Request for Committee Action
A briefing memo explaining the purpose, background, and impact of the requested action.
Great Streets 2022 Business District Support Grant Agreements (RCA-2022-00219)
ORIGINATING DEPARTMENT
To Committee(s)
| # | Committee Name | Meeting Date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Business, Inspections, Housing & Zoning Committee | March 1, 2022 |
Action Item(s)
| # | File Type | Subcategory | Item Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Action | Contract/Agreement | Authorizing grant agreements funding business district revitalization activities with: Mpls. Regional Chamber Development Foundation (fiscal sponsor of Camdentown Minneapolis) for $39,000; Comunidades Latinas Unidas En Servicio for $31,100; Friends of Global Market for $20,000; Jungle Theater for $35,000; Lake Street Council for $52,500; Latino Economic Development Center for $20,000; Longfellow Business Association for $14,000; Lyndale Neighborhood Association for $24,000; Metro Blooms for $24,000; Midtown Greenway Coalition for $22,500; Minneapolis Downtown Council for $12,500; Northeast Minneapolis Chamber for $45,000; Seward Redesign Inc. for $35,000; Webber Camden Neighborhood Organization for $10,000; West Bank Business Association for $65,000; and Whittier Alliance for $15,000. |
Previous Actions
2020-00584 – Great Streets Program changes
2020-00088 - Great Streets Program Eligible Areas
2017-01284 - Great Streets Program Areas Categorization
2017-00366 - Great Streets Program changes
On May 9, 2014, the City Council approved a pilot project expanding program eligible areas to include three community corridors.
On April 27, 2007, the City Council reviewed and adopted the Great Streets Neighborhood Business District Program.
Ward / Neighborhood / Address
| # | Ward | Neighborhood | Address |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | All Wards |
Background Analysis
The Great Streets Business District Support (BDS) Program provides grants to local business associations, community development corporations, neighborhood groups, and other not-for-profit organizations working on commercial district health. This report recommends awarding $464,600 to 16 organizations.
The Business District Support Program began funding business district revitalization strategies on an annual basis in 2008, to help improve the economic health of the City’s business districts. The design of the BDS Program offers a customizable approach to assisting commercial districts. The program intentionally supports a variety of initiatives, some new and innovative, others the bread and butter of grassroots business organizations. All share the foundational goal to support commercial vitality and strengthen small businesses and overall district success.
For 2021, the program sought proposals for a wide range of activities with the overall goal to strengthen the economic vitality of a business district or group of businesses, enhance the cultural identity of a district, or expand a culture’s reach in the community; particularly those that support the work of Black, Indigenous or People of Color (BIPOC) businesses, that assist businesses with recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic and civil unrest, that uplift cultural identity of districts, and that support communities with existing disparities.
Great Streets Eligible Areas
The Great Streets Program began in 2007 to provide funding tools for commercial district revitalization. Great Streets consists of three primary tools: (1) Façade Improvement Matching Grants, (2) Business District Support Grants, and (3) Real Estate Redevelopment Gap Financing Loans. The City partners with community organizations to implement the program across the city. Great Streets resources are limited to the geographic areas in the City that are guided for commercial uses in the City’s comprehensive plan.
The program also categorizes the eligible areas according to an areas’ relative economic health. In May 2020, the City approved the approach to eligible area categorization based on four existing designations to identify parcels in one of two categories: eligible and priority eligible.
If an eligible parcel is within one of four designated areas listed below, it qualifies as a “priority eligible” parcel. All other eligible parcels would simply be “eligible.” Priority eligible parcels are those that lie within one of the following areas of the city:
- Cultural Districts
- Green Zones
- Areas of Concentrated Poverty where 50% or more of residents are people of color (ACP50)
- Promise Zone
This approach uses existing data analysis and aligns with existing City designations.
An online map shows all the eligible areas in blue or orange. The parcels in orange are those within one of the four designated areas and are priority eligible. The blue parcels are simply eligible parcels.
2021 Notice of Funding Availability
Proposals for BDS grants are solicited on an annual basis through a Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA) process. As outlined in the NOFA, there are four evaluation criteria: (1) whether the business district is in a priority area; (2) proven need, clear outcomes, and significant impact; (3) capacity of organizations, connection to partners, and readiness; and (4) amount of leverage and reasonableness of budget.
Staff issued the NOFA on November 5, 2021 with proposals due January 5, 2022. CPED received 18 proposals requesting a total of $1,024,201. Groups often proposed multiple types of activities or projects. The proposals were reviewed and evaluated by a team comprised of representatives from CPED Business Development and Small Business Team, Hennepin County, LISC, and Meet Minneapolis. This team scored the proposals based on the evaluation criteria.
Recommended for Funding
The review committee and staff formulated recommendations based on the highest scoring proposals and the most impactful strategies. As a result, staff recommends partially funding sixteen proposals, and not funding two proposals. The staff recommendation is shown alphabetically in the chart below. Administration expenses are capped at 15% of the total award.
|
Name |
Eligible Activity Descriptions |
Total Requested |
Total Recommended |
Not Recommended |
|
Camdentown Minneapolis (fiscal sponsor: Mpls. Regional Chamber Development Foundation) |
Project 1 - Banners - $20,000, Project 2 - Mural Installations - $17,500, |
$50,000 |
$39,000 |
$11,000 |
|
Comunidades Latinas Unidas En Servicio (CLUES) |
|
$75,000 |
$31,100 |
$43,900 |
|
Friends of Global Market |
Project 1 - Outdoor Community Celebration - $19,200, Project 2 - Carnival - $6,250, Project 3 - HOLI (Festival of Colors) - $5,250, Project 4 - Dia de Los Muertos - $5,250, Project 5 - Kwanzaa - $8,550, Project 6 - Diwali - $5,500 - Total funding for events reduced to $20,000 |
$50,000 |
$20,000 |
$30,000 |
|
Jungle Theater |
Project 1 - Street Art Installations - $ |
$50,000 |
$35,000 |
$15,000 |
|
Lake Street Council |
Project 1 - Expand Reimagine Lake Street - $30,000, Project 2 - Telling Lake Street's Story - $22,500, |
$75,000 |
$52,500 |
$22,500 |
|
Latino Economic Development Center |
Project 1 - Taco Tour + 3 Cultural/Educational - |
$75,000 |
$20,000 |
$55,000 |
|
Longfellow Business Association |
Project 1 - Security Grants Outreach - $3,500, Project 2 - Artist in Residence Program - $10,500, |
$49,700 |
$14,000 |
$35,700 |
|
Lyndale Neighborhood Association |
Project 1 - Nicollet Pop Off Series |
$54,392 |
$24,000 |
$30,392 |
|
Metro Blooms |
Project 1 - Project Management - |
$40,000 |
$24,000 |
$16,000 |
|
Midtown Greenway Coalition |
Project 1 - Midtown Bike + Walk Ambassadors - |
$54,300 |
$22,500 |
$31,800 |
|
Minneapolis Downtown Council |
Project 1 - Website Redesign - $ |
$17,250 |
$12,500 |
$4,750 |
|
Northeast Minneapolis Chamber |
Project 1 - Mural installations and Artist Stipends - |
$75,000 |
$45,000 |
$30,000 |
|
Seward Redesign Inc. |
Project 1 - Destination Plaza: Retail Pop-Up Programming and Implementation - $35,000, |
$75,000 |
$35,000 |
$40,000 |
|
Webber Camden Neighborhood Organization |
Project 1 - Community Business Fair - |
$31,841 |
$10,000 |
$21,841 |
|
West Bank Business Association |
Project 1 - Business & Economic Development (Mall Study, |
$75,000 |
$65,000 |
$10,000 |
|
Whittier Alliance |
Project 1 - Vacant Site Activation Pop-Up Event Series on the Eat Street Corridor - |
$50,000 |
$15,000 |
$35,000 |
|
TOTAL |
$464,600 |
$559,601 |
Camdentown (fiscal agent: Minneapolis Regional Chamber Development Foundation) $39,000
Camdentown received Great Streets BDS funds last cycle to hold future-thinking community development sessions, create an artistic representation of those visions, develop a model for business recruitment, and resource development. This year, they proposed to create and install Camdentown Banners, install permanent and temporary murals, and create a community calendar. They believe these activities will strengthen Camdentown’s sense of place and signal to the community that work is persisting despite ongoing shared community challenges. The review committee suggests funding the banner and mural components of the proposal. Staff does not suggest funding the calendar due to concerns about long-term upkeep and maintenance.
Comunidades Latinas Unidas En Servicio (CLUES) $31,100
In their last contract, CLUES received funding for (1) Latino public art creation; (2) cultural place-keeping activities; (3) arts-based community engagement; (4) partnership building, advocacy, and strategic planning; and (5) arts micro-entrepreneur support. Their current proposal is to encourage residents and businesses to work together through: (1) mural co-creation; (2) community-involved arts and cultural workshops; (3) Hispanic Heritage Month and Day of the Dead events; (4) public arts with a Latino artist; and (5) community visioning for the future of Lake Street. Staff recommends funding the public art with a Latino artist component that can be incorporated into the other proposed community events.
Friends of Global Market $20,000
Friends of Global Market is a 501(c)(3) organization, created to improve communications regarding the mission of the market and the long-term sustainability of the market. Due to the challenges around hosting indoor events, Friends of Global Market received funding in the previous BDS round to set up a food delivery service to area hospitals to assist businesses during the global pandemic caused by COVID-19. This year, they submitted a proposal for six events at the market celebrating a mix of cultures. The plans feature a mix of indoor and outdoor events throughout the year. Given the proposal’s scoring, staff recommends funding events at a lower level than requested. The funds can be allocated towards planned events that are most beneficial to the business and community members.
Jungle Theater $35,000
The Jungle Theater is a non-profit neighborhood theater established in 1991 and currently located near the intersection of Lyndale Ave and W Lake St. They are requesting BDS funding for the LynLake Street Art Series, which is a community arts festival that includes the following components: (1) new public art installations, (2) maps of the planned art events, (3) neighborhood engagement activities, (4) an interactive art component, and (5) a gallery show highlighting the work of the participating artists. The review committee was supportive of artists undertaking this effort and felt it would increase foot traffic for neighborhood businesses resulting in a positive economic impact that may extend beyond the dates of the event. Due to the overall ranking of this proposal, staff recommends funding all the activities but at a lower level than requested.
Lake Street Council $52,500
In their last contract, Lake Street Council received funding for (1) a video campaign promoting Lake Street, (2) online business stories/highlights, (3) a Lake Street loyalty marketing campaign, and (4) a visioning process for the future of Lake Street. With their current proposal, Lake Street Council plans to bring together the feedback and lessons learned from the past two year’s work by (1) building upon the previous Lake Street visioning process, (2) producing additional digital content marketing Lake Street, and (3) providing technical assistance to Lake Street businesses to improve their online presence. Staff recommends funding the proposal except for the technical assistance component that would be better suited for the City’s B-TAP program funding.
Latino Economic Development Center $20,000
In the last BDS round, the Latino Economic Development Center received funding for (1) a taco tour event; (2) promotion of Hispanic Heritage Month; and (3) project planning and design for these activities. This round, they are proposing to increase foot traffic in the corridor with another taco tour on Lake Street and three cultural and educational events leading up to the tour. They believe this will build on the work from the previous year’s promotion of Lake Street businesses. Staff recommends funding these events, albeit at a reduced level due to the overall scoring of the proposal, because they engage both the local businesses and the community. Staff will encourage LEDC to work with other area business associations to promote the proposed events to increase business participation.
Longfellow Business Association $14,000
In the previous BDS round, the Longfellow Business Association received funding for (1) collaborative coordination and planning; (2) a mentor program for start-up businesses focused on marketing; and (3) a safety and security pilot partnership with 3M. This round, they are proposing (1) additional outreach for the prior round’s safety and security project; (2) launching a program aimed at providing short-term resident artists within existing businesses; (3) developing a strategic plan for cross-organizational collaboration; and (4) launching a program to provide mental health services for existing businesses. The review committee felt that components of this proposal were innovative, and staff is recommending funding for the safety and security outreach and the temporary resident artists program. The proposal for development of a strategic plan for cross-organizational collaboration and launching a program to provide mental health services for businesses were not as strong.
Lyndale Neighborhood Association $24,000
The Lyndale Neighborhood Association is a non-profit organization serving the Minneapolis Lyndale Neighborhood. Their current BDS proposal is to coordinate a series of six events hosted within existing businesses to bring awareness to the business and drive additional customer traffic. They hope this work will draw foot traffic to Nicollet Avenue, highlight current businesses, and attract new small, locally owned businesses to the corridor. Staff recommends partially funding the application for the four events that are currently planned with existing businesses. Funding for two events is not recommended due to the lack of information provided in the proposal.
Metro Blooms $24,000
Metro Blooms is a Minneapolis non-profit organization dedicated to environmental improvement projects protecting clean water and habitat. In the previous round, they partnered with the Chicago Avenue Fire Arts Center (CAFAC) and received funding for (1) project development and management; (2) community engagement events; (3) art and landscape design for existing properties; and (4) art installations. Their current proposal is for another partnership project with CAFAC including (1) project management; (2) community engagement events; (3) art and landscape design; (4) and art installations for new locations. They believe this proposal will assist business owners who have expressed great interest in these projects in the past but have lacked time, capacity, design, and financial assistance to bring them to fruition. Staff recommends funding all the activities but has reduced the project management, design and installation budgets to reflect the number of projects completed last year. Staff will encourage additional engagement with the business community and recommends full funding for that component.
Midtown Greenway Coalition $22,500
In the previous BDS round, the Midtown Greenway Coalition received funding to transform their previous Trail Watch program into their Midtown Ambassadors Program. This program brings eyes to the street to improve the actual and perceived safety in the Lake Street business corridor. Their current proposal is to further fund the Midtown Ambassadors Program and install a food and cultural wayfinding mural to increase the connection between the Midtown Greenway and Lake Street. Staff recommends funding the Midtown Ambassadors Program but at a reduced level than requested by the applicant because the program has BDS funding for this activity that has carried over from 2020. The wayfinding mural is not recommended.
Minneapolis Downtown Council $12,500
The Minneapolis Downtown Council is a nonprofit, membership-based organization focused on a vibrant downtown Minneapolis. Their current proposal is to redesign the current website for the Chameleon Consortium, an organization focused on facilitating temporary space for BIPOC-owned businesses. The current website is difficult to utilize and update. The Minneapolis Downtown Council believes this project will increase visibility and awareness of the Chameleon Consortium businesses and increase foot traffic downtown. Staff recommends funding the proposal but at a lower level than proposed because it received a lower score due to the organization’s service area being categorized as “Eligible” verses “Priority”.
Northeast Minneapolis Chamber $45,000
In the last round of BDS, the Northeast Minneapolis Chamber received funding for “Mural Central,” a project that installed temporary and permanent murals in partnership with the community, businesses, artists, and students. Their current proposal is to expand the Mural Central project with (1) additional murals; (2) creation of a website highlighting the outcomes of the project; (3) the design and installation of branded banners for the district; (4) the creation of a best practices guide for other organizations looking to install public art; and (5) create a muralist directory. Staff is supportive of the strategic partnerships they've developed for the project and recommends funding all the proposed activities with a reduction in the new murals’ category.
Seward Redesign Inc. $35,000
In the previous round, Seward Redesign Inc. received funding for (1) Shipping Container Pop Up Feasibility Study and (2) Business Displacement Prevention, Property Improvement, & Corridor Redevelopment. Their current proposal is to build upon the previous year’s activities through (1) programming and implementation of a temporary retail plaza and (2) vacant storefront activation, property improvement, and corridor redevelopment work. Staff recommends fully funding the temporary retail plaza component which utilizes lessons learned from the feasibility study but does not recommend funding for the second project which includes technical assistance to businesses and is better suited for the City’s B-TAP program.
Webber Camden Neighborhood Organization $10,000
The Webber Camden Neighborhood Organization received funding in the previous BDS round for a business outreach effort to collect data on existing Webber Camden businesses. Their current proposal is for a business fair located in the Webber Camden neighborhood to increase traffic to local businesses, build community relationships, and help them further their business engagement efforts. Although the proposal scored lower on project readiness and engagement with partners, staff recommends funding the application at a reduced level to support the organization’s ability to do outreach to local businesses and plan an event that will encourage connections in the community.
West Bank Business Association $65,000
In the previous round of BDS funding, the West Bank Business Association received support for community engagement focusing on restorative justice and safety training. The project also included economic district marketing, which included vacant building outreach and the creation of an office space database. The West Bank Business Association’s current proposal scored very high. It includes (1) business and economic development, including marketing and storefront beautification; (2) public health and safety, including a restorative justice pilot program and youth outreach; and (3) culture and arts, including a cultural history walkway and public art project. Staff recommends funding the proposal except for the 427 Cedar Ave S site feasibility study component of the business and economic development project.
Whittier Alliance $15,000
The Whittier Alliance received funding in the previous BDS round for business engagement regarding the planned redevelopment of the former Lake Street Kmart site. Their current proposal is to activate a vacant site at 2116 Nicollet Ave with community events. The engagement is planned to bring activity to this business corridor and assist the Whittier Alliance with community engagement around future uses for the site. Whittier Alliance has identified a broad coalition of partners to assist them with the programming for the site and staff recommends funding the application but at a reduced level than requested by the applicant, because some of the events were very early in the planning stage and there is concern about the organization’s ability to complete all of the events during the contract period.
Not Recommended
Two proposals are not recommended for funding this year. The chart below lists the activities proposed. These proposals were lower scoring because the service area was not located in a Great Streets Priority Eligible area or it didn't meet the overall goal of strengthening neighborhood business districts.
|
Name |
Activity Descriptions |
Total Requested |
Recommendation |
|
Inquilinxs Unidxs por Justicia / United Renters for Justice |
Project 1 - Northstar Campaign / Havenbrook Campaign |
$75,000 |
$- |
|
Uptown Association |
Project 1 - Uptown Artprize |
$51,718 |
$- |
Inquilinxs Unidxs por Justica / United Renters for Justice
This was the first year that Inquilinxs Unidxs por Justica had submitted a BDS proposal. They requested funding for their organization to build their residential tenant organizing base and increase the number of residential tenants they organize with. Staff deemed this proposal as ineligible for the BDS program because the activities did not meet the primary objective to strengthen the economic vitality of a business district or group of businesses, enhance the cultural identity of a district, or expand a culture’s reach in the community.
Uptown Association
The Uptown Association’s proposal was for a new event in the Uptown area called, “UPTOWN ARTPRIZE”. It would be an open, art competition that would celebrate artists working in all mediums and would be displayed in any business venue willing to host it. This proposal was lower scoring because it didn’t show readiness to proceed with the event. The proposal lacked detail regarding the artists and/or businesses involved, did not provide information on measurable goals or outcomes from the event, and provided limited leveraged funds from the organization.