 L to R, T to B – Hector Ruiz with customers at Café Ena, Costa Blanca, Rincon 38 Bistro, La Fresca.
Hector Ruiz began cooking as a child with his mother in
Mexico. She was in the catering business and taught him so well that by the age
of 15 Hector was working for a restaurant in the U.S. After serving as a
sous-chef and corporate chef for years at some of the top restaurants, Hector,
with his dad’s backing, opened his own restaurant in 2003. Since then, without
the help of a bank, Hector has added other restaurants to include: Cafe Ena,
Rincon, La Fresca and the latest addition, Costa Blanca Bistro. This summer,
Hector connected with MEDA (Metropolitan Economic Development Association), a
B-TAP Service Provider, and received assistance with purchasing equipment for
Costa Blanca and is looking to complete a Mini-MBA course. Hector looks forward
to growing his business which now includes his managers as part owners. In all,
there are 80 employees who are more like family than staff.
 Historic Milwaukee Avenue in Seward
On Wednesday, October 4, the American
Planning Association (APA) announced that the Seward Neighborhood was one of five
Great Neighborhoods on their annual Great
Places in America
list. Seward was named along with 14 other great places marking the kick-off of
the organization’s National Community Planning Month celebration.
APA’s Great Places in America program,
celebrating its 10th anniversary this year, recognizes streets, neighborhoods,
and public spaces in the US demonstrating exceptional character, quality, and
planning—attributes that enrich communities, facilitate economic growth, and
inspire others around the country.
Seward has established itself as a
diverse, inclusive, green neighborhood. Affordable housing developments, food
co-ops, and connections to regional parks and trails demonstrate how a
community can improve the quality of life for all. Recognizing that community
residents represent a variety of ideas and backgrounds, Seward takes immense
pride in supporting and cultivating diversity, which is reflected in its
Affirmative Inclusion Statement – “All are welcome here.” In addition to Seward,
APA also recognized the following neighborhoods this year:
- Over-the-Rhine
– Cincinnati, Ohio
- Heart
of Missoula – Missoula, Montana
- The
Pearl – San Antonio, Texas
- Uptown
Greenwood – Greenwood, South Carolina
Seward will officially receive its
Great Place award at the Seward Neighborhood Group Annual Meeting on Wednesday,
November 8th during the Taste of Seward. The event takes place at Seward
Montessori School from 6-9 p.m. It is free and open to the public and all are
welcomed and encouraged to attend.
Read full news release
 From Bootstraps to Big League at WeWork (Photo by: Marty Wetherall)
Twin Cities Startup Week, October
9-15, has been a huge success. The week features dozens of events
connecting and celebrating our entrepreneurial community across many sectors
including tech, food, healthcare, and social enterprise.
Anchor events have included the
Minnesota Cup awards, a statewide startup competition. The Target + Techstars Accelerator showcased 10 startups
from around the world who have now graduated from an intense three-month
program to boost their businesses hosted in Minneapolis. Numerous
companies around the region hosted events at their workplaces providing
information and networking opportunities.
Twin Cities Startup Week pulls
together the many parts of our entrepreneurial ecosystem highlighting the
talent and resources of our community.
And there is still time to check
it out. Attend the Awards Ceremony
and Closing Party tonight. Learn more at #TCSW @tcstartupweek
The Bridge for Youth, a Minneapolis nonprofit that has been providing runaway and homeless youth with safe
shelter, reunifying families, and helping youth transition to adulthood
successfully since 1970, will be hosting an open house on October 26, 2017 to give
the community the chance to look inside their newest project – a transitional
living program for young people ages 18-21. This program, known as Rita’s
House, will provide housing and life skills for young adults at risk of
homelessness. The home has been approved as an “intentional community” by the
City of Minneapolis, which means that residents will share in
decision-making and management of the household. This official designation
means that up to a dozen young people will be allowed to share the home.
Local neighborhood organizations have donated more than $100,000
to Rita’s House for renovations. These funds are provided through the City of
Minneapolis NRP Program via a City-administered contract.
The public is welcome to attend the open house from 5-6:30 pm on
Thursday, October 26. The event will include tours of the house mid-renovation
and a time to ask questions about the project.
Event information
 In early October, installation of a new public artwork began
at Bde Maka Ska (Lake Calhoun). Artist Angela Two Stars, a descendant of the
Dakota leader Cloud Man, oversaw the imprinting of her designs of plants, animals
and their corresponding names into a concrete pedestrian trail.
This newly stamped trail is one part of the Bde Maka Ska
Gathering Space and Public Art Project, a collaboration between the City’s Art
in Public Places program and the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board that
honors Cloud Man and the village Heyata Otunwe, that was formally located on Bde
Maka Ska in the 1830’s. The plants include chokecherry, sage and wild rice, and
the animals include bison, bear and fish. Two Stars is collaborating with
artists Mona Smith and Sandy Spieler to create a number of public art elements.
Look for their additional creations in summer of 2018.
North Side Community Job and Resource Fair Promotes Local
Hiring
The North Side Community Job and Resource Fair attracted
over 180 jobseekers to 800 West Broadway on September 20th, showcasing
the new location of the North Minneapolis Workforce Center. Strong turnout from North Minneapolis
employers and service providers connected jobseekers to local opportunity, including Kemp’s, GAF, Chandler Companies,
Unison Comfort Technologies, Cub Foods, Cookie Cart, North at Work, RESOURCE, North at Work/the North Side
Funders, and more. In addition to 51 exhibiting employers, the event featured
16 community-based resource providers offering services in training, health and
wellness, finance and budgeting, and much more.
Several businesses reported hiring on-the-spot. For example, a young mother who was receiving
employment services through DEED at the North WorkForce Center received an employment offer to
work for Lifetouch during the event. Several attendees
commented that the event was the best job fair they’ve attended. Support for
the event was provided by City of Minneapolis, Hennepin County, Minneapolis
Public Schools, NorthPoint Health & Wellness Center, and DEED/North Minneapolis Workforce Center.
For
the sixth year in a row, the City has surpassed the $1 billion mark for
approved construction projects. Thanks to continued strong growth in the
multi-family housing industry, Minneapolis reached $1 billion earlier this
September.
Following
is the total valuation of building permits in Minneapolis since 2000:
2000: $1.142 billion
2001: $975.8 million
2002: $889.2 million
2003: $852.2 million
2004: $944.7 million
2005: $855.2 million
2006: $839.6 million
2007: $761.3 million
2008: $772.5 million
2009: $778 million
2010: $547.6 million
2011: $752.8 million
2012: $1.118 billion
2013: $1.211 billion
2014: $2 billion
2015: $1.389 billion
2016: $1.757 billion
2017: $1.016 billion (as of 9.15.17)
Multi-family housing development continues
to play a major role in Minneapolis construction projects, driven by the high
demand for urban living. The trend appears to be larger, taller, higher-rent
apartment buildings with more amenities. Given the continued low vacancy rate, these
trends are expected to continue into 2018.
In addition to housing, there are a
significant number of redevelopment projects in the North Loop with large commercial
buildings being converted and/or renovated into new spaces for offices, retail
and businesses.
The top ten construction projects in
Minneapolis by building permit valuation are as follows:
- Legacy
Condominium at 1240 Second St. S. valued at $123,425,731.
- The Hub, a 26-story
mixed-use building with 407-units at 600 Washington Ave SE. valued at
$57,799,980.
- Ironclad, a
mixed-use building with 180-units and underground parking at 240 Chicago
Ave. valued at $32,621,424.
- The Elliot
hotel redevelopment at 523 Eighth St. S. valued at $25,924,185.
- The Westminster
Presbyterian Church addition with below grade parking at 1200 Marquette
Ave. valued at $25,799,117.
- Thor
Construction’s headquarters buildout at 1256 Penn Ave. N. valued at
$24,568,252.
- YMCA buildout
at 651 Nicollet Mall valued at $20,156,283.
- Bancroft Elementary
School addition at 1315 38th St. E. valued at $19,377,000.
- Jack Link’s
project at Mayo Clinic Square, a remodel at 600 Hennepin Ave. valued at
$19,342,136.
- Select
Comfort’s new headquarters at 1001 Third Ave. S. valued at $19,098,037.
The remainder of 2017 will continue to see
continued strong building permit activity.
Several large projects are still expected to go before the City of
Minneapolis Planning Commission before the end of the year.
Artists wanted to boost Lake Street economic development
The Lake Street Council announced a call for artist-driven initiatives to showcase the cultural assets of the area and attract visitors to shop the diverse businesses and organizations along Lake Street.
Using a Request for Proposals (RFP) process, the council is seeking artist submissions for a one-year creative placemaking project. “We’re looking for 12 artists,” said Lake Street Council Executive Director Allison Sharkey. “We’re looking for a few projects with a budget of $1,000, a couple with a budget of $2,500 and a couple with a budget of $5,000.
Read full story in Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder News Online
Communities of color consulted on Mpls Zero Waste Plan
The City of Minneapolis is drafting a “zero-waste” plan. In 2015, the City Council established a goal to recycle and compost 50 percent of its citywide waste by 2020 and 80 percent by 2030 — a “zero percent” growth in the city’s total waste stream.
“I think ‘zero waste’ is a fairly new topic; it doesn’t have a true definition as yet,” said Halston Sleets, the City’s sustainability and environmental justice policy aide in the mayor’s office. She joined the mayor’s office in late March.
Read full story in Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder News Online
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