Minneapolis Mayor's Work Group Outlines Inclusive Economic Recovery Recommendations

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- Minneapolis leaders unveiled inclusive economic recovery strategies and recommendations Monday.

In November 2021, Mayor Jacob Frey convened the Inclusive Economic Recovery Work Group to address an inclusive economic recovery from the pandemic and the civil unrest of 2020.

The work group focused on workforce and housing, as well as entrepreneurship and small business.

"They developed recommendations that strive to align, leverage and scale investments; expand access to capital for entrepreneurs, businesses and first-time homebuyers; expand partnerships, advocacy and innovation; and increase outreach and awareness," the mayor's office said.

The work group's co-chair, PJ Hill, is a financial advisor with NorthRock Partners and vice president of the Minneapolis chapter of the NAACP.

"We focused on developing an action plan to make sure that those historically left out of economic growth realize the benefits of recovery efforts, especially our BIPOC community," Hill said. "We came away with an overarching goal: We must rebuild the Black middle class in Minneapolis."

Some of the work group's recommendations announced Monday include:

- Build awareness of workforce programs and partnerships that are working well.
- Expand short and long-term livable wage jobs and benefits in marginalized communities.
- Scale funding for strategies that expand sustainable and affordable homeownership to BIPOC residents, including more diverse ownership housing options consistent with the Minneapolis 2040 Plan.
- Investing in the city's Commercial Property Development Fund to strategically build out Minneapolis HOMES and NOAH preservation programming

"True recovery from the last two years presents an opportunity to do so centering inclusivity," Frey said. "For far too long, Minneapolis has been content nibbling around the edges when it comes to embedding race equity in our policymaking. From investing in our City's Commercial Property Development Fund to strategically building out our Minneapolis HOMES and NOAH preservation programming, these are high-impact ideas. This has been no small undertaking, and I'm incredibly grateful for the time and efforts invested by this work group over the past few months."

Frey says he'll be working closely with the work group and city staff on implementing the recommendations.

Read the full report here.