Questions for South Minneapolis Section between Lake and Franklin, Blaisedell and Elliot

 

Week 4 2/24

Things to keep in mind

 

Week 3 Questions:

 

(New focus, Whittier N'hood only, dropping West Phillips for now.)

 

Q: Who owns what in Whittier (map w/owners and property values)? (A)

 

Q: How did Wells Fargo HQ get located where it is? Was there tax-increment financing involved? (B)

 

Wells Fargo (then Norwest, before the merger) bought the land from Honeywell in 1999 and rehabbed it for about $175 million, entirely without subsidy. It's actually one of the larger private investments in minneapolis (going largely to a private corporation that builds cluster-bombs).

 

Wells Fargo then seems to have recieved a 35W flyover worth $40 million from the city. So nothing is without a little bit of grease.

 

Q: Who can vote on Community Development Corporations (CDCs)? (Aeon - Ben, WBCDC - L)

 

Aeon- I've got the bylaws, it seems like anyone in their "service area" gets an equal vote, unfortunately they won't tell you what that area is. I spoke with people there and they were quite evasive. I found some news articles suggesting anyone in Minneapolis, St. Paul, or Chaska can vote. More at the meeting.

 

Q: Where does NRP $ come from? Are committee/working group decisions really representative of the n'hood? (L)

A: Here's what I found on their website. Not too informative:

 

"In 1987, with signs of neighborhood decline in Minneapolis becoming increasingly apparent, the Mayor and City Council created a Task Force that reported in May 1988 that physical revitalization of Minneapolis neighborhoods was badly needed and would cost over $3 billion. The Task Force urged the City to initiate a citywide planning effort with guidance from neighborhood residents.

 

In May 1989 an Implementation Committee proposed a revitalization program that would "protect" fundamentally sound neighborhoods, "revitalize" those showing signs of decline and "redirect" those with extensive problems. Later that year, a Technical Advisory Committee of key local government staff endorsed a process that encouraged the jurisdictions serving Minneapolis to work together to use existing resources to support addressing neighborhood priorities."

 

So this is how I read the above, along with other info from the website:

 

- In 1988 the city decides physical revitalization of the n'hoods will cost $3 billion.

 

- In 1990 the legislature and city council dedicate $20 million/year for 20 years. This equaly $400 million. They money comes from MCDA's Common Project, which is tax increment financing (TIF) public funds. Roughly how TIF works: The city predicts and increase in property value (and therefore tax income) from improvements, so they borrow (debt) to make those improvements. (There's something funny about how the borrowing works and how the "increment" is stretched over the whole metro area, so the suburbs end up subsidizing the ciy with their taxes.) The city then dedicates the increased revenue to finance the debt incured in development. So basically there has to be an increase in tax income/property value for the whole thing to work. So according to their numbers, they want to get $3 billion in improvement out of the n'hoods, but are only putting up $400 million to do it. How do they make up the difference? I'd say we make up the difference with our volunteer hours spent developing block clubs and "leveraging funding" (hot phrase nowadays) to make n'hoods safer and more beautiful. NRP calls this making use of "human resources and other assets", collaboration for efficiency, "redirection of jurisdictional budgets (city, county, public schools, parks, and libraries) to address strategies in Neighborhood Action Plans", and "using NRP funds to leverage other community resources to fill funding gaps remaining."

 

- So maybe what NRP is doing is getting n'hood residents to put in their labor so the city can spend less money doing it. If that's it, sure, I'm fine with it, but not if the outcome is that those same people have to pay more money to the government in the form of property taxes, or move out if they can't. We do the work, and we pay them to let us do it!

 

Another person's critique of NRP from a meeting I had last fall: Pre NRP, the city gave $ to n'hood organizations, they kept communication going with the city and n'hood group leaders would challenge and replace elected city officials. If they organized well, they could get more city $ for operating their n'hood group. In this way n'hoods could threaten beaurocrats and make them listen to their concerns. Post NRP, n'hood organizations are encouraged to fight internally rather than fight the city. NRP is a political cover for a TIF (tax increment financing) scheme. They put all the separate TIF districts together and refinanced it all at one time to generate 20 million in new revenue. The legislature then wanted to use the money for n'hoods. But TIF money supposedly comes out of our tax dollars in the first place. (We'll study this more.) Now 81 n'hoods are doing NRP plans, with no technical support except for what they use their money to hire.

 

As for whether NRP decisions are truly representative of the n'hood, I'd say no. Although the action plans need to get approved by a large % of the n'hood residents before implementation, usually only a minority of residents have the time to create the action plans. I'll bring an example of the ballot process to class next week. Here's an article by Al McFarlane about NRP in reference to "the marginalization of Black people by the neighborhood organizations".

 

Q: Do homeowners have more power than renters in h'hood politics? (E)

 

Q: How does mobility affect gentrification? What causes increased mobility? (T)

A: From the 2000 Census:

 

Year Householder moved into unit

1999 to March 2000 41,749 25.7%

1995 to 1998 52,892 32.6%

1990 to 1994 23,863 14.7%

1980 to 1989 19,928 12.3%

1970 to 1979 10,416 6.4%

1969 or earlier 13,515 8.3%

Toatal 162,363

 

RESIDENCE IN 1995

Population 5 years and over 357,867

Same house in 1995 152,710 42.7%

Different house in the U.S. in 1995 183,328 51.2%

Same county 100,243 28.0%

Different county 83,085 23.2%

Same state 34,898 9.8%

Different state 48,187 13.5%

Elsewhere in 1995 21,829 6.1%

 

Q: Are we a think tank?!?!!!!

 

Q: What were Mpls' riots in the 1960s about? How did fire department/police react? Was there a federal involvement in the response? How do riots relate to moving impoverished people out of the innter cities? (M)

 

Q: What people can we ask to come talk to us in future weeks? (L, etc.)

 

Q: Are there surveys of residents on n'hood satisfaction, perception of crime, etc? (E)

 

Q: What's up with Hope Community? (L)

A: Follow the link for good info. They develop and manage low-income housing and a community center in West Phillips. The main location is at Franklin and Portland, SE corner. They seem to have an organizing approach and I highly respect the people I know who work there. I haven't met with them yet about this class. They even mention gentrification as a concern on their main info page, check it out! Here's a quote from the website: "According to a Minneapolis Star Tribune article, the area had the biggest percentage increase in median single-family home price between 1996 and 2001 in the metro area - a 134% increase. Current residents stated over and over in Hope's listening sessions that they fear they will be completely displaced in the near future by housing they can't afford. Low-income people of many cultures who are creating the future of this neighborhood tell us they want to stay in the neighborhood. Hope's work to create affordable housing and our strong commitment to engaging the community will help make that possible."

 

Q: What housing trusts/land trusts are active in Whittier? (B)

 

Prg, City of Lakes Community Land Trust, Whittier Community Development Corporation

 

Q: What's the federal government's role in all this?

 

Q: Get copies of the Kerner Commission Report and HUD's Regional Housing Mobility Program Guidebook. (L)

A: I think this is the full report right here. Let me know if it's not. The Guidebook is available at the Mpls public library, gov't docs (call # HH 1.6/3:H 81/14), but can't be checked out. Anyone want to go take notes? I did find an online copy of the article on Spacial Deconcentration from Skot!'s gentrification zine that tuned me into it.

 

 

Week 2 Questions:

 

Q: Why does the city of Minneapolis keep changing the name of its planning/development arm? (L)

A: From talking to people, this is what I have so far: The changing names are due to structural changes that would streamline the departments. Before you had to go through all departments to get various approvals, now it's just all in one. It was MHRA (Minneapolis Housing Redevelopment Agency) a long time ago. In the late 70s it was combined with MPHA (Minneapolis Public Housing Authority) to create MCDA (Minneapolis Community Development Corporation. The most recent change is combining MCDA witht he Planning Department to creat CPED (Community Planning and Economic Development). CPED now is economic development, housing, and planning all together. All this consolidation and reduction of red-tape, which is also checks and balances, could possibly create a conflict of interest.

 

Q: What employers are in the n'hood? What was there before? Industry/factories? Where are the blue collar jobs? (M)

 

Q: Why do n'hoods turn red or green (low/high real estate values according to city maps)? (Save this Q for later.)

 

Q: Where do people go after they move? What are the demographics over time? (L)

A: No answer to the first part yet. Or the second really, but I wanted to post that where I got really good demographic info about Cedar-Riverside (I'll bring it to class, just have a paper copy from 2005) was originally from LISC (Local Initiative Support Corporation), and they got it from ESRI.

 

Q: What are the rental rates? How do they change over time? (B.G., answered... post here?)

 

Q: What is the Framework for the Future? What are the Phase I and II NRP action plans for Whittier? (E)

 

Q: What's up with the Life Sciences Consortium and the Health Careers Institute? Who's behind the branding? (Ben)

 

Q: What's up with Project for Pride in Living (PPL)?

 

Q: When did MCAD move there and how did it influence the n'hood? (P)

 

 

 

Week 1 Questions:

 

Q: Who owns it?

A: Eat Street ownership map

 

Q: Who represents it?

A: Ward 6: Robert Lilligren

 

Neighborhood Groups

 

Q: Where is Dean Zimmerman now? (T)

StarTribune Article by Dan Browning

zimmermanforjustice.org aka David Tilsen (lives only two blocks out of our focus area) and Scott Cramer 612-281-8576

 

Q: Could David Tilsen and/or Scott Cramer be a Markel?

 

Q: Where is the new construction going on? (T)

 

Week 4 2/24

Things to keep in mind