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Kelly Hoffman
Project Technical Lead
612-348-8276
Kelsey Dawson Walton
Community Partnership and Engagement Lead
612-348-4304
Penn Avenue Community Works is a collaboration between Hennepin County Public Works, the City of Minneapolis and Metro Transit, to support the Penn Avenue communities’ efforts to realize their vision for transportation access, economic opportunity and improved quality of life.
Learn more at www.hennepin.us/penn
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Please join Penn Avenue Community Works for a community open house Wednesday, June 25, 5-7 p.m. at the Capri Theater at 2027 West Broadway Avenue, Minneapolis.
The project and consulting team will share findings from the Penn Avenue corridor inventory and assessment, including:
- how Penn Avenue works now for transportation, transit, bikes and pedestrians, and what the future needs will be
- the diversity of housing in the corridor, including affordability, property conditions and what housing is needed
- the economic opportunities for businesses and jobs and what the potential market could be
 Maps and diagrams will be available to help attendees explore the particular character of some Penn Avenue intersections (commercial, service, residential, cultural, etc.), and how those places could be enhanced to develop in the future.
This information will help Penn Avenue corridor planners develop scenarios for improvements that suit the community's vision.
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Penn Avenue Community Works is kicking off another season of community engagement. The project is co-sponsoring area favorites like Live on the Drive and Flow, and will have information tables at these and other neighborhood events throughout the summer. Visit the Penn Avenue team at Juneteenth this Saturday, June 14, at North Mississippi Regional Park starting at 10 a.m.
 Surveying along Penn Avenue
Throughout June and July, project team members and volunteers are knocking on doors and talking with people at key business and transit locations to better understand how people use Penn Avenue and the kinds of improvements they would like to see.
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Hennepin County is offering grants of up to $50,000 for businesses to start or improve programs to increase recycling and decrease food waste. Join grant-recipient the Cookie Cart in starting a business recycling program that:
- conserves natural resources
- reduces greenhouse gas emissions
- helps a business’s bottom line
- demonstrates a commitment to sustainability for customers
 Most county businesses and non-profits — from large office buildings to small churches, restaurants and apartment buildings — are eligible to apply. Grants can be used for the purchase of containers, equipment and installation, hauling service charges and minor improvements to loading docks or waste enclosures.
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Grant applications are due by June 15, with another round of funding will follow in the fall (due October 15). More information is available at www.hennepin.us/businessrecycling or call 612-543-1316.
If you hear the sound of music and laughing teens in your North Minneapolis neighborhood this summer, a pop-up park could be the source. Temporary pop-up parks help disrupt crime hot-spots and encourage fun and safe activities for youth. The park locations vary — literally popping up in vacant lots, existing parks without teen activities, parking lots at churches and schools or even in the streets — block-party style.
The first park pops up on Monday, June 16 at the intersection of Golden Valley Road and Penn Avenue. Future locations will be announced throughout the summer.
The Pop-up Park initiative is a partnership between the City of Minneapolis and Minneapolis Parks and Rec.
The City of Minneapolis is exploring the possibility of converting a low-traffic street in north Minneapolis
to a park-like trail for biking and
walking called a greenway. The greenway could also create places for community gardens, public art or other amenities.
 The proposed greenway would be a north-south route starting at the Shingle Creek Trail in the north and ending south of Plymouth Avenue. Future planning efforts will explore possible additional connections to the south.
Minneapolis residents can take an online survey through June 15 to weigh in on the current greenway concept. More information is available at www.minneapolismn.gov/health/living/northminneapolisgreenway.
Penn Avenue Community Works is partnering with Flow, the Northside arts crawl, to solicit placemaking proposals for Play on Penn — a project strategy aimed at delivering some early results for the Penn Avenue corridor. The goal of Play on Penn is to create an attractive destination
for community-building and retail-supportive activities including project awareness. This is a great opportunity to showcase possible future uses of public space in the corridor.
Proposals are due Monday, June 16; applicants will be notified by June 23. More details are available on the Flow website at www.flownorthside.org.
 Kelly Hoffman joined the Penn project team in May as technical lead. Kelly is originally from Delaware, got her college education in Pittsburgh and moved to Minneapolis in 2008. She has a master's degree in public and nonprofit management and community and real estate development experience in the public, private and non-profit sectors, including the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and Target stores.
Kelly brings her north Minneapolis work experience to the project, including the site assembly of the Capri block, the sale and financing of the Five Points building and her business recruitment work for the Great Streets program.
Kelly enjoys reading, spending time
with friends and exploring the great business districts and neighborhoods in
the area. She is excited to be part of Penn Avenue Community Works!
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