For years, the Indigenous Peoples Task Force’s small staff has provided culturally-based medical, social, welfare and economic services at a south Minneapolis community center where patients sometimes have to stand outside because the waiting room is so small.
Many of its youth and theater programs are housed in a nearby church. Despite logistical limitations, the team started a baby food company that uses Native American-grown heirloom crops and sustainable practices to grow and harvest food. Plants are grown on a few acres south of the Twin Cities by people learning agricultural skills.
The task force’s small, hodgepodge workspace will soon be replaced by the Mikwanedun Odisokon Arts and Wellness Center. The effort will strengthen and expand existing services and include a theater, a cafe with a commercial kitchen where people can sell their food, and other new businesses to springboard.
To help build the new facility, the task force received nearly $1 million from a $10 million grant effort that Hennepin County recently approved for 18 mostly minority-focused organizations and nonprofits. The goal is to promote affordable business space and provide entrepreneurs with restaurants, event and training centers, offices and other assets to develop communities that often stifle economic growth.
In total, county-supported projects will create more than 400,000 square feet of commercial and nonprofit space, support more than 550 local business owners and employ more than 1,000 people. The total cost of the projects is more than $270 million, which includes city and state support in addition to the county grant.
“The county is focused on ways to help businesses recover during the pandemic, and this is just an extension of that goal,” said County Board Chairwoman Marion Green. “This is a very targeted way of disbursing pandemic relief funds that have a high impact in communities.”
The one-time program, called the Community Investment Initiative, is seeking applicants for small entrepreneurs, affordable business space developers and nonprofits focused on economic recovery strategies. In March, 46 applications were received.
Hundreds of millions of dollars in federal pandemic funding received by Hennepin County have been used for Covid-19 cases and short-term business and home financing relief. Commissioners want this initiative to create long-term transformation in cities and specific communities and reduce disparities, said Community and Economic Development Director Patricia Fitzgerald.
As county staff conducted research and talked to stakeholders, they were told the biggest need was more affordable business space and support for nonprofits that were on the frontlines during the outbreak but are now struggling financially and have space constraints, she said.
“It’s very new territory for defining what constitutes an affordable commercial space nationally,” said Ryan Kelly, program manager for the Community Investment Initiative.
Other projects are underway
During the application process, the county learned that cities such as Bloomington, St. Louis Park, Brooklyn Center and Brooklyn Park were considering projects for small businesses, commercial space and non-profits.
Brooklyn Park purchased a vacant commercial lot with the goal of renovating the space into a business incubator. The $8.5 million project will create 27,000 square feet of commercial space for up to 60 non-food retail and commercial businesses. City officials said there will be business resources and technical assistance and spaces to hold meetings, host events and attend trainings.
Other projects include 40,000 square feet of commercial and community space with an art library at Juxtaposition Arts in Minneapolis and the renovation of the historic Coliseum building into a Lake Street retail center for 25 small businesses and entrepreneurs of color, Kelly said. A gas station is being converted into an open space for four businesses.
A place to grow
The Native American Task Force, which received $750,000 from the county, moved to the site on 23rd Street in 2008. The services it provides are divided into HIV and Hepatitis C case reduction and testing, opioid abuse prevention, youth activities and employment. Opportunities focused on the theater program. They also manage a 14-room residential home for people living with HIV and other issues. The task force will meet in a three-story space with a basement, main floor and attic, and workers say they don’t allow much space for privacy.
The task force had been planning for a new location for a few years after moving into its old location, said Mike Neumann, coordinator of the new facility. He said the city sold the vacant lot to the next task force for $1. They will break ground on the $10 million project in Minneapolis’ Phillips neighborhood next spring and expect it to be completed within a year.
In addition to the theater, the new facility will have a kitchen that will serve traditional foods, promote the growth of the Indigo-Baby Food brand, provide space for new business owners and provide a large clinic and counseling services, he said.
The new spaces will give entrepreneurs a chance to build wealth that they can pass on to the next generation, Kelly said.
“And whether businesses come or go, the spaces will always be there,” he said.
