State grant funds awarded for projects in communities hit hard by COVID, civil unrest
MINNEAPOLIS – On a corner of East Lake Street stands a vacant building hollowed out by fire in the aftermath of George Floyd's murder. But Janice Downing is one of its new owners, eager to move her small business into it and create a space for other entrepreneurs to thrive.
"When I was a young girl my grandmother used to say, 'Wherever you go, make it better than you found it.' And I feel like we found this building and working with everyone, we're going to create a space that is so much better," Downing said.
Her vision for the Coliseum, a 100-year-old building that was a longtime hub for business, is made possible in part by state funds targeting communities hit hard by the pandemic and civil unrest. The legislature last year approved the $80 million Main Street Economic Revitalization Program, providing state grants and loans for redevelopment projects led by nonprofits and businesses statewide.
In Minneapolis, the grants were long-awaited for the ongoing rebuilding of corridors damaged during the riots. The Minneapolis Foundation is administering the money, and leaders on Thursday announced that the first round of $10 million will support 20 projects across three neighborhoods, including construction of the Coliseum, which was recently added to the National Register of Historic Places.
"Almost no one has left," said R.T. Rybak, the former mayor and CEO of the Minneapolis Foundation. "Almost every single entrepreneur faced some of the greatest obstacles they would ever face, and they doubled down on making sure Lake Street, West Broadway and 38th are going to be an even better place to be in the future. That is a remarkable story."
Redesign Inc. received $750,000 from the state program to support renovating the 85,000-square-foot Coliseum building. The goal is to provide an affordable leasing space for up to 30 entrepreneurs who are Black, Indigenous or people of color.
Taylor Smrikárova, property development director for the group, said the previous owners of the building wanted to demolish it and sell the land. Redesign, which analyzed other properties harmed during the riots, determined the building could be saved and repurposed – so they bought it with other residents.
Downing and three others own 20% of the building; Redesign will stay on for seven years and eventually sell its stake.
For Downing, it fulfills a dream of owning commercial real estate and creating a legacy for her family.
"From the ashes rises the phoenix," Downing said of the building's structure surviving the fire. "If that can succeed, we can succeed."
The extent of the damage in the Twin Cities exceeds the money allocated for the $80 million program, which is not exclusively for property destroyed in May of 2020, so businesses and Minneapolis leaders sought far more investment from the legislature. That proposal failed.
A city official told a legislative committee in February 2021 that damage city wade was "north of $350 million."
"We're very, very pleased the legislature acted. We also recognize there is a far greater need than that," Rybak said. "We have continued to raise private dollars and these entrepreneurs have put more of their own money into it, but there's still an ongoing need and we'll continue assessing it."
Steve Grove, commissioner of the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development, said the program was a compromise in the divided legislature. He called on lawmakers to consider more funding next year.
"With a record-setting surplus ahead of us this next legislative session, there is more need for programs like this," Grove said. "I think we should actively look at ways to put money in these corridors because if these corridors are active, thriving great place to be that's going to have outsize influence on the rest of the state."