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Lake Street Impact Study

The Midtown section of Lake Street has historically been home to many immigrant small businesses. As the neighborhoods surrounding Lake Street became more racially and ethnically diverse in the 1990s, so did the business community. New Latino and African immigrant businesses began to open, like the Mercado Central, a Latino cooperative business incubator at the corner of Lake and Bloomington. Simultaneously, two large issues were beginning to shape Lake Street. The first was the reconstruction of the entire street by Hennepin County and the second was the redevelopment of two key sites along Lake Street, the old Antiques Minnesota building at the northwest corner of Lake and Bloomington and the empty Sears building at the corner of Lake and Chicago. Within this context, it became clear that these new entrepreneurs and businesses would need increased support and technical assistance to ensure their prosperity and survival.

 

It was at this time that Nexus (then Payne-Lake) Community Partners was formed with a specific program focus on strengthening area asset building strategies, including the support of small businesses owned by communities of color and immigrant communities. With funds from local and national funders, Nexus was able to provide early flexible funding (and later, general operating support) in support of these new businesses and entrepreneurs. Nexus played an instrumental and catalytic role in the start up of two ethnic community development centers (CDCs) - African Development Center (ADC) and Latino Economic Development Center (LEDC). Both organizations had started with community support and were serving the increasing numbers of entrepreneurs opening their businesses along Lake Street and in South Minneapolis. Nexus support helped these organizations build capacity to support and deepen their impact within the African and Latino business communities.

"Nexus' support was extremely important in our start up as a CDC. Their funding validated us to two audiences: first, to our Latino entrepreneurs for whom we exist to provide assistance to and secondly, to the funding community, that we were a needed organization in the field." - RAMON LEON, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF LEDC

Program highlights (2005-2009)
a. Nexus invested $1,670,000 in building the capacity of CDCs to work with entrepreneurs from communities of color and immigrant communities.
b. Through all of the partner organizations mentioned above, over 1,400 persons or businesses were provided with entrepreneur training or technical assistance, resulting in the creation of 36 new businesses.
c. Organizational partners assisted with the origination of 115 business loans totaling over $3 million.

Impact
a. Resident/Entrepreneur - Entrepreneurs, both new and longstanding, along Lake Street became better aware of and prepared for the reconstruction effort. Results indicate that no businesses was forced to close, though, some did report reduced sales by as much as 50 percent as a result of construction.
b. Organization - ADC and LEDC emerged as two critical organizational entities along Lake Street. Without the capacity of these non-profit CDC partners working to create and build community among the entrepreneurs, the end result may have looked quite different from today. The partnerships formed then continue to exist today, further strengthening current businesses and entrepreneurs.
c. Community - Today, the Midtown section of South Minneapolis is a thriving commercial corridor supporting its surrounding neighborhoods physically, economically and socially. According to the Lake Street Council, the number of current empty storefronts in the Midtown section (14) is similar to that of the West Lake section (11). The addition of the Midtown Global Market as well as modifications by Hennepin County to include more pedestrian friendly space, has brought increased visibility and access to the area, further strengthening its resurgence.

 

 

Read more about our impact on Lake Street here.

 

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