Hennepin County awards $2M for six transit-oriented community projects
The county has awarded $2 million in Transit Oriented Communities (TOC) program funding to six development projects.
The Hennepin County Board of Commissioners, acting as the Housing and Redevelopment Authority (HRA), has awarded $2 million in Transit Oriented Communities (TOC) program funding to six development projects that prioritize walkable, mixed-use communities that leverage high-quality transit service.
Transit-oriented communities have wide-ranging benefits. They are more resistant to climate change, improve connections to jobs and services, and lower combined housing and transportation costs for residents. The TOC program has been a key lever in the county’s efforts to reduce disparities by race, place, and income and promote vibrant and sustainable communities.
"By providing gap funding for projects that otherwise would not be financially feasible, the TOC program generates investment in, and driven by, communities that have historically experienced disinvestment," said Hennepin County Economic Development Director Patricia Fitzgerald.
These compact, walkable communities are also more economically productive. For example, for every $1 a community earns in property taxes per acre on a typical residential property or $7 in property taxes for a single-story commercial strip mall, communities earn over $100 per acre in a three-story, mixed-use business district or over $400 per acre in a six-story, mixed-use district.
Funding for the six projects will support 110 new or retained jobs and create a combined 149 housing units and 48,800 square feet of commercial space, including five affordable commercial spaces. TOC funding will leverage approximately $80 million in total investment value and improve connections to rail transit, bus rapid transit, and within the high-frequency bus network.
TOC program awardees
The Community Corner
Organization: VY Enterprise LLC
Award: $400,000
The Community Corner project is a mixed-use, affordable housing development in Brooklyn Center. It will include 31 units of deeply affordable housing for residents at or below 30% of area median income (AMI) and three affordable commercial spaces expected to house workforce training, youth programming, and a youth-led coffee shop. The project is expected to create or retain 48 jobs and is served by an express bus route.
501 Mainstreet
Organization: Footprint Development
Award: $350,000
The 501 Mainstreet project will redevelop a vacant, city-owned site in downtown Hopkins into a multifamily housing development. It will feature passive housing design standards for energy efficiency and include 38 housing units, including four affordable units for residents at or below 60% AMI. The project is served by the METRO Green Line Extension.
1345 Central
Organization: Solhem Development
LLC Award: $500,000
The 1345 Central project will redevelop a vacant industrial site in northeast Minneapolis into a mixed-use, affordable housing development. The project includes 64 affordable housing units for residents at or below 50% AMI. The ground floor will feature commercial space designed for creative production, such as art studios, film production, or food/beverage production. The site is served by high frequency bus and the planned METRO F Line BRT.
2815 East Lake Street
Organization: Bush Companies
Award: $200,000
Located in the Longfellow neighborhood in south Minneapolis, the 2815 East Lake Street project will redevelop a vacant site damaged during the 2020 civil unrest into a mixed-use development. The four-story infill project will include 16 housing units and two ground floor retail spaces. The project is expected to create three jobs and is served by high frequency bus and the planned METRO B Line BRT.
Dreamland on 38th
Organization: Cultural Wellness Center
Award: $300,000
Dreamland on 38th will create a community hub on a vacant site located in the 38th Street Cultural District in Minneapolis. The three-story infill project will serve as the permanent home for the Cultural Wellness Center and include business incubator space for emerging alternative medicine practitioners, archival library space, event and training space. The project is expected to create or retain 31 jobs and is served by high frequency bus.
Indigenous Wealth Building Center
Organization: Mni Sota Fund
Award: $250,000
The Indigenous Wealth Building Center project will create an economic and social hub in the American Indian Cultural Corridor along Franklin Avenue in Minneapolis. The two-story adaptive reuse project will include a café, co-working and event space, business incubator space, and new office space for Mni Sota Fund staff and programming. The project will create or retain 16 jobs and is served by high frequency bus and the METRO Blue Line LRT.
