A catalyst for community

Exploring Hennepin County’s support for affordable commercial space and community institutions.

Hennepin County has invested in transit-oriented communities (TOC) for over 20 years. The understanding of TOC, and what the Hennepin County program has funded has evolved over this time. Since 2020, the county has placed greater emphasis on supporting a range of projects that contribute to vibrant, walkable, mixed-use, and human-centered communities. These projects include community institutions providing critical services and programming, and developments that offer affordable commercial space for local small businesses.

In 2022, the county created a one-time program dedicated to funding such efforts, the Community Investment Initiative (CII). The CII was designed to advance economic recovery and increase long-term economic opportunity in Hennepin County communities most significantly impacted by the pandemic.

Through the CII program, the county invested $6.88 million in 13 projects across Hennepin County, with 85% of that funding awarded to projects in communities that have historically faced disinvestment. Combined, the projects will include 496 affordable commercial spaces, including 13 ownership opportunities. Housing and Economic Development staff designed the CII program to be a flexible approach to developing affordable commercial space via business incubators, commercial ownership, land trusts, cooperatives, or lower rents. While the CII program was made possible through one-time pandemic recovery funding, the county will continue to prioritize investments in neighborhood-serving small business, cultural, and community assets.

Mikwanedun Audisookon

The Indigenous Peoples Task Force (IPTF)’s new center for culture, arts and wellness Mikwanedun Audisookon translates to “remember our teachings” in Ojibwe.

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 at the groundbreaking celebration. “It’s more than just a project and building. It’s absolutely a commitment in terms of our relationship moving forward.”

Hennepin County supported Mikwanedun Audisookon with a $750,000 Community Investment Initiative award.

Indigenous Peoples Task Force programs incorporate the Seven Grandfather Teachings, which honor the following values: love, respect, bravery, truth, honesty, humility, and wisdom.

“Fulfilling those value systems is what makes us indigenous,” said IPTF executive director Sharon Day. “The new building will be a central place where young people can come and learn what does it mean to be Indigenous.”

NKB Lofts

Artspace’s NKB Lofts will bring new life to three historic industrial buildings within the Northrup King Building campus in the heart of the vibrant Northeast Minneapolis 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.

The county awarded the project more than $1.8 million from a variety of funding sources, including a $500,000 CII award to support the development of affordable studio and commercial spaces to increase access to emerging artists, entrepreneurs of color, and cultural organizations.

NKB Lofts will feature 84 live/work units of affordable housing for artists and their families for income-qualifying artists from all cultural backgrounds. It will also have 8,120 square feet of commercial space for artists.

Beyond the investment in affordable housing and commercial space, this redevelopment project will include new green spaces and better connections for walkers and bikers – making it easier to navigate this amazing arts complex.

Pillsbury Creative Commons 

Pillsbury Creative Commons (PCC) is a multi-phase development that will expand and renovate Pillsbury House + Theatre. Located just north of George Floyd Square in south Minneapolis, the development will create an expanded arts and economic development hub that will provide first of its kind theatre and media arts job skills and entrepreneurship training, paid internships, and job placement for Black and Brown artists.

Phase I of PCC will include a new scenic workshop, recording studios, and two units of artist housing. The project will create new career pathways for local BIPOC youth in high-paying, high-demand fields where they are currently underrepresented.

The county has awarded the project roughly $710,000, including a $300,000 CII award to support site acquisition, a $395,000 TOC award and approximately $14,000 in Environmental Response Fund brownfields gap financing program funds for construction of Phase I.

Small business incubators

The county has also provided funding support for two other development projects underway in Minneapolis that will provide affordable commercial space to entrepreneurs: the Unity Project on Lake Street and NEON’s Collective Kitchens food incubator project on West Broadway.

The Unity Project, developed by Grass Roots Developers, celebrates the confluence of Latine and African cultures on Lake Street. The building will provide affordable commercial space to neighborhood-serving businesses owned by immigrants and people of color and was thoughtfully designed to contribute to a vibrant public realm along the corridor.

The Northside Economic Opportunity Network (NEON)’s Collective Kitchens project in North Minneapolis will provide affordable commercial kitchen space – a scarce resource in the Twin Cities – to hundreds of food entrepreneurs looking to launch and grow their businesses here in Hennepin County.

These projects exemplify the heart of the county’s economic development strategy – supporting local entrepreneurs and community-driven development in places that have long faced disinvestment.