STEP-UP North Minneapolis Worksite Tour Offers a
Glimpse into Intern’s Experience on the Job
 Top (left to right): Cookie Cart STEP-UP intern panel and STEP-UP intern Amira speaking at U.S. Bank; Bottom (left to right): Minneapolis Public Schools STEP-UP intern panel discussion over lunch and STEP-UP tour guides Erica Prosser, Samiyo Mohamed, Anyia Spears, Larry Sanchez, Abdi Musse and Ashley Yang
by Pat Behrend & Anna Peterson
On Tuesday July 19, City of Minneapolis STEP-UP interns
guided elected officials, program partners, and funders on the annual tour of
STEP-UP worksites to give them a glimpse into the STEP-UP intern
experience. The City of Minneapolis
hired 45 interns this summer, 10 within Community Planning and Economic
Development.
The focus of this year’s tour was North Minneapolis which
has a total of 65 STEP-UP jobsites employing 529 interns this year. Four worksites in North Minneapolis, all
located on West Broadway, were featured including Cookie Cart, West Broadway
Business and Area Coalition, U.S. Bank, and Minneapolis Public Schools.
From working as a baker to a bank teller, interns shared the
highlights and challenges of their job experience so far this summer. Their employers and supervisors also shared
what they have taken away from the experience.
This summer, nearly 1,700 youth and young adults aged 14-21
are being employed by STEP-UP at one of 230 government agencies, nonprofits,
small businesses, and corporations throughout the Twin Cities metro area.
Learn more about
STEP-UP.
New Housing Planned for Lowry Avenue North
 Top: Rendering of Hawthorne EcoVillage Apartments provided by Urban Works Architecture; Bottom (left to right): Michael McGovern, Associated Bank; Jim Steiner, National Equity Fund; Michelle Smith; U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development; Stephanie Johnson, Mississippi Watershed Management Organization; Commissioner Linda Higgins, Hennepin County; Commissioner Mary Tingerthal, MN Housing Finance Agency; Paul Williams, Project for Pride in Living; Council Member Blong Yang, City of Minneapolis; Dave Ellis, Hawthorne Neighborhood Board Chair; and Tiffany Glasper, City of Minneapolis
by Tiffany Glasper
On Wednesday, July 13, 2016, Minneapolis elected officials,
City staff, community and business leaders, friends and neighbors gathered at the intersection of Lyndale and
Lowry Avenues North to break ground in celebration of the long-awaited
Hawthorne EcoVillage Apartments Project, an affordable rental housing project
developed by Project for Pride in Living. Hawthorne EcoVillage Apartments will
be the first residential development on Lowry Avenue since the roadway was
reconstructed back in 2008. With a 71-unit apartment building and two 2-unit
townhomes, the 75 unit project will include underground parking, an innovative
storm water management system, bicycle parking and storage and a variety of
pedestrian-oriented amenities.
This $17.6 million project is the result of several years of
planning and generous funding from the City
of Minneapolis, Hennepin County, Metropolitan Council, the Minnesota Watershed Management Organization, the Home
Depot Foundation, Hawthorne
Neighborhood Council, Minnesota Housing,
HUD and the Federal Home Loan Bank.
The Hawthorne EcoVillage Apartments is estimated to be completed by December 2017.
Role of the Development Coordinator
by Don Zart
We are one of the first points of contact for people as they
start the process of having a project approved. These projects could be a new, single family dwelling, site alterations
to a park, opening a restaurant, constructing an office tower or anything in
between. We ensure submitted plans meet the criteria needed for our review
partners to do their job and track those projects while under review, keeping
the applicant up to date on where it is in the process.
As projects are being reviewed, we convey review
comments to the customer, acting as a single point of contact as revised plans
come in. If a project is for a
remodeling permit or a new house the staff involved is often from CPED. But on
larger projects we may be working with the Fire Department, Public Works,
Environmental Health, Housing, Food/Restaurant Inspectors, and other department
staff to get these projects through to the end.
To give an idea of what the seven Development Coordinators
are currently shepherding through the system, there are 89 projects going
through the Preliminary Development Review process, 26 new single family home
permits, 22 other new construction permits (ranging from duplexes to large
mixed use, multi-family projects) and 23 active restaurant/food reviews. On top
of that we are tracking 490 remodel permits.
Minneapolis 2040 August Update
 Left to right: Development Services Planner Suado Abdi and Long Range Planning Urban Scholar Arianna Reid engaging with attendees of the Somali Independence Day celebration on July 9
by Paul Mogush
Over the past few months, twelve Research Teams comprised primarily
of staff from around the City enterprise have been working to develop a list of
issues and questions to be addressed during the update to the City’s
Comprehensive Plan, called Minneapolis
2040. In August, Long Range Planning staff will be sifting and sorting
through that information to pull out common themes and priorities. In October,
staff will engage with the public on
“big questions” related to those issues. Look for much more information about
this in September, including opportunities to participate in October.
In the meantime, watch for our table at street festivals
around the city, and feel free to join us as we talk with people about the
future of Minneapolis. For more information about Minneapolis 2040, contact Haila Maze, Paul Mogush, or Beth Elliott.
 Top: CPED employees attending the annual potluck picnic; Bottom (left to right): some of the many dishes brought and Grill Master Chefs Bob Lind and Ed Daley
Beautiful weather shone through the windows of Crown Roller
as the 4th annual CPED picnic took place on July 12th. With
about 230 CPED employees in attendance, Council Members and Council and Mayor Office staff, many food creations went quickly as
department Director Craig Taylor said thanks to everyone for their hard work
over the past year.
Due to the poor acoustics and large space, some staff had
difficulty hearing Craig’s comments. If you didn't catch it all, here are his remarks:
The picnic is a day of good food and appreciation. It is a day to stop for a moment and
appreciate the work each of you do and the collective efforts of this
department. Here are just some of our recent accomplishments we should stop and celebrate:
- Innovation Center resources scheduled over 413
events, hosted over 4,500 attendees with an average meeting size of 11 people.
- 2,434 people were placed in jobs last year and 1,700
youth are employed this summer through STEP-UP.
- 93% of all licensed Minneapolis tobacco dealers
passed their annual tobacco sales to minors compliance checks.
- All sorts of people (inside and outside of the
Enterprise) are engaged in serious conversations about what the city of
Minneapolis should and will be like in the year 2040.
- 500 affordable multifamily housing units
produced or rehabilitated.
- $2 million in small business lending from the
City leveraged $17 million in private funds to support small business
growth. 59% of those borrowers were
female and/or an entrepreneur of color.
- 55 city-owned properties were sold for the
development of ownership units (16 rehab and 39 new construction).
- Despite the massive workload involved with
completing inspections at US Bank Stadium, inspectors, plan reviewers, and
administrative staff from CCS oversaw continuing record levels of construction.
This includes the transformation of Downtown East, the Wells Fargo Towers, HCMC
Clinic, Krauss Anderson Block, Portland Towers Condominium, Radisson Hotel,
Ryan Office Building, and aspects of Downtown Commons park.
- Land use approval was granted for 43 major
development projects in 2015.
I also want to acknowledge and thank all the
staff working tirelessly on the new Enterprise Land Management System while
doing their regular work and all of those who are supporting these team
members, we know it’s a lot and appreciate what you are doing.
A big thank-you to the staff celebrating their
anniversary in the third quarter from July-September. (Staff who celebrated their 15, 25 and 30
years of service in the first part of the year received their Service STAR
Awards or Medallions at the January All-Staff Meeting.)
-
15 Years:
- Phil Schliesman
- Todd Hoekstra
-
25 Years:
- Chuck Lutz
-
30 Years:
- Becky Anger
- Bill Smith
Thank you to all who helped made the picnic a success!
Technology, Information & Innovation
Soon, Upgrades Will Make Taking a Number a More Efficient and Data Driven Process
 by Ed Daley
Since 2008, the CPED Development Review Customer
Service Center has been using Qmatic technology to manage customer queues. By
assigning each customer a tracking number, the tool uses audio and video
technology to guide them to the appropriate staff member for assistance.
As with most technology, the current Qmatic tool has become outdated and
unsupported. Knowing this, the Development Review team, with help from IT, has
been working to upgrade to the newer Qmatic (Orchestra) product.
The upgrade will provide some new features. In the future,
features like integrated mobile technology will allow the customer to see
service center wait times and allow them to provide feedback on their customer experience.
A new dashboard will provide statistical data to be used by service center
managers to conduct important analytics. The new system will also play an
important role in the new Enterprise Land Management system (ELMS). The
new Qmatic Orchestra tool will allow the service center to improve its customer
experience and manage the customer journey from start to finish.
The upgrade is scheduled to go live on Thursday, August 18,
2016. To see the new Qmatic tools in action, stop by the Development Review
Customer Service Center located on the third floor of the Public Service
Center.
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TED Talk Series Kicked Off with First Session
CPED is sponsoring a Summer TED Talk Series which had its
first session on Wednesday, July 13th in the Innovation Center at
Crown Roller Mill. The first session featured a TED Talk given by Simon Sinek
who is a gifted speaker, author, and consultant who talked about ideas from his
first book “Start With Why.” This
talk addressed issues of leadership and inspiration. Sinek argues that finding
out why you do something is the first step to inspiring others to follow you. The
participants discussed how they can incorporate their “whys” into their work
for the City of Minneapolis. Ten different people from seven departments
attended the first of the City’s talks.
Claire Miller is an intern with CPED who started working
for the City of Minneapolis this summer. She works primarily in the Innovation
Center helping to coordinate and manage the space as well as create new
programming to further the Innovation Center’s mission. If you have questions about room reservations, new programming, or the Innovation Center in
general you can stop by her office in the Innovation Center or send her an email.
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