City Briefs

Annual affordable housing funding
The city council has approved using $15,880,000 of the Affordable Housing Trust Fund (AHTF) to support 10 affordable housing projects. This includes two located in southwest Minneapolis. One, located at 1301 W. Lake St. in South Uptown, will receive a loan of up to $1,000,000 towards the new construction of a 120-unit apartment building. The other project, Passage Community in Whittier at 17 24th St. East, will get up to $650,000 towards rehabilitating 17 units of permanent supportive housing. All the approved projects are expected to create or preserve 1,351 units with 867 being considered affordable to people making $58,650 or less a year, including 325 units that should be affordable for those making $35,200.

Grants to creative businesses
Minneapolis’ office of arts, culture and the creative economy has awarded 26 enterprises money to assist in their recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. This will include cash assistance, training, and planning. Those receiving funding include the southwest area creative businesses of Z Puppets Rosenschnoz, at 4054 Chicago Ave S; Arena Dances located at 711 W. Lake Street; and Soo Visual Arts Center at 2909 Bryant Ave. S.

New Nicollet project
Until the end of the month, city staff are encouraging people to comment on what should be done at former Kmart site where they plan to reconnect Nicollet Ave. between Lake St. and the Midtown Greenway. People can take an online survey by midnight, Dec. 31 and learn more about the New Nicollet Redevelopment Project visiting https://www2.minneapolismn.gov/government/programs-initiatives/new-nicollet/.

Transportation plan and equity
The city is seeking comments on a racial equity framework for transportation planning in the city. The framework identifies racial equity strategies to be implemented through 2030. In 2020, the city council declared racism a public health emergency and outlined goals related to reversing past racist policies and practices. Now, city transportation planners hope to incorporate this in planning, designing, and maintaining transportation projects as a part of building an antiracist culture in the city. The draft was discussed on Dec. 6, at a meeting at the Midtown Global Market, and additional comments will be taken through Jan. 20 via the website at https://www2.minneapolismn.gov/government/departments/publicworks/tpp/racial-equity-framework/

5009 Beard Ave. S.
In December, the city planning commission reviewed plans for a new mixed-use building at 50th and Beard on the former Lake Harriet Christian Church property. Brian Woolsey of Beard Manager, LLC, is proposing to demolish the existing structure to construct a new five-story building with 63 dwelling units and 1,500 square feet of commercial space. The existing church structure, built in 1950, was determined by city heritage preservation staff to be a potential historic resource, but a demolition of historic resource application was approved by the heritage preservation commission in September.