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Governor Dayton Breaks Ground on New Employment,
Education and Healthy Living Center in North Minneapolis
~$8 million north Minneapolis facility 800 West Broadway
will include Minnesota WorkForce Center~
ST. PAUL – Gov. Mark Dayton joined officials on Tuesday to celebrate the groundbreaking of 800 West Broadway, a new employment, education and healthy living center in north Minneapolis.
The facility at 800 W. Broadway Ave. will contain several services under one roof, including the North Minneapolis WorkForce Center, NorthPoint Health & Wellness Center, Minneapolis Public Schools and retail space.
"This is an important step to improve economic opportunity for the people of north Minneapolis,” said Gov. Dayton. “This community greatly needs and deserves these services. But we must and can do more. That is why I will continue pushing for a special session of the Minnesota Legislature to address the racial disparities in north Minneapolis and elsewhere in Minnesota.”
The $8 million project calls for redeveloping an existing building that previously housed a car dealership. Sherman Associates Inc. of Minneapolis will redevelop the 47,000-square-foot structure, which has been vacant since 2006. The project is expected to be completed by fall 2016.
The building’s North Minneapolis WorkForce Center will provide a variety of services to help people find jobs, including offering workshops and training sessions on putting together resumes, doing job interviews, conducting job searches and much more. Minneapolis Public Schools will offer an educational center on the second floor, while the NorthPoint Health & Wellness Center will provide services to improve the health and well-being of clients. Tenants in the retail space haven’t been determined.
The center also will contain space for meetings and community groups, a youth center for career planning and training, and special services for post-secondary and certification training.
Partners in the project include the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development, City of Minneapolis, Hennepin County, Minneapolis Community and Technical College, Minneapolis Public Schools, NorthPoint Heath & Wellness and Sherman and Associates Inc.
“If we’re going to be a leading city of the 21st century we need to invest in employment, education and healthy living opportunities for all of Minneapolis,” said Minneapolis Mayor Betsy Hodges. “This groundbreaking is a long time coming, but once it’s open it will provide the community with vital resources that will help us get closer to reaching our goal of One Minneapolis.”
"This area has been waiting a long time for development that will be of benefit for the community," said Hennepin County Commissioner Linda Higgins. "Now the schools, DEED and Hennepin County through NorthPoint will work better together to help people make a better life for themselves and their community."
"Sherman Associates, and I personally, have a strong commitment to north Minneapolis. We started our 35 years of urban redevelopment in north Minneapolis. While 800 West Broadway is about economic redevelopment, it is so much more than bricks and mortar," said Sherman Associates, Inc.'s George Sherman. "This public and private partnership is meant to help reduce equity disparities we see in this community by providing educational and job opportunities to minority residents in north Minneapolis. It is about improving people’s lives. This ground breaking is an important step in that direction."
Visit www.minneapolismn.gov/cped/800WestBroadway for complete project details.
DEED is the state’s principal economic development agency, promoting business recruitment, expansion and retention, workforce development, international trade and community development. For more details about the agency and our services, visit us at the DEED website (http://mn.gov/deed) or go to our Twitter account (http://twitter.com/mndeed).
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