October 7th, 2009 by Nieeta

Hiawatha LRT construction photo courtesy of Met Council

The University Avenue Business Preparation Collaborative — known as U7 — is working to help existing and new businesses survive the Central Corridor Light Rail Transit construction phase and to improve their businesses after the construction is complete. We plan to offer technical assistance and business development planning in areas such as cash-flow management, advertising, customer retention and more. Plans also include new pools of funds for short-term lending and real-estate acquisition lending. The collaborative includes:

• Aurora/St. Anthony CDC
• Greater Frogtown CDC
• The Hmong Central Coalition
• Selby Area CDC
• Neighborhood Development Center
• SPARC
• Metropolitan Consortium of Community Developers

U7 is advised by the city of St. Paul, Twin Cities Local Initiatives Support Corporation, Model Cities, University United, the St. Paul Port Authority and UABA. The collaborative has hired two business-retention advisors, Sia Lo and Marilyn Porter, both of whom have extensive experience in the business and nonprofit sectors. To contact the business-retention advisors:

• Email Sia Lo  or call (651) 789-7486.
• Email Marilyn Porter or call (651) 230-1020.

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