800 West Broadway Celebrates Groundbreaking in North Minneapolis
 Rendering provided by Sherman Associates
by Beth Grosen
Governor
Mark Dayton joined government officials on Tuesday, December 1st to celebrate the
groundbreaking of 800 West Broadway, a new collaborative employment,
education and healthy living center in North Minneapolis.
800
West Broadway will feature several services under one roof, including the North
Minneapolis WorkForce Center, NorthPoint Health & Wellness Center, Minneapolis
Public Schools and two retail spaces facing West Broadway.
The
building’s North Minneapolis WorkForce Center will provide a variety of
services to help people find jobs. Minneapolis Public Schools will offer the
opportunity for young adults to gain high school credits and connect to
post-secondary education and certification training. NorthPoint Health &
Wellness Center will provide services to improve physical, dental and
behavioral health. The center also will offer space for community meetings and
a youth resource center for career planning and training. The project is
expected to be completed by fall 2016.
“This
is an important step to improve economic opportunity for the people of north
Minneapolis,” said Governor Mark Dayton. “This community greatly
needs and deserves these services.”
Find
more details about the project here.
More Equity/Diversity Workshops Coming to CPED
 This TedTalk, featuring Bryan Stevenson, was shown at the diversity workshop.
by Greg Simbeck
In December, 23 CPED employees attended an equity/diversity workshop conducted by staff from the University of Minnesota's Office of Equity and Diversity. The title of the workshop was "Being an Ally in the Work of Equity and Diversity." This workshop introduced participants to the concept of being an ally, exploring how it’s possible, and why it’s necessary, to work toward access, inclusion, and support for marginalized and underrepresented staff, and community members. There were lively discussions and the feedback from workshop attendees has been very positive.
This workshop was the first in a series of ten workshops to be conducted by staff from the University. Everyone who attends all of the workshops will receive an Equity and Diversity Certificate from the University. It's important to note that if you miss a workshop you can still attend the next workshop/or a subsequent one. The next workshop will be scheduled for sometime in February. The title of the next workshop will be "Leadership in the Context of Equity and Diversity." We will notify staff and management when a time and date have been established.
New Text Amendments Support Food and Beverage Production
 The NE Minneapolis Food Building houses a variety of local food producers. Local baker Steve Horton hopes to soon be one of them with the amendment change.
by Kimberly Holien
In recent years, there’s been a rise in the number of small-scale
businesses that create food and beverage products such as cured meats, beer,
honey and chocolate. Recently, the City Council passed zoning code text
amendments that will help these businesses through increased flexibility in
regulations governing production and processing uses as well as the size of
commercial uses. In addition, the changes will allow small-scale grain milling
in commercial districts.
The “commercial sizes” text amendment increases the maximum
size allowance and range of commercial uses in High-density Office Residence
District (OR2). The amendments also increase the size allowed for
production and processing from 1,200 square feet to 5,000 square feet and make
limited production and processing a permitted use in all commercial districts
where a conditional use permit is currently required.
The small-scale grain milling amendment allows for artisanal
grain milling in more parts of the city as a standalone use or accessory to a
bakery. Planning staff anticipates that
the amendment will support job creation and continue the artisanal food and
beverage production trend that has taken root in the City.
Decreasing the Racial Disparity Gap in Minneapolis Homeownership
 Outreach was done at several community events for HOM including at Somali Independence Day by African Development Center
by Cherie Shoquist
In 2015, the City of Minneapolis launched Homeownership
Opportunity Minneapolis (HOM), a new housing program aimed at increasing the
number of homeowners in Minneapolis and reducing the racial disparity gap in
homeownership. The HOM program provided
approximately $1 million in down payment and closing cost assistance for nearly
100 homebuyers combined with culturally specific outreach to promote racial
equity in homeownership. Five culturally specific communities were the primary
focus of the HOM campaign reached through efforts designed by
organizations serving homebuyers of color:
African American (PRG Inc. and EMERGE), East African (African
Development Center and African Economic Development Solutions), Latino
(Neighborhood Development Alliance), Southeast Asian (Lao Assistance Center), and
Native American (Bii Gii Wiin Community Development). Additional outreach to
realtors working with homebuyers of color was also provided by the Greater Metropolitan
Housing Corporation (GMHC) and an additional $10K in multicultural advertising
was done by CPED to complement these efforts.
Due to these great outreach efforts, HOM funds were committed after just
three months.
The average household income served by HOM was $64,000; less
than 80% of the area median (currently $69,280). The reported race/ethnicity of homebuyers
served was 21% African American, 2% American Indian/Alaskan Native, 7%
Asian/Pacific Islander, 7% Hispanic and 63% Caucasian. In 2016, HOM funds will likely be utilized
more directly in connection to homebuyer education and outreach programs that
serve homebuyers of color. Learn more about HOM.
Featuring Ann Calvert
 Top: Inside Pantages Theatre; Lower Left: Orpheum Theater; Lower Right: Orpheum Theater basement.
CPED’s Principal Project
Coordinators focus on the development of Minneapolis properties. From working
with developers on preservation projects and ensuring that City-owned buildings
are well-maintained, to determining public support of City projects and
administering leases and grants to developers, Principal Project Coordinators must
be versatile.
Ann Calvert is one of three Principal
Project Coordinators in CPED’s Business Development division. Currently, she’s
working on the redevelopment of the Upper Harbor Shipping Terminal, a City-owned
property in North Minneapolis being converted into a mixed-use park and
business park among other projects.
Ann began working with the City in 1973, and although
she’s seen numerous organizational changes over the years, she’s also noticed
that the City’s goal to keep the City healthy and dynamic through development
and redevelopment has remained. For Ann, the most rewarding part of working on
a project is upon completion, when she can see how her efforts can help
contribute to the public good.
Technology, Information & Innovation
Listening to Phone Mail from Your Email?
 by Ed Daley
Technology
continues to blur the lines between our office, our desk, our mobile devices
and our home. One good example of this is the little known telecom feature that
can forward your desk’s phone mail messages to your Outlook email inbox. Now,
if you happen to be away from your office and miss an important phone message,
that message can automatically be sent to your work email account. It arrives
in your email as a WAV audio file and can be opened and listened to from any
computer or smart phone that has access to your City email account.
To request this
time saving feature, simply fill out an IT Service Desk service request, or call the service desk directly at
612-673-2525. Ask to have your phone mail messages automatically forwarded to
your work email. Then, watch as those lines continue to fade away.
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