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.

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

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.)

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.)

Jim Roth, Metropolitan Consortium of Community Developers

February 15, 2011

Six months ago, the Business Resources Collaborative (BRC), along with Met Council Chair Peter Bell and Mayors R.T. Rybak and Chris Coleman, publicly announced a comprehensive Central Corridor work plan that encompassed three broad goals and 29 strategic objectives. Since that time, the BRC has been hard at work making progress on the goals and objectives. 

Construction Mitigation

• The Met Council established and communicated a number of standards for notifying affected properties in regard to construction starts, temporary access plans, and disruptions to utilities, sidewalks and driveways. Detailed communication plans have been distributed to areas scheduled for March construction, including brochures, e-newsletters, and posters to keep business and property owners informed about construction.
• The City of Saint Paul and the Met Council identified ‘hot spots’ where parking changes present challenges and the City of Saint Paul created a $1.5 million fund to help businesses retool their parking.
• As utility relocation got underway in Lowertown, the Met council worked with the businesses to improve signage to better direct customers. The contractors are in the process of developing construction access and signage plans and will soon share with property owners.

Business Support

• BRC members (including U7, Asian Economic Development Association, University Avenue Betterment Association, African Development Center and the Metropolitan Consortium of Community Developers) continue to offer financial, legal, and marketing services.  Both cities also have staff meeting directly with businesses up and down the corridor to address specific concerns.
• In addition to these direct services, corridor-wide efforts are taking shape, including: “Discover Central Corridor,” a St. Paul Chamber marketing initiative intended to encourage local shopping; a Midway Chamber-led grassroots campaign designed to encourage customer traffic during construction; and a “loyalty” card program to involve large employers and institutions.
• The “Ready for Rail” package originally announced in July has been distributed and is available in Spanish, English, Hmong Vietnamese and Somali. The companion “Ready for Rail” website is also up and running with information about construction schedules and resources for businesses in Minneapolis and St. Paul.
• Also announced in July, the Central Corridor Loan Fund is a $1.5 million fund available for loans of up to $10,000 to qualifying small businesses. With the early utility relocation in Lowertown already underway, three businesses there were able to secure loans.  An RFP will be released soon to determine the administrator(s) of the fund as it expands to the rest of the Corridor.

Economic Development

• As we look to the future of possibilities along the corridor, there is a new resource for small businesses along this and other major transit corridors. In late October, the Twin Cities was selected as one of five regions for an award by the Living Cities “Corridor of Opportunities” initiative. As part of the award, a new small businesses loan fund for expansion and real estate acquisition will be managed by the Neighborhood Development Center.

What’s Ahead

• With construction just around the corner, the BRC is refining an evaluation plan that will help monitor and assess business changes in the Corridor.
• The grassroots marketing campaign to help direct customer traffic to businesses affected by construction will be unveiled early in 2011.
• After months of gathering input, developing and implementing the initial plan, and studying evaluation indicators, the BRC is now evaluating and defining its responsibilities and priorities to determine its future role in the Central Corridor.