NRP Success Stories - Ward 1 - Some of the Success Stories from Ward 1

• Central Avenue Improvements – Audubon, Holland and Windom Park invested NRP funds in pedestrian safety lights for Central Avenue, a Business Watch Program to keep crime down, and Central Avenue identification banners with a new Central Avenue logo.  Perhaps the most visible of the new Central Avenue improvements are the 95 low-level pedestrian scale street lights that span from 18th to 27th avenues NE. The lights create a safe, pedestrian friendly environment and link Central Avenue to rear parking areas.

• Home Improvement Programs – The Audubon Neighborhood Association (ANA) invested 60% of its Phase I NRP funds in its housing programs.  Over $1.2 million of its NRP.

• Home Improvement Program – Columbia Park invested $200,000 of their NRP funds in a home improvement program that leveraged an additional $125,000 of private investment. Eighty-six homes were improved through the program, with improvements ranging from new roofs and siding to sidewalk and foundation repairs. 

• Columbia Park Improvements – Columbia Park residents invested $142,000 of their NRP funds in improvements to the Columbia Park playground and nearby ball fields. With $100,000 from the Park Board, and a $70,000 Youth Initiative Grant, the total investment exceeded $300,000. Improvements included new playground equipment, a half basketball court, a junior softball field, a rugby/soccer field and a big red slide.

• Housing Programs – Logan Park invested $855,800 of NRP funds in its home improvement programs. This investment has leveraged $667,200 of private funds for a total investment of $1,523,000, As a result, 206 homes have been rehabilitated through the programs, including some of the worst properties in the neighborhood. 

• Problem Properties Program - An additional 25 properties (not included in the home improvement program covered above) were improved through the Logan Park Problem Properties Program., 61 of the 94 “problem” properties originally identified have been  improved.  The Problem Properties Program received a “Best Housing Program” award at NRP’s 10-year celebration. 

• Logan Park – Logan Park NRP funds have been used for programming and physical improvements at Logan Park Recreation Center.  $60,000 of NRP funds were invested in the extensive renovation of the Logan Park playground and equipment and $22,000 has been used to fund a summer youth coordinator position.

• Northeast Park Arbor Area – Northeast Park residents provided $100,000 of NRP funds to create an arbor area at Northeast Park.  Adults now have a quiet green space to enjoy while young adults and children play in the various improved recreational areas in the park.  The arbor area includes picnic tables, park benches, pedestrian lighting, paved paths, and a concrete pergola.

• Home Improvement Program – The neighborhood allocated $265,000 of NRP funds for exterior and interior improvements to older homes in Northeast Park.  43 grants totaling $120,000 were made to lower income households, and 77 matching grants totaling $145,000 were made to other households in the neighborhood.  Improvements included: new driveways, sidewalks, roofs, furnaces, painting, siding, doors, and windows.

• Cavell Park Improvements – The neighborhood purchased new playground equipment and renovated the playground area at Cavell Park.

• Windom Community Center – Residents in the Windom neighborhood invested $1.7 million of NRP funds in a $3 million Windom Community Center. The project provided new classrooms, meeting rooms, media center, gymnasium, and park multi purpose rooms.  The Windom Community Center is a bricks and mortar, dream come true for the residents of the Windom neighborhood.  The project was a partnership between the Windom Community Council and Task Force, the Minneapolis Public School Board, the Windom Open School Site Based Management Team, the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board, and the Volunteers of America. The design and final construction produced a beautiful addition to the Windom Open School, which is architecturally compatible with the historic school and functionally efficient for use by the School, the Park Board, and the Windom Community Council.

·   Windom History Book – The Windom neighborhood had several life long residents.  The WCC secured a CURA grant to fund a journalism graduate student who interviewed the neighborhood elders and compiled a history book with photos and stories about the early settlers in the area.  The history was printed using $1,341  in NRP funds and distributed to local residents, realtors and businesses.

·   Commercial Grant Program – $100,000 in NRP funds was set aside by the neighborhood as a match at a ratio of 1:1 for neighborhood businesses interested in making commercial exterior improvements.  More than 20 neighborhood businesses participated and made improvements to their business locations..

• Home Improvement Programs – Windom Park neighborhood residents have invested $183,000 in home improvement grants and more than $725,000 in home improvement loans. These programs have enabled the neighborhood to nearly eliminate houses in substandard condition. 

• Stinson Marketplace/Rose Court Townhomes Project –The “Stinson Marketplace” and 32 “Rose Court” town homes are now located on the former site of the Rosacker’s greenhouse in Northeast Minneapolis as the result of a $25,000 grant for land acquisition/demolition, $100,000 in low interest business loans, and a $500,000 loan guarantee from Windom Park’s NRP Action Plan.  The land formerly carried a zoning designation that would have allowed uses anywhere from the originally proposed three-story apartment building to an adult entertainment establishment.  Neighborhood input on both planning and financing created a development that benefited both the neighborhood and the city.

• Central Avenue Improvements – Windom Park residents invested $100,000 of their neighborhood NRP funds in pedestrian street lighting for Central Avenue in partnership with the City.