Anyone who has driven down West Broadway has seen the boarded up businesses. The City of Minneapolis has been trying for years to produce some economic stability in the area, but with little success. So, they’ve asked for help.

Theresa Carr, executive director of [American Indian Neighborhood Development Corporation] AINDC, which has transformed the Chicago Avenue-East Franklin business district over the past decade from a crime-ridden and poverty-stricken no-man’s land to one of the city’s most charming commercial nodes, said the organization is anxious to see if it can replicate its success on the North Side.

If you’ve seen the before and after for East Franklin, then you know what a good job the community has done in improving the area. Many new immigrants have opened businesses and found jobs along that stretch of Franklin. It’s home to Maria’s Cafe and the Franklin Street Bakery. And just a few blocks down 11th Avenue is the Somali Mall, a thriving hub of activity for the East African immigrant community.

Hopefully, AINDC and its partners can create the thriving and neighborhood focused development that East Franklin has enjoyed.

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