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:
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.
October 4th, 2009 by Nieeta
Rendering of Frogtown Square by Trossen Wright Plutowski Architects, PA
The Frogtown Square project, a planned mixed-use development on the northeast corner of Dale and University, is getting ready to go out to bid. The project, adjacent to the Rondo Community Outreach Library, will include commercial space and senior housing. Interested contractors should send a letter of interest and their qualifications to Becky Landon at Ponterre Group, LLC. Call her at (651) 647-3457 for more information. Women- and minority-owned businesses are encouraged to apply.
September 13th, 2009 by Nieeta
803 Sherburne Ave., one of the MCASA rehabbed homes available for purchase
MCASA Homes, a partnership between Model Cities Community Development Corp. and Aurora/St. Anthony Neighborhood Development Corp., seeks to create affordable home ownership opportunities for low-income families. It does so by building and rehabbing homes and working with potential buyers to develop the financial skills necessary to be successful homeowners.
The MCASA and ASANDC partnership invests in the health of the Frogtown-Aurora/St. Anthony community. MCASA has constructed six single-family homes in the Summit-University neighborhood, and is rehabbing up to a dozen more in Summit-U and Frogtown. According to Nieeta Presley, Executive Director of Aurora/St. Anthony Neighborhood Development Corp., “This is a long-term investment. We do not just throw people into homes. We connect families to the community, making sure that they are well educated and surrounded with resources.”
“System players didn’t think we could do it,” said Barbara Jeanetta, senior program officer of Twin Cities Local Initiatives Support Corporation. “Now, five years later, we see other banks scrambling to do the same with their own approach. However, they are still not willing to go the extra mile to continue giving families support once they enter the home.”
For MCASA, the “extra mile” takes the form of Home Stretch classes, which are designed to give the participants the tools they need for sustainable homeownership. This is what makes MCASA different.
For more info about MCASA Homes, check out the August/September edition of the ASANDC Newsletter or contact:
- MCASA Homes: Brenda Bailey, (651) 632-8345 | email
- ASANDC: Nieeta Presley, (651) 222-0399, ext. 101 | email
— By Ashanti Austin
June 7th, 2009 by Nieeta
Nieeta Presley discusses fund-raising with Access Philanthropy consultants.
Steve Paprocki spoke clearly when he addressed the Frogtown-Rondo Action Network meeting on April 28. “The time is now for you to come together on a common work plan, work force and work vision to raise $8 million for this community.” A consultant from Access Philanthropy, Paprocki knows what he is talking about.Representatives of nearly a dozen FRAN organizations nodded their heads in agreement. $8 million dollars is the lucky number FRAN aims to raise over the next three years to support its rollout of 11 community-based initiatives to, in its words, “start the next great chapter in Frogtown-Rondo’s history.”
Nieeta Presley, executive director of the Aurora/St. Anthony Neighborhood Development Corporation led the formative meeting. “This is an opportunity for community organizations to interact with each other and create a streamlined plan for raising money and implementing programs,” Presley said.With a line-up of community-building orga- nizations at the plate, the multimillion-dollar goal seems feasible. The ASANDC, Community Stabilization Project, Greater Frogtown CDC, Camphor United Methodist Church, Concordia University, Hmong Business Association/Asian Economic Development Association, Jewish Community Action, Just Equity, Selby Area CDC, University United and the University Avenue Business Association are taking roles that range from educating community members and business owners about managing their finances to advocating for creation of green jobs and energy efficiency.
As the plan moves forward, FRAN will continue to strengthen its network of campaign supporters, community supporters and community capital.
To read more about the work of FRAN and its partner organizations, pick up a copy of the latest Aurora/St. Anthony NDC Newsletter.
— By Jake Kulju
April 8th, 2009 by admin
The Met Council’s Joey Browner and Ax-Man owner Jim Segal discuss business issues along the Central Corridor.
Jim Segal knows how important University Avenue is. Owner and CEO of the Ax-Man surplus store, his livelihood comes from the avenue.
“I’d like to keep growing the business … and to make it as sustainable as possible,” Segal says.
Thousands of Twin Cities residents no doubt feel the same way. The Ax-Man has been in business for more than 40 years, offering quirky, rare and just plain weird surplus items to shoppers all over the state. The locally famous shop gives University Avenue much of its unique flavor.
But Segal and other University Avenue business owners are worried about challenges that the proposed Central Corridor Light Rail Transit project might pose to small businesses. A member of the University Avenue Business Association steering committee, Segal and others have been organizing to get their voices heard.
“With the bad economy on top of the fact that we have to deal with the construction, I just want to make [the construction period] the best bad situation possible,” Segal says. “Someone needs to start real solutions.” In an effort to do just that, UABA recently hired a consultant to conduct a peer city study of other rail projects around the nation. The study found alarming statistics about the effects of lengthy construction projects along business-heavy avenues.
UABA is seeking support through community channels, meetings with the Metropolitan Council and with local, regional and statewide elected officials.
“I think that the elected officials are really listening to us,” Segal says with optimism. “[UABA] creates a good forum where a group of people with the same relative interests can share ideas and voice their opinions in one place instead of the elected people dealing with 100 different people. We can amass the main issues of the group and put them forward, which gives credibility to the issues.”
One thing UABA isn’t doing is considering legal action.
“We don’t intend to put the financial resources into legal action — and let me be clear. We don’t intend to stop light rail,” said Segal. “We are concerned about the construction and development issues. We know our business is going to be severely impacted.”
— By Jake Kulju
April 8th, 2009 by admin
Nieeta Presley of ASANDC
A new initiative led by nine community organizations is focusing on high-impact projects along University Avenue designed to bring prosperity to the people of the neighborhood as state and local governments prepare to build the Central Corridor light rail line. The Frogtown/Rondo Action Network, funded in part by the Local Initiatives Support Corporation, or LISC, and serving an area from Rice Street west to Lexington, and from Thomas south to St. Anthony, is made up of:
• Aurora/St. Anthony Neighborhood Development Corporation
• Community Stabilization Project
• Greater Frogtown Community Development Corporation
• Hmong Business Association/Asian Economic Development Association
• Jewish Community Action
• Just Equity
• Selby Area Community Development Corporation
• University Avenue Business Association
• University United
Although planning for the Central Corridor LRT in Saint Paul includes strategies to mitigate negative effects of the project on community members and small business owners, the Aurora/St. Anthony Neighborhood Development Corporation is concerned that the project might not be focusing enough on the real needs and issues of the community as expressed by the community members and business owners.
“If the underlying premise is to ‘spur’ economic development, then the building of the LRT must be done right from start to the finish,” said Nieeta Presley, executive director of ASANDC.
FRAN’s goals are to direct resources toward community-based projects already under way that would otherwise be constrained by limited means and abilities. The idea is to have ASANDC, which has been serving the community since the 1980s, to center the coordination efforts in order to aptly prepare, strengthen and help residents and businesses not only survive the Light Rail changes but any changes that present themselves to our community.
LISC has committed three years of support to FRAN and hopes to raise and leverage additional resources both for support and implementation of FRAN projects, which have a total budget of about $7.5 million.
— By Ashanti Austin
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