as well as construction of light rail itself, represents a significant placemaking opportunity. Additional opportunities along the corridor include:

• More housing construction and “last mile” connections (the distance from the platform to the final destination), such as pedestrian improvements and shuttle buses.
• A cooperative program to provide academic financial assistance, internships and mentoring, and training for the various health care institutions along the line, perhaps targeting the youth and low-income populations in the surrounding community to find career-oriented work.
• Common purchasing by anchor institutions of goods and services preferably sourced locally.

A combination of responses by Kate Wolford of the McKnight Foundation, Donna Zimmerman of HealthPartners, and Dr. Robert Jones of the University of Minnesota, along with a breakout session provided a chance for attendees to provide local reaction and brainstorming for solutions. A prominent theme was procurement, as the ability to buy local and use local vendors for supplies and services is an excellent way to save resources and grow local jobs. The example provided by several health care institutions in Cleveland was oft cited. In addition, relationships with local banks could be explored as a means of keeping investment dollars in the local economy, and educational institutions could work together on more student-led community initiatives.

Most notably, Peter McLaughlin, Hennepin County Commissioner, pointed out the need for top leadership to be on board and hold each other and public officials accountable for progress and implementation on any potential initiatives among anchors. The successful example of the Phillips Partnership in Minneapolis was cited. Looking forward, the idea of top leadership working to create shared value using the “three Ps” presents significant opportunities for the corridor.  

The Corridors of Opportunity framework provides an extremely rich mix of committed public sector leadership, non-profit focus, and funder interest in exploring a collective way to engage anchors and yield results that creates new shared value to the anchors, people and neighborhoods along the line. 

Related Event:

In full coordination with the Central Corridor Funders Collaborative anchor convening, the previous day the executive leadership from all of the Anchor institutions on the Central Corridor were brought together by The McKnight Foundation, Augsburg College, and HealthPartners for a similar learning event (find meeting materials here.)

November 17, 2011
By Big Picture Project Co-Chairs Gretchen Nicholls (Twin Cities Local Initiatives Support Corporation), Tom Streitz (City of Minneapolis) and Al Carlson (City of Saint Paul)

After four months of throwing ideas against a wall to see what sticks, the Big Picture Project Team revealed its draft proposal for a Central Corridor Affordable Housing Coordinated Plan at the fourth and final Community Forum last night (November 15, 2011).

The process was named to underscore the importance of keeping the “Big Picture” in sight while focusing on specific opportunities for strategic investment. Within the larger vision for the Central Corridor, affordable housing plays a vital role in creating access to opportunity for those most in need. Our investments in affordable housing must integrate anti-displacement and mortgage prevention, market rate housing, small business opportunities and jobs, green space, good design principles, and positive placemaking. By raising some boats, we must raise all boats.  

The goals of affordable housing also have to align with the other priorities for the corridor. Setting guidelines for what should be preserved and what should change requires strong community engagement. And achieving results requires robust developer capacity, a committed set of finance partners, and governmental leadership that sets the stage for private investment. To quote Albert Einstein, "The significant problems we face cannot be solved at the same level of thinking we were at when we created them.” 

It’s important to remember that placemaking means different things to the diverse communities along the corridor. To achieve a corridor-wide vision of equity and vitality, housing must both respond to current contexts and seed future opportunities. Families that already live here must be supported to stay and thrive, while culturally and economically diverse new residents must be drawn to the area by the quality of life and mix of housing options.

Finding the right mix

An optimal mix of housing options along the Central Corridor will require a range of strategies and policies. Through the coordination of public and private investment, we hope to achieve greater impact in advancing our shared goals. A unified housing strategy for the whole corridor can not only attract millions of investment dollars to this stretch of the Twin Cities, it can stabilize existing housing stock, preserve affordable rentals, and make sure new development projects improve the quality of life for residents in the surrounding neighborhoods.

From ideas suggested by other national models and by our local partners, we’ve divided our options into the following policies and strategies. New resources and innovation are imperative. Multiple strategies will be needed to achieve our goals that include two critical areas:

I. Invest in activities that help low-income people stay in their homes, and address substandard and vacant properties

II. Invest in the production and preservation of long-term affordable housing

To demonstrate strong commitment to building out a greater potential for investment, the coordinated plan identifies a numeric goal that nearly doubles the baseline projection for new and preserved affordable housing units; a feat that will only occur if new resources (public and private) and ways of doing business are identified.

For more information, visit our Affordable Housing Group page, download the Draft Recommendations, or contact Gretchen Nicholls, Twin Cities LISC, 651-265-2280 or gnicholls@lisc.org.

October 26, 2011

Work in the Central Corridor – both the light rail construction and the work ‘beyond the rail’ – is picking up its pace. The Central Corridor Funders Collaborative has expanded its learning, convening, and grantmaking activities over the past year to participate in, and support, the great work underway to make the Corridor a place of opportunity for all.

We are now seeking a part-time Program Assistant to help expand our capacity. Can you help us find the right candidate for this position?

View the complete job description here and please share this link with those you think might be interested in this exciting opportunity: https://home.eease.adp.com/recruit/?id=990431.

Applications will be accepted until November 18.

Upcoming Events: 
Tuesday, November 15:  The Big Picture Project: Community Forum #4
6-8 p.m.
Reviewing the Recommendations
Ewald Consulting
1000 Westgate Drive, Suite 252, St. Paul 55114 (near Hwy 280 and University Ave W.)