Community Wealth City:
The Twin Cities – Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minnesota

Minneapolis, with its wide boulevards, organized grid layout, and modern downtown stands in striking contrast to the city of St. Paul across the river, with its late-Victorian architecture, narrower streets, and irregularly shaped neighborhoods. While the Twin Cities have a long history of rivalry and differ in appearances, together they both are home to many community wealth building initiatives and organizations.

According to the US Census Bureau’s 2006 American Community Survey, the Twin Cities are home to about 650,000 people, with Minneapolis’ population greater by 100,000. Both cities have suffered a decline in population since the 1950s, which has leveled out in the past decade. Traditionally, Minneapolis has had a large Scandinavian community, while Irish and German immigrants have been more prominent in St. Paul. In the 1990s, a new wave of immigrants arrived from Mexico, Southeast Asia, and sub-Saharan Africa, making the Twin Cities home to the largest Somali population in the United States. As of 2006, both cities were roughly two-thirds white (66 percent in St. Paul and 69 percent in Minneapolis), while African Americans make up roughly a sixth of the population (15 percent in St. Paul, 18 percent in Minneapolis). Roughly a twelfth of the population is Latino in both cities, while the presence of Asian Americans is significantly higher in St. Paul (12 percent versus 5 percent).

With both Minneapolis and St. Paul having rebounded in recent years, affordable housing has become a prominent issue. As one of the nation’s most racially segregated urban areas, a disproportionate number of people of color have been unable to keep up with rising property values. In response, the national community development group Living Cities, working in partnership with local community development corporations, aims to finance 2,000 new affordable units in the next three years. Additionally, two community land trusts within the Twin Cities, City of Lakes CLT and Rondo CLT, are working to keep housing within the city limits permanently affordable for generations to come.

An overview of community wealth building efforts follows:

Anchor Institutions

Abbott Northwestern Hospital
www.abbottnorthwestern.com/ahs/anw.nsf/page/community_home
Abbot Northwestern Hospital is the largest non-profit hospital in the Twin Cities area serving more than 200,000 patients each year and with over 6,500 employees. Abbott Northwester has invested $30 million in community partnerships, including a Health Care Institute that has placed over 130 people in health care positions and support for a $7.5 million affordable housing initiative that has funded housing rehabilitation for 40 multi-family units and 72 single-family units in an 8-block area located west of the hospital.

Office of Business & Community Economic Development, University of Minnesota
www.ced.umn.edu
The Office for Business & Community Economic Development was created in 1999 to advance the University of Minnesota’s interest in promoting economic development and employment and training opportunities for historically underserved communities. To date, the Office has doubled the University’s purchases from emerging small businesses; created more than 1,300 employment opportunities for women, people of color, and people with disabilities on University construction projects; and offered management and technical assistance services that have helped small businesses build capacity.

Community Development Corporations

Aeon
www.aeonhomes.org
Founded as the Central Community Housing Trust in 1986, Aeon provides affordable housing to low-income individuals in the Minneapolis/St. Paul metropolitan area. Serving more than 2,700 people annually, Aeon owns and manages 28 properties and 1,503 units of affordable housing.

Common Bond Communities
www.commonbond.org
Managing nearly 4,500 homes across 75 suburban, urban, and small city housing communities throughout the region, in addition, to providing many services to the community and its residents, Common Bond Communities, founded in 1971, is the largest, nonprofit developer of affordable housing in the Upper Midwest.

East Side Neighborhood Development Company
www.esndc.org
Striving to generate wealth and maintain diversity within neighborhoods, East Side Neighborhood Development Company was founded in 1979 in response to disinvestment in the Payne/Phalen Lake community. With net assets of $3.5 million, ESNDC works to develop affordable housing, business assistance programs, and family services.

Emerge
www.emerge-mn.org
Partnering with numerous businesses and community, government, and non-profit organizations, Emerge, with assets of more than $5.8 million, is a community development corporation operating 18 different programs and improving the lives of thousands of low-income individuals in the Twin Cities area.

Family Housing Fund
www.fhfund.org
Founded in 1980, the Family Housing Fund is dedicated to providing financial support for affordable housing for low to medium-income residents in the Twin Cities metropolitan area. To date, FHF investments of $125 million have helped finance 26,400 units of affordable housing and leveraged $1.8 billion for affordable housing from government, private lenders, and contributors.

Hope Community
www.hope-community.org
Located just south of downtown Minneapolis, Hope Community, founded in 1977, works to revitalize one of the most diverse and economically challenged areas in Minneapolis. The Hope Campus community, a ten-year development effort, now occupies a two-square block area and consists of 126 low-income rental units.

Latino Economic Development Center
www.ledc-mn.org
A continuation of work that began in 1994 to create Cooperative Mercado Central, now a marketplace of 47 businesses, Latino Economic Development Center works to generate economic development within the Latino community in south Minneapolis. LEDC expanded its efforts to create Plaza Latina, a marketplace on Payne Avenue in St. Paul, participated in the development of a multi-ethnic marketplace known as Midtown Global Market, and is involved in revitalizing the Lake Street commercial corridor and its adjoining neighborhoods.

Metropolitan Consortium of Community Developers
www.mccdmn.org
Founded in 1989, when 11 non-profit developers decided to work more closely together, MCCD focuses on strengthening communities by promoting communication and cooperation between its member organizations’ individual efforts in order to increase housing and economic development. One of MCCD main responsibilities is to manage a micro-loan program, helping new and early stage businesses succeed.

Neighborhood Development Center
www.ndc-mn.org
Partnering with 18 neighborhood and ethnic-based organizations to develop successful businesses that serve the community, Neighborhood Development Center provides entrepreneur training and financing to low-income residents in the Twin Cities area. In 2004, NDC was the lead developer of a $4.3 million project that renovated a 43,000 square foot, four-story building so that entrepreneurs in the community could have a place to expand their businesses.

Project for Pride in Living
www.ppl-inc.org
Working to promote self-sufficiency among low-income community members since 1972, Project for Pride in Living provides affordable housing, jobs and employment training, youth development, and community support services. Project for Pride in Living has a unique model of integrated service, with more than 50 percent of its programs financially self-sustaining.

SPARC (St. Paul Area Redevelopment Corporation)
www.sparcweb.org
Focusing on the revitalization of the Hamline Midway, North End, and South Como neighborhoods, SPARC, in collaboration with homeowners, business owners, and property owners, invests in residential and commercial development. In 2005, SPARC invested $1.5 million into the communities, and for every $1 SPARC contributed, community members matched it with $2.

Urban Ventures Leadership Foundation
www.urbanventures.org
Serving more than 2,500 Southern Minneapolis community members each year since 1993, Urban Ventures Leadership Foundation is a faith-based community development corporation with assets of more than $19 million. UVLF is focused on providing job and educational opportunities and family support programs to members of the community.

Community Development Financial Institutions

African Development Council
www.adcminnesota.org
Working with African immigrant communities across Minnesota, the African Development Council helps develop new businesses, build assets, and encourage community reinvestment. In 2006, ADC trained 65 entrepreneurs through workshops and technical assistance. Since 2005, ADC has leveraged $5.7 million in business loans through private financial institutions, government programs, other community development nonprofits and its own micro-loan fund, which exceeds $1 million.

Community Reinvestment Fund
www.crfusa.com
Community Reinvestment Fund works to raise capital on behalf of community-development lenders through the secondary market for loans. Started in 1989, the group has injected hundreds of millions of dollars into low-income and economically disadvantaged communities across the country to help stimulate job creation and economic development, provide affordable housing, and construct community facilities.

Northcountry Cooperative Development Fund
www.ncdf.coop
Northcountry Cooperative Development Fund is a member-owned and governed community development loan fund. In 2004, it also started a separate credit union to finance further expansion. Structured as a co-op, NCDF helps finance producer, worker, consumer, and housing cooperatives across the upper Midwest. To date, it has $12 million in assets.

University Bank
www.universitybank.com
As the first bank to become a CDFI in Minnesota in 2001, University Bank focuses on revitalizing the Twin Cities urban community. One specific program, the Urban Revitalization Fund, allows local residents to invest their savings at competitive interest rates; these funds are then used to finance community projects and development. To date, University Bank has more than $115 million in assets and has helped finance the rehabilitation of 1,500 homes.

Community Land Trusts

City of Lakes Community Land Trust
www.clclt.org
City of Lakes Community Land Trust grew out of an effort by several neighborhood organizations, such as Powderhorn Residents Group, Seward Redesign, Lyndale Neighborhood Development Corporation, and Powderhorn Park Neighborhood Association, to establish permanently affordable housing for low- and medium-income residents in Minneapolis. Partially funded by the City of Minneapolis, Hennepin County, and the State of Minnesota, CLCLT was founded in 2002 and has provided housing for more than 50 families.

Rondo Community Land Trust
www.rondoclt.org
In response to the displacement of low-income residents by highway construction, Rondo Community Land Trust was formed in 1993 to provide permanently affordable housing to residents in Summit-University and Lexington-Hamline, two neighborhoods in St. Paul. It has since expanded to include all residents of Ramsey County who make less than 80 percent of the area median income.

Cooperatives

The Hub Bike Co-op
www.thehubbikecoop.org
Founded in 2002, The Hub Bike Co-op, a member of Forward Minnesota, is collectively owned and operated. The Hub, which recently opened a second bike shop in Minneapolis, is also a member of another co-op organization, Mobeus Bicycle Co-op, allowing independent bicycle dealers to achieve greater buying power while remaining community-oriented and local.

Land O’Lakes
www.landolakesinc.com
Founded in 1921 and best known for its butter, Land O’Lakes has over 4,900 dairy farmer owners. In 2007, it had net sales of $8.9 billion and returned $58 million in patronage rebates to its member-owners.

Mississippi Market
www.msmarket.coop
With more than 8,500 members, Mississippi Market was founded in 1979 as a natural food cooperative. Having grown from one store with 1,100 square feet of retail space, the co-op now has more than 100 staff and two stores with more than 10,000 square feet of retail space. It is currently expanding to a third store, adding an additional 6,600 square feet.

Northland Poster Collective
www.northlandposter.com
Established in 1979 after a group of eleven artists, meeting in a workshop, discussed using their artwork as a way to support social change, Northland Poster Collective promotes the art of social justice, the tools of grassroots union organizing and labor activism, and the craft of union workers.

Riverton Community Housing
www.riverton.org
Beginning as an initiative to provide University of Minnesota students with affordable housing, Riverton Community Housing focuses on promoting community-oriented and democratically run student housing cooperatives. Managing five buildings, Riverton provides cooperative housing for over 700 students.

The Seward Community Café
www.sewardcafempls.net
Collectively owned and operated since 1974, the Seward Community Café strives to offer products and services that are independent, local, organic, and sustainable while working to promote a stronger community. The café is a member of Forward Minnesota, the area’s local worker cooperative organization.

Seward Co-op
www.seward.coop
Founded in 1972, Seward Co-op is a natural foods cooperative with more than 7,450 members and $10 million in total sales. Offering locally grown, organic foods, and body care products, the co-op generated almost 20 percent of its sales from local products in 2007.

Wedge Community Co-op
www.wedge.coop
Becoming the first certified organic grocery store in Minnesota in 2002, the Wedge Community Co-op is a natural foods co-op founded in 1974. It maintains over 11,000 square feet of retail space and exceeds $20 million in sales each year. In order to foster stronger relationships with local producers and serve the community, the Wedge doubled the size of its produce wholesaler, Co-op Partners Warehouse, in 2005.

Cross Sectoral

Northland Institute
www.northlandinst.org
The Northland Institute, a subsidiary of the Northland Foundation, assists organizations with a broad range of asset-building strategies, including ESOP formation, social enterprise, community lending and business-assisted individual development accounts.

Employee Ownership

Haldeman-Homme
www.haldemanhomme.com/about.shtml
Founded as a private company specializing in light material handling equipment for industry in 1924, Haldeman-Homme, established an employee stock ownership plan in 1977. By 1987, the firm was completely worker owned. Headquartered in Minneapolis, Haldeman-Homme, has expanded its business to include layouts, technical information, engineering data and service, and final installation across many industries. The firm, which now operates in seven states, has 150 employee-owners, and has annual sales in excess of $50 million.

Northwest Swiss-Matic, Inc.
www.nwswissmatic.com
With 125 employees, Northwest Swiss-Matic, a precision screw machine parts manufacturer that is a certified supplier to many Fortune 500 companies, is an entirely worker-owned corporation.

Stylmark Inc.
www.stylmark.com
Founded in 1954 by Ray Brink to produce a new, quieter, wheel-based rolling door mechanism, Stylmark has expanded to become a manufacturer of aluminum and steel products for retail, hospitality, entertainment, and other commercial environments. As a worker-owned company since 1998, Stylmark has 150 employees, revenue exceeding $20 million, and is considered one of the 50 largest companies in its industry.

Walman Optical
www.walman.com
Founded in 1915, Walman Optical is the nation’s largest independent ophthalmic company with more than 40 branch offices nationwide. This 100 percent worker-owned company has 850 employees and revenue topping $155 million annually.

Green Collar Jobs

Green Institute
www.greeninstitute.org
Founded in 1993, the Green Institute operates a ReUse Center and DeConstruction Services business, which generates $1.1 million in revenue -- a third of the nonprofit's annual budget, while selling reusable building materials to about 60,000 customers and providing 18 living-wage jobs to community residents. Combined with other initiatives, including an environmental energy program, a storm-water management program, and a green building design program, the Green Institute has had a net impact of over $10 million on its neighborhood.Municipal Enterprise

Wireless Minnesota
www.ci.minneapolis.mn.us/wirelessminneapolis
Minneapolis’ “Wireless Minnesota” network covers 59 square miles of the city, making it one of the largest areas covered by wireless worldwide. To create the network, the city partnered with U.S. Internet to build an infrastructure that will provide service anywhere within the city and offer discounted rates for low-income residents and city employees. Five percent of U.S. Internet’s profits will go towards a “digital inclusion fund” which will be used to promote affordable Internet access, low-cost hardware, local content, and training.

Program Related Investment

Minnesota Diversified Industries
www.mdi.org
Over the past four decades, St. Paul-based Minnesota Diversified Industries has employed a social enterprise model to assist people with disabilities and disadvantages by offering progressive development and job opportunities. As of the end of 2005, the firm, which provides packaging services and manufactures plastics, employed 610 workers in three cities (58 percent of whom were disabled and 14 percent of whom were disadvantaged) while enjoying gross sales of $40.3 million. The average wage of the workers exceeded $9 an hour at its two satellite locations and $11 an hour at its St. Paul headquarters site. Business sales provided 98 percent of all nonprofit revenues.

Nonprofits Assistance Fund
www.communityloantech.org
Over the past 20 years, Nonprofits Assistance Fund has helped support the financial capacity of nonprofits to achieve their missions. To date, it has provided more than $61 million in loans to over 1,700 groups throughout Minnesota - ranging from daycare centers to dance companies. In 2003, the Nonprofits Assistance Fund received two PRIs of $500,000 each from the Bremer Foundation and in 2007 it received another $250,000.Social Enterprise

Transit Oriented Development

Metropolitan Council
www.metrocouncil.org
Founded in 1967 to coordinate planning and development within the Twin Cities metropolitan area, the Metropolitan Council provides transportation, water utility, housing, and park and open space services. It has also overseen the development of the Central Corridor Light Rail Transit, whose ridership has already surpassed 2020 projections. Additionally, new commercial and retail activity has opened all along the line and property values near the corridor have increased an additional 22 percent compared to the rest of the city.

University and Community Partnerships

Center for Democracy and Citizenship (University of Minnesota)
www.hhh.umn.edu/centers/cdc/index.php
Growing out of the Project for Public Life, the Center for Democracy and Citizenship was founded in 1993 to encourage public work and strengthen civic life. Some of these projects involve bringing immigrant families, college students, and other community members together to learn and do public work. The Center also partners with neighborhood organizations, local government, and residents to create a culture of learning in the West Side neighborhood of St. Paul. Other projects include working with a student-led effort to create partnerships between university students and staff, and local businesses and neighborhood residents.

Center for Urban & Regional Affairs (University of Minnesota)
www.cura.umn.edu
CURA provides nonprofit groups, neighborhood organizations, local governments, and state agencies them with applied research and technical assistance on various community-oriented and public policy projects. The Hennepin-University Partnership involves the collaboration of Minnesota’s largest county and university on community-based research, sharing expertise, and providing students with field experience. Minnesota 3-D is a GIS-based internet application that organizes labor market, housing, and development information and analysis for economic and community developers in the Twin Cities metro area.