Unrecognized Potential Along Twin Cities Commercial Corridors Paul Singh Macalester College

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April 2005 Unrecognized Potential along Twin Cities Commercial Corridors Paul Singh Macalester College

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Paul Singh

SeniorHonors Project MacalesterCollege GeographyDepartment Advisor: ProfessorDavid Lanegran: Introduction to the Publication

This publicationdeveloped out of a collaborativeeffort betweenthe Macalester CollegeDepartment of Geographyand the NeighborhoodDevelopment Center (NDC). According to their mission statement,NDC is a community-basednon-profit organization that works in the low-income communitiesof St. Paul and Minneapolisto help emerging entrepreneursdevelop successful businesses that servetheir community. In order to further their mission,NDC hasbecome involved with redevelopmentefforts along the commercialcorridors in the Twin Cities. In 2004,NDC approachedthe Macalester College Department of Geographywith the task of developing a method for identifying areasalong the commercial corridors that had the potential to support start-up businesses. The MacalesterCollege Department of Geographyagreed to work with NDC becauseof the department'sbelief that the corridorsprovide both social and economic functions that are crucial for vibrant, healthy cities. Over the summer of 2004, a research team comprised of ProfessorsDavid Lanegranand Laura Smith and studentsCole Akeson, JovanaTrkulja and Paul Singhworked to developa statisticaland Geographical Information System (GIS) model that would identify segmentsof the corridors that had unrecognizedpotential for businesssuccess. Upon completion of the research,the model was presentedto the NDC staff. The findings of the study have been used by NDC to guide future investmentsalong the corridors. The model for identifying unrecognizedpotential is a powerful tool that can be used by many other non-profits and community organizationsthat work toward the redevelopmentof the commercialcorridors. Yet at the completionof the study,the findings did not exist in a format that was readily accessibleto these organizations. Therefore, it was my goal to createa publication that could be easily read and understood by this targetaudience. Also, althoughthe model is a powerful tool for identifying unrecognizedpotential, the model in itself doesnot suggestways in which this potential could be realized.In additionto producinga publicationdetailing the resultsof the study, it was also crucial to provide specific strategiesthat enablenon-profits and community groups to bring about revitalization along the corridors. The publicationthat comprisesmy honorsproject is not a traditional academic paper; it is meant to have a wider audienceand hopefully, a greaterimpact on the surroundingTwin Cities communities.I am pleasedto report that the publicationhas received a greatdeal of attention from the planning departmentsof the cities of St. Paul and Minneapolisas well as the Local Initiatives SupportCorporation (LISC), a non-profit consortium of organizationsinvolved in community developmentefforts. It is my hope that this publication will continue to serveto guide the efforts of organizationsthat work toward rcvitalizatron of the corridors.

Paul Singh MacalesterCollege Department of Geography April2004 Unrecognized Potential along Twin Cities CommercialCorridors

Part I: An analysis of the potential for commercial success along historic streefs in Minneapolis and St. Paul.

MacalesterCollege Depaftmentof Geography St. Paul,Minnesota

DavidLanegran, Ph.D. LauraSmith, Ph.D. ColeAkeson PaulSingh JovanaTrkulja with supportfrom the NeighborhoodDevelopment Center

January2005 Table of Contents - Part I

Introduction page 7 Variables that Infl uence Success page 8

The History of the Predicted Levels of Commercial Coridors Page2 Success page 9

An Era of Decline page3 The Success Index v. the Success Prediction page 11

The Role of Ethnic Unrecognized Potential Businesses Page4 for Success along the Corridors page 12

The Potential of the Conclusions page 13 Commercial Corridors Page5

Success Levels along Acknowledgements page 26 the Commercial (Part II) Corridors page 6 End Notes (Patt II) page 24 Introduction

The commercial corridors were once the premier the corridors,and if so, whereit would occur. location for commercialactivity in the Twin Cities. The purposeof this publicationis to sharethe findings Commercial functions located on the conidors to of a study conducted by the Macalester College take advantageof the easyaccessibility of the streets. Departmentof Geography.The aim of this study was As the cities grew, however,the corridors lost their to determinea techniquefor identifying unrecognized statusas the premier shoppinglocations. Despite the potential for businesssuccess along the commercial decline of commercialfunctions along thesestreets, corridors. the commercialcorridors remain a crucial component ofthe inner-cityneighborhoods in Minneapolisand St. This publication will cover three main areas: the Paul.For that reason,many organizations are working history and presentstate of the commercialconidors, to improvethe statusof the commercialcorridors. the processof identiffing areaswith unrecognized potential for businesssuccess and the implications Revitalization efforts along the coridors have had of the study.By identiffing areaswith unrecognized mixed success.Attempts to bring businessesto the potential, this study offers a developmentmodel corridorshave succeededin someareas, but failed in that can assist neighborhoodgroups and business others.These experiences have promptedconcemed organizationsin their revitalizationefforts. individualsto askifthere is potentialfor successalong

UnrecognizedPotential along Twin CitiesCommercial Corridors page 1 The History of the CommercialCorridors

The commercialcorridors of St.Paul and Minneapolis follow the historic pattemof the streetcarlines that branchedout fiom the two downtownsand supported ::;:ii the urbancores. i

Prior to the streetcarera" commercial functions had beencentered in the urbancore. The introductionof the streetcarsto the Twin Cities in the late 1880sen- abledworkers to leavethe downtownsin favor of low density suburbanneighborhoods. With the streetcar systemfully in placeby the 1930s,business entrepre- neursmoved out alongthe main transitroutes to take advantageofthe highly accessiblelocations. StreetcarPassengers on UniversityAvenue. Photo Credit: The Minnesota Historical Society Clustersof storesthrived at the major streetcarline intersectionsand transitstops. Retail and commercial all were locatedalong the commercialconidors. The functionsthat servedthe neighborhoodspositioned sfeetcarsremained the dominantform of transporta- themselvesbetween the major intersections.Small de- tion until the 1950swhen they were replacedby the partmentstores, ofrces, grocery stores, bakeries, phar- automobileand the bus system.This shift in trans- maciesand many othergoods and servicesproviders Dortationmodes forced the old streetcarcorridors to comepetewith new SelectedCommercial Corridors in Minneapolisand St. Paul car-oriented shopping centersin the Minneaoolis: first-tier suburbsfor A: BroadwavAve B: Central Ave C: FranklinAve business.r D: LakeSt E: HennepinAve F: LyndaleAve G: NicolletAve Thecommercial cor- St- Paul: ridors analyzed in 1: Rice St 2: PayneAve 3: Arcade St. this studywere cho- UniversityAve 6: Selby Ave 4: East 7th St 5: sen to encompassa 7: Grand Ave 8: West 7th Street wide rangeof variation in the character of the corriodors. The eight streetsin St. Pauland the sev- en streetsin Minne- apolis combine for approximately fifty milesof mixedcom- mercialand residential functions.

The corridorsare displayedwith a quarter mile buffer surroundingthe streets. lJnrecognized Potential along Twin Cities Commercial Corridrs page 2 An Era of Decline

The rise of the automobileera usheredin an era of declinefor the commercialconidors. Not only were the inner-citytmnsit strips competingwith suburban shoppingcenters, they were also losing their local populationbase to the suburbs. Canthe commercial corridors once again become successful businesslocations?

The automobileallowed people with meansto live further away from their jobs in the cities. The inner city neighborhoodsexperienced a populationloss as peoplemoved outward. The populationthat filled into Many businessesalong the commercial corridorsrelocated or went out of business. the newly availableinner-city housingstock was often poorerand sparser than the populationthat hadleft for ed from the commercialstrips or went out ofbusiness. the suburbs(see map below).In theseneighborhoods Conversely,the few commercialconidors in areasthat the businessesthat oncerelied on the purchasingpow- retaineda middle classpopulation, such as Grand Av- er ofthe local residentssuffered. enueor the Uptown district at LyndaleAve and Lake Street.remain successful business locations. Beginningin the late 1960s,many businesses relocat- The health of the inner city Neighborhoods Served by the Commercial Corridors neighborhoods is inevitably linkedto thehealth of thecommercial corridors. A vibrant Median Income by Block Group commercial street provides goods, servicesand employ- lo - 12s,417 (D lsolze - $so,ezr menl to the local poPulation. O lzs,+re - $o,ooo O la6qzz - +176,246 O +ro,oor- lso,rzz Due to widespreadbusiness decline, neighborhood-based development corporations (NDCs) and community organizations have turned their attention and eforts towards the commercial strips. But before investingvaluable and often scarceresources into the streets,NDC organizershave questionedwhether there is potentialfor businesssuccess along these corridors. After all, conventionalwisdom has long held that that thesestreets The commericalcorridors servemany of the lowest incomeneighborhoods aredestined for failure. in the Twin Cities,Source: Census2000,

UnrecognizedPotential along Twin Cities Commercial Corridors page 3 The Role of Ethnic Businesses

The commercialcorridors have traditionally been a site for ethnic entrepreneursto establishbusinesses. In the past,European immigrants established stores along the streetcar lines. Today the conidors serve as commercialspace for new immigrantsto the Twin Cities.St. Paul has become home to a largepopulation of Hmong. Minneapolishas attractedlarge numbers of Somali,Ethiopian and Native Americanresidents. Both citiesare home to largecommunities of Hispan- ics.These populations have established themselves in severalinner city neighborhoodsin Minneapolisand St.Paul.

The recentdecline of businessalong the commercial The commercial corridors are an corridorscreated, an accommodafingenvironment for accom modating envi ro n m ent for ethn ic new ethnicbusinesses. High vacanciesand low rents for comrnercialbuildings allowed ethnic entuepre- nic businesseslocated along thesecoridors to take neursto locatealong the stripsinexpensively. Many of advantageofthe local consumerbase. the cornmercialcorridors run throughneighborhoods with high percentagesof ethnicpopulations. The eth- In many areasthe landscapeofthe conidors is domi- nated by ethnic busi- Ethnic Businesses along the Commercial Corridors nesses. Since the ethnic businesseses- tablished thernselves Percentaoe of Businesses that are Ethnic alongthe economically bv Block Group depressedcommercial corridors, they have o- ro 21-30 O ar - so(D 61.70 (D st -90 1r-20 aD 31-ao O 5t -60 (D 7r -aoO el - roo been considered by some to be a symptom of businessdecline. Yet increasingly,members of the communigrout- sidethe ethnic population aretuming toward ethnic businessesfor a diverse shoppingor dining experience.

By creatingniche marketsthat attract customers to the corridors, the ethnic businessesmay play a rcle in the rev- The map reveals the areas that have high concentrationsof ethnic bUsrnesses.itilization of the com- S_ources:Macalester College Geography Department Ethnic BusinessSurvey; polk mercialcorridors. SuslnessDirectorv 1999.

UnrecognizedPoten al along TwinCities Commercial Corridors page 4 The Potentialof the CommercialCorridors

Question: where is there unrecognized potentialfor business xA model is a sim- success along Twin plified representation Cities Commercial of reality that uses a Corridors? set of analytical pro- ceduresto answer a Solution: Develooa question. model* that predicts the successpotential for segmentsof the commercialcorridors. GrandAvenue in St. Paulis home to many successfulbusrnesses

Model Procedure: 1: Neighborhoodlevel data was obtainedfrom the United StatesCensus Bureau for the year 2000. All GeographicalInformation Systems(GIS) software censusdafa was analyzedat the block group level (a was usedto developthe model.The model involved censusblock groupis comprisedof approximatelysix four steps: city blocks).

Step 1: Developan indexthat displayscurrent lev- 2: Parcellevel datawas obtainedfrom the Hennepin els of successalong the commercialcorridors. and RamseyCounty Tax Assessors'Offices for the year 2004.A parcelrefers to a plot of land and any Step 2: Investigatethe neighborhoodand parcel buildingsthat standupon it. Only commercialparcels level variablesthat contributeto hieh levelsbusiness wereconsidered in the analysisofthe corridors. of success. 3: A surveyof ethnic businessesalong the commer- Step 3: Map the locationsof favorablevariables to cial corridorswas conductedby the MacalesterCol- predictwhere success is likely to occur. )ege Department of Ceogtaphy in May and June of 2004.Ethnic businesses were identified from thestreet Step 4: Comparethe predictedsuccessful locations basedon the nameof the business,storefiont signage to the currentsuccessful locations to determinewhere andproducts or servicessold. thereis unrecognizedpotential for businesssuccess. AII data usedto accessthe potentialof the commer- The final result of this procedure will be a map that cjal corridorswas aggregated to the blockgroup level. displayswhere there is potentialfor commercialsuc- This madeit possibleto comparevariables collected at cessalong the corridors. varying scales.The resultsof the analysiswill therefore be displayedat the block grouplevel. Data Sources: HennepinAvenue and LyndaleAvenue, despite being In order to assessfbe potentialfor commercialsuc- commercialcorridors, serve different markets and per- cessalong the corridors,data was compiled from three form differentfunctions tlran the rest of the commer- main sources: cial corridors in Minneapolis.Therefore, they were omittedfrom the analysisofpotential success.

UnrecognizedPotential along Twin CitiesCommercial Corridors page 5 SuccessLevels along the CommercialCorridors greatestpatronage for their Question: Whereis there unrecognizedareasthat will resultin the potentialfor businesssuccess along Twin goodsor services.Competition for the bestlocations CitiesCommercial Corridors? resultsin greaterdemand for the prime locations.As a result,rents at in-demandlocations are high, and Step 1: Developan index that displaysvacanciesin theseareas are infrequent. current levels of success along the commercial commercialcorridors. Therefore, businesssuccess along the corridors can be measuredby two indicators:the valueper squarefoot of commercialbuildings (rent) Althoughthe motivationsofindividual businessown- and the percentageof commercialbuildings that are ersmay vary, it canbe generalizedthat businesses suc- vacantper block group(vacancy rate). ceedwhen they turn a profit.Businesses wilI locatein A high value per squarefoot and Levelsalong MinneapolisCommercial Corridors Success a low vacancyrate along a commercial corridor indicatesthat the segmentof the streetis a desirable businesslocation. A low valueper squarefoot and a high vacancyrate indicatesan unsuccessfulbusiness location. Level of The successindex Business combines two Success attributes, rent and vacancy rate, into a NoData single variable.

Low In orderto analyzethe currentlev- O Medium-Low elsofsuccess along the commercial corridors,the rent andvacancy rate lvledium were combinedinto a singlevari- able:the successindex. 14edium-Hrgh O ngn The mapsof the succesindex in Minneapolis and St. Paul break the combinedmeasure of rent and vacany into five categoriesrang- ing from low to high to displaythe variationin successalong the commercialcorridors.

In Minneapolis.high levelsof busi- Ave B: Central Ave C: FranklinAve D: Lake St A: Broadway nesssuccess are occurringalong E: HennepinAve F: LyndaleAve G: Nicollet Ave NicolletAvenue, especially in the The successindex displays a wide variation in business success along areaknown as 'Eat Street.' the commercial corridors. Sources: Census 2000; MNIS. unrecognizedPotential along Twin CitiesCommercial Corridors page 6 Success Levels (cont.)

Grand Avenue, commonly thought of as the most variablessuch as accessibility, safety, or people'sper- successfulcommercial corridor in theTwin Cities,is ceptionsof the corridors in the analysisproved too shownon themap ofSt. Paulto havea high levelof difficult to quantifi at the block group level. successbased on the successindex. This factreveals that the indexis an accuratedepiction of the business reality alongthe corridors. What attributes make a commercial corridor Areaslabeled as 'No Data'lackcommercial buildings. successful? As a result,they cannotbe assigneda successlevel. WestSeventh Street in pa(icular haslarge amounts of The mapsofthe successindex are a snapshotin time; non-commercialfunctions borderins the corridor. they reflectthe reality on the groundin Juneof 2004. Successalong the corridors is constantlyfluctuating. The underlyingreasons for businesssuccess are not As such,this publication will artemptto predictwhere apparentin themaps ofthe successindex. What makes futuresuccess will occur. NicolletAvenue in Minneapolisand Grand Avenue in St. Paulsuccessful while othercommercial conidors fail to attractor keep businesses?The answerto this SuccessLevels along St. Paul CommercialCorridors questionis obviouslycom- No plex; otherwiseall the com- Level of Data Low O Medium-Low mercialcorridors would be Business Medium Medium-HighO Hign successful. Success

This study will examine two sortsof variablesin orderto explaindiscrepancies in businesssuccess along the conidors. The characteristicsof the surrounding neighborhoodsand the characteristicsof the commercialbuildings along the corridorswill be analyzedto testwhether these variables havean impacton business success.

Neighborhood and parcel level variablesare not the only variablesthat af- fect success.Nevertheless, they are the most readily 1: RiceSt 2: PayneAve 3: Arcade St. 4: East 7thSt 5: UniversityAve availableand easilyacces- 6: Selby Ave 7: Grand Ave 8: West 7thStreet sible datasetsto analyze. Grand Avenue is represented with the highest successlevel. Sources: Census Attempts to include other 2000; Ramsey County Users' Group.

Unrecognized Potential along Twin Cities Commercial Corridors page 7 Variablesthat Influence Success

were in Question: Where is there unrecognized ablestested found be significant determining potentialfor businesssuccess along Twin successlevels. The insignificantvariables were elimi- CitiesCommercial Corridors? nated fiom the analysis.These variablesincluded the percentageof minority population,distance ftom Step 2: Investigatethe neighborhoodand competingshopping locations and the medianage of parcellevel variables that contribute to high the neighborhoods.Variables that could not be quan- pattems percieved levelsof businesssuccess. tified such as traftc or the safety ofthe corridorswere also excluded from the analysis. Theend result is a significantregression that identifies parcel variableswere Severalneighborhood and leveI thevariables that determine sucaess (see table). testedusing a regressionanalysis to determinewhich in alongthe com- variableslead to variations success An idealregression would accountfor all ofthe pos- statistical mercialcoridors. A regressionanalysis is a sible variationalong the commercialconidors. Un- procedurethat determinesthe causalrelationship of fortunately,due to the wide variations in factors variables.ln otherwords, the regressionanalysis will that influencesuccess, such a result is not possible. to be revealwhich variablescause certain areas more ln Minneapolis,the significantvariables account for successfulthan others. thirty-onepercent ofthe variationofsuccess along the corridors.In St.Paul, the significantvariables account selected The variablestested in the regerssionwere for $r'enty-onepercent. These percentages indicate the to reflectcharacteristics ofthe corridors.Not all vari- extentto whichthe variables are influencing the Variables that Determine Success- Regression successof businessalong the coniodors. Resultsfor Minneapolisand St. Paul Understandl'no the Minneapolis Reoression Results: IndependentVariables Coefficient P-Value The coefficient determinesthe strengthand di- rection of the relationship.The greaterthe value Percantage of Ethnic 4.t642 0.0057* of the coefficient,the strongerthe relationship.A Businessesby Block Group positive coefficient indicatesa positive relation- Average Condition of the 1.6430 .0206** ship in which a greaterpresence of the variable Commercial Buildings by leadsto greatersuccess; a negativecoefficient in- BlockGroup dicatesa negativerelationship in which a greater Average Family Size by -3.228r 0.001* presenceofthe variableleads to lesssuccess. Block Grouo AverageAge of Commercial 0.l5I2 0.0026x The P value indicatesthe significance,or valid- buildingsby BlockGroup ity, of the variable.In general,the smallerthe P- the variable is in de- R' 0.31 value, the more significant termining success. St. Paul R']value indicates the accuracyofthe regres- lndeoendentVariables Coefficient P-Value The sion in predictingthe variationsin successalong Median lncome 0.0002 0.0063+ the commercialcorridors. AverageAge of Commercial 0.1036 0.0026+ buildingsper Block Group The variables that were determinedto have a RJ? 0.2r causalrelatiorship with successwill be usedto the potentiallysuccessful locations along the * level of significance= 170 map ** level of significance= 5olo commercialcorridors. lJnrecognized Potential along Twin Cities Commercial Corridors page I Predicted Levels of Success

Question: Whereis thereunrecognized potentialfor businesssuccess along Twin CitiesCommercial Corridors?

Step 3: Map the locationsof favorable variablesto predictwhere success is likely to occur, In St. Paul,the regressionindicated that a higherme- dianincome and older commercial buildings along the streetscontibute to the successofthe corriodors.The presenceof thesevariables creates a more favorable businessenvironment. the astheticappeal of the street The medianincome of a neighborhoodis an indicator of the population'spotential spendingpower. Areas with Predicted success Levels along greatermedian incomes are St. Paul CommercialCorridors betterable to supportmore Level of No Data @ low O M"diur-Lo* businesses.Also, gentrifi- Business cationin St. Paul hasled to MediumO tuedium-HighOHigh more affiuentresidents liv- Success ing alongthe conidors.

Older buildings along the corridors increasethe aes- thetic appeal of the street. Shoppersenjoy the historic feel of the conidors that older buildingscreate.

Using the resultsof the regressionanalysis, it is possibleto mapwhere business successis likely to occur, Areaswith the greatestcon- centrationsof favorableat tributesare the most likley to experiencesuccess. ln the followingmaps the variables that werefound to influence successwere combined into 1: RiceSt 2: PayneAve 3: Arcade St. 4: East 7thSt 5: UniversityAve Ave 7: GrandAve 8: West7s Street one variableto display the 6: Selby predictedlevels of success. The predicted successlevels for the commercialcorridors in St' Paul were determined using the results of the regressionanalysis' sources: Census lJnrecognized Potential along Twin Cities Commercial Corridors page 9 Predicted Levels of Success (cont.)

In Minneapolis,three variableswere found to con- the streets,the regressionresults prove that ethnic tribute to the successof the commercialcorridors: a businesseshave a positive impact on the conidors. greaterpercentage of ethnic businesses,commercial Thesebusinesses provide goodsand servicesto both buildings in good condition and older commercial ethnicand non-ethnicpopulations in the Twin Cities builidings.Conversely, a greateraverage family size The ethnicbusinesses in Minneapolishave succeeded alongthe corridors was found to hinderthe successof in attractingnew consumersto the corridors.The eth- the streets. nic businessesalso give many of the streets distinc- tive charactersthat attractcustomers seeking a diverse While the proliferationof ethnicbusinesses has been shoppingexperience. seenby someas a symptomof businessdecay along As was the casein St. Paul,older Predicted success Levels along buildings along the Minneapolis MinneapolisCommercial Corridors corridorsincreases the aestheticap- peal of the street.Shoppers enjoy the uniquehistoric feel that the older buildings create.Similarly, cus- tomersenjoy shopping in locations with buildingsthat arein goodcon- dition.Well maintainedbuildings increasethe astheticappeaxance of Levelof the streets. Business A high averagefamily size in a Success neighborhoodconelates with a variety of otherdemographics. In this NoData case,a higheraverage family sizeis believedto representthe presence of immigrant populations.Differ- O uedium-Low ent purchasingneeds and shopping Medium preferencesof large families may inhibit someof the businessesin Medium-High lheseareas. Also. largerfamily siz- es may leavecertain areas with less O Higl' discretionaryincome.

The maps of predictedsuccess for the Twin Cities displayhigher levels of successalong GrandAvenue in St. Paul and aroundthe intersection of Lake Streetand Nicollet Av- enueat Minneapolis.This observa- A: BroadwayAve B: CentralAve C: FranklinAve D: Lake st tion indicatesthat the nrodel was Ave LyndaleAve G: Nicollet Ave E: Hennepin F: accuratein depictingthe most suc- Themap of Minneapolisdisplays higher predicted level of successalong cessfulbusiness locations. the section of Nicollet Avenue called 'Eat street,' Sources: Census 2000; MNIS. lJnrecognizedPotential along Twin CitiesCommercial Corridors page10 The SuccessIndex v. the SuccessPrediction

els.ln thegraph. each block group is assigneda value Question: Where is there unrecognized potential for businesssuccess along Twin rangingfronr 0 to 4 basedon howmany levels the suc- CitiesCommercial Corridors? cessprediction over or under-predictssuccess.-

in thegraph, the model exactly matches the Step 4: Comparethe predictedsuccessful As shou'n in 64 block groups.Since there is no discrete locationsto the currentsuccessful locations index of success,this study will to determine where there is potential for ditl-erencebetween levels blockgroups in rvhichthe prediction only dif- businesssuccess. consider ltrs lrornthe index by onesuccess level to bea match. Each block group rl'as assignedtwo successlevels: Therefore,the model malches the indexin 159out of one basedon the successindex andrhe otherbased on 205total block groups or 78olo. the successprediction. A conparison of the two levels revealsthe accuracyofthe successprediction. For The comparisonalso releals whether the blockgroup example,based on the successindex a ccrtain block is more or lesssuccessful than rvouldbe predicted group was assigneda mediunt-low level of success. basedon neighborhoodand parcellevel variables. Basedon the successprediction the sameblock group l7 blockgroups, or 8ol0,are more successful than the rvas assigneda medium high level of success.The modelpredicts. Conversely,29 block groups, or l4%. comparisonofthe two levelsreveals that the succcss areless successful than oredicted. predictionover-predicts the level of successb;.. 2 lev- Fit of the Success Prediction

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21012 Match + Accuracy of the Model lJnrecognized Potential along Twin Cities Commercial Corridors page 71 N o ol r!

6 E 96 !F\ (|)! o EN L E; o o.) o tt E.i 6* .I F> (l 9; v= 4) a< L -j. L (|) ro !o o ID (J .-i tr E(9 o tD. 'r9 F .=Y o< ?U -6 P EE 0) g| v!) oU} ltl 9.. c =xyi) Elo o) oc, iD OO :i .9 ur> G lt t/|P o i) _e.g o >; u !:i qc o tu (J ofi qre I a.E ) a9 !4 .E r" s o =6 FO r-lo L P r.lr ,q t!.. lFo ..+ (JJ P oJ (, q) .EG 2ot 6n ,q E< c iu .. o uFl o, P ii9 ;\ o s{ r a3 ,} o| tt o .te s o Eri o .=a Oy ID .N ;I, o tr e- 2.9 CJ gt ^o P Lg ; o a I ,$mtEf qtr .N o !Elllfl Ol L o 5i 3 -.< 'o .Y I 9r tr !< f iv (.) s Conclusionsand Implications

The processof identifring segmentsof the commercial corridorsthat have unrecognized potential for business successrevealed four major findings aboutthe commercialcorridors in the Twin Cities.

Firstly,the model displays unrecognized potentlal in 29 out of205 block groupsor 14%ofthe segmentsalong the commercialconidors. This finding runscounter to the long held beliefthat the inner-city commercialcorri- dorsare destined to decline.This studyhas demonstrat- ed that certainsegments ofthe corridorsare potentially successfullocations for futurebusiness development.

Secondly,ethnic businesses have the potentialto revi- RiceStreet in St, Paul In Minneapolls,the ethnic talizethe commercialstrips. Lastly,the wealthof the sunoundingcommunity is not greater overthe successofa businessesexert influence the sole factor in the successof the commercialcor- than the income of the surround- commercial conidor ridors. While incomedoes play a role in determining ethnicbusinesses have great ing neighborhood.The Po- successfullocations, the model identified unrecognized marketsthat attract customersto tential to createniche potentialin a wide variety of neighborhoods.In both the ethnicbusinesses can the conidors.In this manner, Minneapolisand St. Paul other variablesproved to be depressedsections bring new life intothe economically more importantto businesssuccess than income. of the commercialconidors. In attemptingto createvibrant businesslocations, the organizationsworking with commercialcorridors have many assetsto draw fiom. In Minneapolisthe model revealedthat thehistoric nature of the streetsin combinationwith the uniqueethnic businessescrcates a desirable shopping experience.While the income of the surroundingneighborhood was an important factor in St. Paul, shoppershave been drawn to the streets by historicpreservation effiorts.

These findings should strengthenthe resolve of non- profits and businessorganizations that work to improve the statusof the commercialco idors. Their efforts working with ethnic businesses,historic preserva- CentralAvenue in Minneapolis, in tion and businesspromotion have tho potential to create healthy commercial corridors and in turn, healthy preservationplays an importantrole Thirdly, historic neighborhoods. in assuringbusiness success. The historic appearance the of the conidors can differentiate the street from With the findingsin this report,business entrepreneurs locations.Many myriad of other potential shopping in Minneapolisand St. Paul have the potentialto de- build- segmentsofthe commercialcorridors have older velopthe corridorsin wayswhich drawupon the assets premote streetas unique ingsthat couldbe usedto the of the commercialconidors. shoppinglocations.

UnrecognizedPotential along Twin Cities Commercial Corridors page 13 Unrecognized Potential along Twin Cities CommercialCorridors

Part II: The lessons of ' Eat Street:' strategies for com mercia I redevelopment along the corridors

MacalesterCollege Departmentof Geography St. Paul,Minnesota

PaulSingh

SeniorHonors Project Advisor:David Lanegran, Ph,D.

April2005 Table of Contents - Part II

Introduction: Realizing End Notes page 24 Unrecognized Potential page 1

Works Cited page 26 Nicollet Avenue page 2

Acknowledgements page 27 The Creation of Eat Street page 3

Ethnic Entreprenenuers on Eat Street page

Strategies for Redevelopment page 8

Central Avenue page 9

The East Side Corridors page 77

Lake Street page14

Rice Street page77

Selby Avenue page19

University Avenue page 21

Conclusions page 23

The Lessonsof Eat Street Introduction: RealizingUnrecognized Potential ln a studyconducted by the MacalesterCollege De- addressedin other works (seeLanegran, et. al.: The partmentofGeography certain neighborhoodand par- Avenue),Therefore, this publicationwill focuson the cel level variableswere found to havean impacton redevelopmentof Nicollet Avenue.Not only is the the level of successexperience by businessesalong story of Nicollet Avenuelesser known, but the situa- commercialcorridors in the Twin Cities.Using these tion alongNicollet Avenue twenty years ago was very variables,it waspossible to predictwhere success was similar to the situationexperienced by many of the likely to occuralong the corridors.By comparingcur- corridorstoday. rent levelsof successwith predicted levelsof success,several How can unrecognized The following pagesrecount the sectionsof the conidors were potential along the renaissanceof NicolletAvenue. identifiedas having the potential commercial corridors be From this nanative, specific for greatersuccess than they are strategieswill be developedthat cunentlyexperiencing. realized? can aide in othercorridors'redevelopmentefforts. The aim of The study'sfinding that areasalong the corridors have thesestrategies to offer specificmeasures that canim- potential for successnaturally raisesthe following proveupon the corridor'sassets as historic and unique question; shoppinglocations.

How can unrecognizedpotential This publicationwill thenhighlight alongthe commercialconidors be the axeaswith greatpotential and realized? suggestways in which the recom- mendedstrategies can be applied The Macalester College study to enhancebusiness success along identified the assetsthat lead to thesecorridors. The conidors that commercialsuccess, but did not will be treatedin this mannerare: specificallysuggest how theseas- Arcade Street, Central Avenue, setscould be developedto bring East SeventhStreet, Lake Street, about future business success. Payne Avenue, Rice Street and The purposeof this publicationis UniversityAvenue. to look in depth at the areaswith high levels of potentialand sug- The following srategiesare pro- gestways in which theselocations posedwith the realizationthat not might becomemore successful. all areaswill be as successfulas GrandAvenue or NicolletAvenue. Before recommendingstralegies CommercialredeveloDment The Macalester College study for commercial redevelopment can lead to vibrant commercial did not find that greatpotential is along the corridors,it is usefulto corridors like Grand Avenue uniform acrossall se.ctionsof the look at cunently successfulcorri- in 5t. Paul. streets.Rathe! specific areaswere dorslike GrandAvenue in St, Paul predictedto have more potential 'Eat or the sectionofNicolletAvenue known as Sfeet' than others.With this in mind, this publicationwill in Minneapolis.What strategieswere deployed along suggestways in which potentialcan be realizedin a successfulcorridors in order to make them premier manner that is appropriate for specific locations.The shoppingor eatinglocations? discussionof each streetwill include the corridor's history, the current status of the corridor and tactios The narrativeof GrandAvenue has been previously for realizingunrecognized potential.

The Lessonsof Eat Street page I NicolletAvenue Nicollet Avenue Today

In the late 1880s,Nicollet Avenueserved the Minne- In the previoussection of this publication,the com- apolis elite living in the Whittier neighborhood.The mercial corridors of the Twin Cities were analyzed areawas abandonedby the elites in the 1930sand to revealwhether or not potentialfor redevelopment becamethe siteofhigh-density housing. In the 1960s, existedalong the conidors.The analysisofparcel and Whittier was hometo a diverselow-income popula- neighborhoodlevel attributesrevealed that several tion. Overtime, the businessesalong Nicollet Avenue sectionsof the co idors did, in fact, havethe poten- declined in responseto the decreasedpurchasing tial for futurebusiness success. Other areas ofthe cor- powerofthe surroundingneighborhoods. During the ridors were found to be experiencinggreater success 1970s,Nicollet Avenue experiencedabandonment, than would be expectedbased on the neighborhood blight and crime alongthe street.l andparcel level attributes.

One highly successfularea that was found to be ex- periencingmore successthan would be predictedis 'Eat the sectionof Nicollet Avenueknown as Street' (seemap below). SouthofLake Street,the landscape alongNicollet Avenue still reflects the decline ofbusi- nessalong the street.North of Lake Street,however, Nicollet Avenuehas been transformed into a thriving restaurantdistrict.

In order to improve the local economy,Nicollet Av- enue businessleaders teamed up with community groupsto form a coalition.The group membersrec- NicolletAvenue and 26th Street E - 1956; ognizedthat in order for the surroundingneighbor- Photo Credit: Minnesota Historical Society. hoodsto succeed.Nicollet Avenueneeded to succeed. The Nicollet Avenue coaltion was instrumentalin transformingNicollet Avenuefrom a blighted streetinto a renownedres- taurantdistrict with a wide varietyof dinningoptions.z

Many of the problemsonce associated with Nicollet Avenueare similar to problemsfaced by commercial corridorstkoughout the Twin Cities today. In transformingNicollet Av- enueinto a successcommercial corridor, the successofthe Nicollet Av- enue group offers lessonsfor other corridorswith the potentialfor commerial redevelopment. Therefore, the sectionsthat follow will detail the creationof Eat Street.

The Lessonsof Eat Street page 2 The Creation of Eat Street

The intersectionof Lake Streetand Nicollet Avenue nessesand the influx ofethnic customers,blight, litter wasclosed to traffic in 1974in orderto makespace for andcrime remaineda problemalong the street. a new Kmart store.The decisionto cordonoffNicol- letAvenue proved to be dev- The problems associated with the closingofthe street astatingfor Nicollet Avenue The closing of Nicollet Avenue businesses.With the clo- served as a rallying point sure, the businesseson the served as a rallying Point within the businesscommu- northemsection of Nicollet within the businesscommunity. nity. In the late 1970s,busi- Ave lackedaccessibilitv: the ness leaders alone Nicol- streetwas no longera vital tratic arteryto downtown. Iet Avenueunited with communitymembers and the The locationof the Kmart on Lake Streetserved to neighborhoodorganizations of the Whittier, Stevens exacerbatethe declinealons Nicollet Avenue.Busi- and Loring Park neighborhoodsto form the Whit- nessesleft, propertyvalues tier Alliance. All of the ac- decreasedand many of the Traffic Levels along Minneapolis tors were motivatedby the storeflonts and properties CommercialCorridors commonbelief thatNicollet along the street became Avenue had potential and blighted. was worth saving.The coalition of businessleaders As the surroundingneigh- and communitygroups was borhood went through the uniquein that it wasable to period of decline, Asian, work across neighborhood Mexican and Mlddle-Easf boundariesin order to ad- ern immigrantsmoved into dressthe redevelopmentof thearea. The decline in com- NicolletAvenue.t mercial propertyvalues allowed ethnic entrepreneurs The Whittier Alliance ini- who could not pay high tially beganwith small ac- rentselsewhere to establish tivities to improvethe street, businessesalong Nicollet such as the installationof Avenue. decorativetrash cans. The group also worked to se- Throughoutthe 1980s,the cure weekly sheetcleaning, numberof ethnic enterpris- prompt snow removal and es on Nicollet Avenue in- a beat cop to walk along creased.By the early 1990s, Nicollet Avenue.These ef- many of the blocks along forts weredesigned to create Nicollet Avenuewere filed immediate visual improve- primarily with ethnic busi- ments.Small successesgal- nesses. These businesses vanizedfurther supportfor drew the ethnicpopulations the $oup's efforts.Spuned to the street for groceries, on by this support,the Al- traffic levels reveals the effect of The maD of the food and other goods and the closing of NicolletAvenue north of Lake lianceturned to address services unique to their street in 1974. Cars are unable to direct' street's larger problem of homelands. Despite the ly accessNicollet Avenue from Lake Street, businessdecline.t presenceof thesenew busi- Source: MinnesotaDepartment of Transpor- tation;7999.

The Lessonsof Eat Street The Creation of Eat Street (cont.)

Thebusiness leaders were reacting to theunrecognized opmentprocess. The city was able to aid the group's potentialthat they perceivedto exist along the street. efforts by providing funds for streetscapeimprove- By this time, the ethic businesseshad established ments.The Alllance also securedfunds and assis- themselvesas stableenterpiises along the street.The tance from the MinneapolisNeighborhood Revital- businessleaders, some of whom had beenoperating izationProgram (NRP). In conjunctionwith the city on the streetfor decades,observed that the wide vari- and NRP, the Wlittier Alliance was able to improve ety ofethnic businessesalong the streetwas a tremen- blightedstorefronts, plant treesand improveparking dous,unique asset that couldaid redevelopment.After facilitiesalong the street.In 1996and 1997,with the all, one could not find sucha denseagglomeration of slreetscapeprogram nearly complete, the Whittier ethnic businesses,especially restaurants, anywhere Alliance took stepsto guaranteethat the streetscaPe elsein the Twin Cities. would not merelyresult in a simplewindow dressing. Instead,the group wantedto substantivelyimprove the fortunesof businessalong the street,ln order to addressthese concems, the Alliance turnedto a marketingfirm that agreedto work pro bonowith Nicollet Avenue.

Businessleaders felt that the ethnic Dusrnesses brought a new vitality to the street. Here Chinesebusiness owners celebrate the Chinese ExamDlesof ethnic restaurantsand businesses NewYear on NicolletAvenue, along Nicollet Avenue,

Oneof the mainpriorities of the WhiftierAlliance was In conjunctionwith the marketingfirm, Nicollet Av- to challengepeople's perceptions of Nicollet Avenue enue businessessought to establisha unique identi- ascrime ridden and dangerous. ln orderto do this,the ty for the street.By giving the streeta new identity, groupturned to improvingthe physicalappearance of the businesseshoped to further challengethe com- the steet. The first stepundertaken to this end was to mon perceptionsofNicollet Avenueas a decrepitand photographall the storefrontson the street.Once these dangerousarea. The marketingfirm lookedto build photographswere viewed as a whole,the organization an identity upon the presenceof so many restaurants was able to identifi specificsites to targetfor rede- alongthe street.The firm's ideawas to marketNicol- 'Eat velopment.The organizationand planning process for letAvenue as Street'-a diverserestaurant district' targetedparcel redevelopment took over the Alliance In orderto promotethe new image,the firm hung Eat over threeyears. What had developedover this time Streetbanners up alongNicollet Avenue.Food writers was a committedgroup of communityactivists with a and restaurantreviewers for the local papersquickly clearplan of how to improveNicollet Avenue. caughtonto the ideaand promotedEat Streetin their columns.Positive reviews for restauantsencouraged At thisjuncture, the WhittierAlliance approachedthe peopleto seekout Eat Street.3 city of Minneapolisto invite the city into the redevel-

The Lessonsof Eat Street page 4 The Creation of Eat Street (cont.)

Nicollet Avenue's location near downtown Miffleapo- in thesebusinesses are not only flom within the eth- lis aided the formation of a restaurantdistrict identi- nic immigrantgroups. Eat Streethas becomea major ty. The Avenue'sproximity to the draw for people from outsidethe ConventionCenter, the Minneapo- immigranlcommunities as well. lis Collegeof Ar1 and Design,the Children'sTheater and other arts The successfulefforts of the busi- and eventsathactions drew down- ness and neighborhood coali- town visitorsto Eat Street.In the tion axe apparentin the pleasing late 1990s,the neighborhoodsur- streetscapeof NicolletAvenue.The roundingEat Streetalso underwent area is no longer viewed as dan- demographicchanges. The inner gerous or crime ridden. Property city wasno longerbeing viewed as valuesalong Eat Streethave risen an undesirablelocation to live. As in recent years (see map below). a result,many peoplemoved into Curently there are four major de- the Whitter, Stevensand Loring velopmentstaking placealong the street.Loft-style living complexes Parkneighborhoods. Banners identify Eat Street and promote "17 blocks of eating with businessspace on the first Currentlythere are over 30 ethnrc adventure." floor are moving onto the avenue. restaurantsand grocerystores be- Despite the rapid successof the tweenLake Street and FranlinAvenue along Eat Street. axea,the ethnic businesseswhich were originally at- Theseestablishments form the backbonefor one of tractedto Nicollet Avenuebecause of cheaprent do the most successfulcommercial corridors in the Twin not appearto be leavingthe street.Turnover among Cities.On the weekendsthe sfieethas an atmosphere the ethnic businesseshas remainedrelatively low. of vitality as patronsshop and eat along the street. As long as thesebusinesses continue to thdve along Nicollet Avenuerestaurants are often featuredin the Nicollet Avenue,Eat Streetwill be retain its identity local papersas someof the best in the Twin Cities. as one of the premier locationsfor eatingout in the Groupsoften arrangetours ofEat Streetbusinesses to Twin Cilies.n experienceall the uniquefoods. People come lrom all overthe TWinCities seeking an adventurousand tasty diningexperience. The customersshopping and eating Current sucess Levels along Eat Street Levelof /+\"='<': Business Success d-t'st 7a No Data @ Low O Medium-Low Medium aD Medium-High I IT rD Hlgh f- ,2 0 5 Miles i ) Sources: T Census I 2000; MNI5 Mexican, Asian, Middle-Eastern and German food can all be found along Eat Street,

The Lessonsof Eat Street page 5 Ethnic Entrepreneurson Eat Street Urban Ethnic Economies: lty of employersand employeesestablishes networks of that allow for the further advancementof the ethnic In orderto understandthe processthat Nicollet Avenue community.Workers are ableto gain skills that enable experiencedin becoming an successfulcommercial themto expandinto self-employment.The spatialcon- corridor,it is importantto understandthe dynamicsof centrationof ethnic businessesreflects the residential urbanethnic economies. segregationthat is typical of The proliferation of ethnic ethnic communitiesin inner The clusteringof ethnic res- city neighborhoods.Spatial businessesalong a corriodor clusteringalso promotesthe taurants on Eat Street can can lead to the formation of an to advantagesof businessag- be attributed the efforts ethnic enclave. of immigrant populationsto glomeration. Sectoral con- assert themselves into the centrationin businessniches mainstreameconomy. New immigrant anivals to the takesadvantage ofthe ethnicgroup's skills in areasthat city often lack skills neededto enter the primary la- fill unmetdemand. Specialization in a certainsector or bor force.As a result,these immigrants occupy a mar- sectorsgrants the groupa monopolyover that niche.a ginal position in the workforce.Ethnic entrantsto the laborpool performjobs that the majority populationis The Spatial Location of unwilling to do.r Jobsat the lowest tiers of the labor Ethnic Enclaves: marketare poorly paid and offer little opportunityfor advancement.Restriction to theselow tier jobs inhibits Ethnicbusiness exist in severalstages of incorporation the immigrants'abilityto assimilatein the mainstream into the mainstreameconomy. These stages not only economy.2 pertain to the individual ethic firms, but also reflect changeswithin the largerethic community.The stages In responseto the lack of opportunitiesfound in the areas follows: mainstreameconomy, ethnic entrepreneursseek self- employmentin sectorswith unmet demand.Usually l. ReplacementLabor: The first stageis chaructefized this demandcomes from within the ethnic communi- by a highly concentratedethnic populationand small ty itself. Immigrant groupsrequire goods or services specializedethnic businessesoffering a narrow range unique to their country of origin. These goods and of goodsand servicesto their own ethnicgroup. servicesrequire providers with intimateknowledge of the ethniccommunity. Ethnic entrepreneurs are conse- 2. Ethnic Niche: The secondstage is chwacteraedby quentlyable to establishsmall businessesto meetthe a concentratedethnic population and ethnicbusinesses needsoftheir own ethniccommunity. In this sector,the thatprovide a wide rangeof goodsand services to their ethnicentrepreneurs supply products and servicesthat own ethniccommunity. cannotbe obtainedelsewhere. Small ethnic businesses providean opportunityfor economicadvancement that 3. Middleman Minority.' The third stageconsists of a doesnot exist in the largereconomy.3 residentiallydispersed ethnic population and ethnic businessthat provide a wide rangeof goodsand ser- In certain instances,the proliferation of ethnic busi- vicesto otherminority groups. nessescan leadto the formationof an ethnic enclave. An enclaveis charactertzedby three characteristics: 4. EconomicAssimilation:Theforth stageis comprised the co-ethnicityof owners and workers, spatialcon- of a residentiallydispersed ethnic populationand eth- centrationand sectoral specialization. All threeofthese nic businessesthat servethe membersof the majority characteristicsgive the enclavefirms competitivead- that areinterested in a diverseshopping experience.s vantagesover firms outsidethe enclave.The co-ethnic-

The Lessonsof Eat Street Ethnic Entrepreneurson Eat Street (cont.)

The Eat Streetethnic agglomeration represents a dis- Eat Streetprovides an exampleof an alternatefourth tinctive form of an ethnic commercialdistrict. Like stageof incorporationof ethnic businessesinto the an enclave,the ethnicbusinesses on NicolletAvenue mainstreameconomy. This stageis characterizedas are spatiallyconcentrated and focusedin one sector, the lollowing: food. Unlike an enclave,one ethnicitydoes not dominatethe Eat Streetbusinesses. The entrepreneurson EthnicExperience: ethnic businesses remain spatially Nicollet Avenuereflect the variationin ethnicgroups concentratedwhile sellinggoods and servicesto mem- that cameto occupysouth-central Minneapolis. Also, bersof the majority.These ethnic businessesprovide unlike a ethnic business a unique,diverse experience district, Nicollet Avenue to the majority that cannot doesnot lie at the heart of be obtainedelservhere. a concentratedresidential ethnic population.Instead, Ethnic businessesprovid- Eat Streetis surroundedby ing an ethnicexperience are several diverse communi- apt to remain in agglom- ties,including middle-class eration to take advantage white neighborhoods. of the joint attractioncre- ated by many businesses Another aspectof Nicollet offering similar goods,The Avenue that differentiates presenceof so many ethnic the streetfrom a traditional Ethnic businessesalong Eat Street provide a restaurantson Nicollet Av- ethnic enclaveis the stage unique and diverse ethnic experience to their enueallows patrons to visit of incorporation of Eat clientele. the streetand samplea wide Streetbusinesses. The busi- rangeof food. Peoplevisit- nesseson Nicollet Avenueoriginally soughtto fulfill ing the streetoften go without a specificrestaurant in the unmetdemands of Minneapolisimmi$ant groups. mind,but decidewhere to eatupon arriving. Eat Street A majorunmel demand for any immigrantgroup is appealsto an adventurousclientele. Nearby neighbor- for familiar food. Ethnic entrepreneursalong Nicol- hoodshave significant concentrations of college-edu- let Avenueresponded to this demandby establishing catedprofessionals with disposableincomes and busy grocerystores and restaurants. Over time, Nicollet Av- lifestyles.These are the type of peoplewho eat out enuebecame one ofthe mainplaces where Minneapo- frequently,but alsoappreciate and seek out the diverse lis immigrantgroups went for ethnicfood. Eat Streetexperience.o

Basedon previousobservations about ethnic enclaves, The distinctivenessof the Nicollet Avenue ethnic it wouldbe expectedthat as the ethnicgroups in south- agglomerationis reflectedin the street'smarketing 'Eat centralMinneapolis move toward economic assimila- scheme.The name Street'promotes ethnic food tion, the Nicollet Avenueethnic concentration would whilebeing inclusive ofall ofthe ethnicgroups found disseminate.Yet the experienceof Nicollet Avenue on the street,The Eat Streetconcept also capitalizes suggeststhat the ethnicentrepreneurs along Eat Street on the ethnicexperience that the streetprovides. The are following a diflerent path to economicassimila- agglomerationof ethnicbusinesses on NicolletAv- tion. The businesseson Nicollet Avenuehas not dis- enuecreated a nichemarket that attractscustomers to persedover the lasttwenty-five years. ln fact,the busi- Nicollet Avenue.In this way, the ethnic agglomera- nessesalong the streetappear to be firmly established tion on Eat Streetwas instrumental in transformingthe on Eat Sffeet. streetfrom an undesirablebusiness location to a thrivins commercialcorridor.

The Lessonsof Eat Street page 7 Strategies for Redevelopment

Nicollet Avenueprovides a modelof commercialre- thatNicolletAvenue had an assetin its buildings.Once developmentthat may be usedto advancerevitaliza- improved,their facadeswould have a pleasanteffect tion efforts along other commercialconidors in the on the street.The group appraisedthe statusof the Twin Cities.Using the developmentof Eat Streetas a street'sstorefronts and actedto securefunding to im- model,three strategies for redevelopmentcan be de- provethe streetscape.These efforts slowly paid offas veloped. perceptionsof Nicollet Avenueimproved. Now new commercialand residentialspace is beingbuilt on the I ) Bwiness-CommunityPartnersirp. A remarkable $reel. aspectof the Eat Streetstory is that the impetusfor improvementalong Nicollet Avenuecame from with- 3) Crettion of Niche Markrts: Nicollet Avenuedoes in the community,not from the city of Minneapolis. not havean upper-incomeresldential population in the The coalitionthat developedout of oppositionto the immediatesurrounding area. Instead, Nicollet Avenue closingofNicollet Avenuewas ableto gathersupport hasto attractcustomers from areasoutside the adja- Ilom businessowners and communityand neighbor- cent neighborhoods,such as the upper-incomeLakes hood organizations.Both the businessowners and District.To this end,the NicolletAvenue organization the communitymembers were heavily investedin the was able to capitalizeon the presencaof ethnicbusi- streetand had much to gain from economicredevel- nesses.The ethnic enclavethat had beenestablished opment.The commitmentof theseindividuals made along Nicollet Avenue provided community leaders commercialrevitalization along the conidor a realistic with a fiamework upon which they could build an soal. identity.The creationof the Eat Streetidentity pro- motedthese businesses to the outsidecommunity. In this fashion,the ethnicbusinesses and the NicolletAv- enueorganization were able to createa nichemarket in exoticfoods that attractscustomers to the street.

Theexperience ofEat Streetdemonstrates the impera- tive roles of business-communityleadership, infra- structureimprovement and the oreationof nichemar- kets in creatingviable commercialconidors. This is not to suggestthat every commercialcorridor strive to becomea restaurantdistrict in the image of Eat Street.Each commercialcorridor varies in two re- The owner of the Black Forest Inn, the restau- gards:the availability and conditionof inftastructure rant that anchors the intersection of Nicollet andthe presenceofethnic business.These two factors Avenue and E 26th Street, was critical to the will shapethe directionof redevelopment.Nonethe- redevelopment process. less,along eachcorridor thereexists the potentialfor business-communityleadership in the redevelopment 2) InfrastructureImprovements: Blight and disrepair process. along a commercialconidor leadsto peroeptionsof the sheetas crime-riddenand dangerous.Once these In the seotionsthat follow the strategiesfor redevel- perceptionsbecome associated with the streetthey are opment.Nill be usedto generatespecific recommen- difficult to counter.lf peopleare unwilling to walk dations for certain commercial corridors.The aim down a corridor,businesses will undoubtedlysuffer. of theserecommendations is to demonstrateways in Improving the appearanceof the streetwas the first which businessesand community groups can build priority of theWhittierAlliance. The group recognized uponthe existingassets ofthe streets.

The Lessonsof Eat Street page I Central Avenue of its functions.Even so, during the 1960s,the popu- lationof NortheastMinneapolis decreased drastically. NortheastMinneapolis was the originally the site AlthoughCentral Avenue retainied some of its ethnic of industrial functionsbuilt aroundthe Mississippi restaurants,many businesses left thestreet.r River and the Railroads.The neighborhoodsin this area were first settled by European Central Avenue immigrants beginning in the 1870s. Todav German,Scandinavian and Frenchim- migrantsfound work in the sawmills, The vacancies created on lumber yards and brick mills. Skilled Central Avenue were filled laborerswere able to findjobs asclerks by Northeast Minneapolis' in downtown businesses.Eastern Eu- newest ethnic groups; His- ropeanimmigrants soon followed their panics,Asians and Africans. Western European counterparts into Today Central Avenue has a NortheastMinneapolis.' The availabil- strongconcentration of South ity of employmentcreated a prosper- Asian spice shops, grocery ous working class in NortheastMin- storesand video stores,East neapolis.z African barbers and coffee shops, Hispanic restaurants Tavernsand Europeanethnic restau- and grocery storesand South rants on Central Avenue served the EastAsian takeoutfood res- working classpopulation. In addition taurants.The presenceof so CentralAvenue provideda myriad of many ethnic restaurantsand every-daygoods and servjces. Like central Avenuebetween 22nd grocerystores on CentralAv- - all commercialcorridors, Central Av- and 23rd Avenues 1951,Photo enuehas transformed the av- istorica enueentered a periodofdecline in the Credit : Mi nnesota H I Society enueinto an Eat Streetof its 1960s.Yet CentralAvenue was not as own right. adverselyaffected as other corridors. The presenceof a stable working class immiglant The largestethnic operation on CentralAvenue is the groupsin the areaallowed Central to maintainsome Holy Land Deli. Majdi Wadi,the owner of the combined restaurant,butcher, grocery store and bakery openedthe Holy Land Deli in 1987.The Holy Land catersto Middle Eastems,South Asians and EastAf- rican. The restauranthas becomerenown for its in- expensiveand tasty gyros and other Middle Eastem fare. The grocery store has an olive bar with what mustbe the Twin Cities largestselection of olives.In 2001, Wadi spent$l million to expandand renovate the building he now owns. Operationslike the Holy Land Deli including the CresentMoon Bakery Pa- tel's Indian grocery store and ChiapasMexican restaurant attract ethnic customersto the streetand have transformedcertain sections of CentralAvenue into a The Holy Land Deli Is one of severalethnic busi- vibrant streetonce again.a nessesthat draw customersto Central Avenue.

The Lessonsof Eat Street CentralAvenue (cont.) CentralAvenue has also benefitedfrom an initiative amountofpress in the major papersand the Iocalarts to improvethe streetscape.More than $1.5 million andevents publication. wascontributed to the effort from a varietyof sources including the MetropolitanCouncil, The emergenceof yet anotherfood Local InitiativesSupport Corp., and GreaterSuccess focusedcommercial coridor raises the MinneapolisNeighborhood Re- thanPredicted the question of whether the Twin (- 1and2= vitalizationProgram. The fundswere aaD Cities can supportso many reslau- cre- r- se9ments rant districts.The answerseems to devotedto businessrenovations, of Central I Potential yes -as is good! atingCentral Avenue banners to hang ly Avenue be long asthe food from streetlights,landscaping, mak- r- with Many restaurantscan coexistin the ing morespace lor parking.cleaning .D potential same market as long as they offer LessSuccess up alleywaysbehind stores and efforts than Predicted an innexpensivehigh quality din- to keep crime away from the stre€t. ing experience.There appears to be Bannershang from the streetlights tu a constantdemand for high quality identiff CentralAvenue as the com- z food servedin a pleasantenviron- mercialcorridor of NonheastMinne- (, ment with good customerservice. = apolis.The results ofthese efforts are tr Ethnic restaurantsin particularpro- clearas the imageofthe corridorhas c, vide a cheapform of entertainment beenremarkably improved.5 that can be varied in many ways, which allows a [argenumber of eth- Potential Along G nic restaurantsto coexistin the same Central Avenue tr market.6 c, I The uniquemix ofethnic enterprises The map of potentialalong Central along CentralAvenue can provide a Avenueshows that despitethe recent dining and shoppingexperience that successesof Central Avenue, there is diflerent than the one found on remainspotenlial lor futurebusiness Nicollet Avenue, Selby Avenue,or development.Two areasstand out: any of the othercommercial corri- the sectionof CentralAvenue adja- dors.As long aseach corridor devel- centto downtownMinneapolis (1 on ops in its own mannerbased on its map) and the segmentof the street uniqueassets, the Twin Citiescan be northof l SthAvenue NE (2 on map). hometo manythriving coridors. Thesesections are seperated by an in- dustrialarea focused on the railroad. CentralAvenue can thus build upon its image as an undiscoveredgem. Although there are many ethnic Having alreadyconvinced food crit- storesalong the street,the vast ma- ics,Central must now promoteitself jority are engagedin lower level to the greaterpopulation. The useof functions.Unlike Eat Street,many of Potential for Business marketingand brandingtechniques the shopsalong Central Avenue have Redevelo pm en t aI on g Centra I like those used along Nicollet Av- not expandedtheir marketsinto the Avenue NE enue have the potentialto increase majority population. ln this sense, Avenue'sprominence. These efforts can build CentralAvenue remains an undiscoveredgem for din- Central uponthe successCentral Avenue has had in creatinga ersseeking exotic food, The secretmay soonbe out as positiveimage ofthe street. restaurantsalons Central Avenue have received a fair

The Lessonsof Eat Street page 10 The East Side Historv As the populationleft the East Sidein the 1950s,the areawas deprived of its economicbase. By the 1960s, Severalindustrial areas developed on the St. Paul's PayneAvenue had a reputation for selling usedfurni- east side to take advantageof the area's proximity to ture, an indicationofthe sfeet's decline.The loss of the railroads that served industryin the area,most reoentlythe closureof lhe the downtown.The indus- 3M plant on East Seventh try in the area attracted Street resulted in further immigrant laborers to the economictroubles for the East Side. Beginning in East Side.Shops and busi- the I E40s,European immi- nessesalong the East Side grants moved into Swede were foroedto closeor re- Hollow, a creekbed locat- locate.z ed below the Hamm Brew- ery.Swede Hollow became The East Side the home for severalsub- sequentimmiglant groups: Swedes,Irish, Italians,and The commercialbuildings Mexican Americans. As on the East Side are some Avenueand YorkAvenue - 7930; each ethnic group became Payne Photo Credit: Minnesota Historical Society. of the oldest in St. Paul wealthier,they would aban- (see map on next page). donSwede Hollow, making Very few corridors in the way for the next wave of immigrants.Swede Hollow Twin Citiesretained the samedensity of historicstore- was demolishedby the city in the 1960s,but the East fronts.Howevet the conditionofthese buildingshas Side continuesto attmctimmigrant groups including sufferedas a result of businessdecline. Signs of the recentHispanic and Asian immigrants.t East Side comrnunities'struggles are visible on the landscapeof East Seventh Street, PayneAvenue and The streets of Payne Av- ArcadeStreet. Many of the enue, Arcade Avenue and storefrontsalong the three EastSeventh Street served sfeets are vacant or in dis- the sunoundingEast Side repair. Several businesses community with stores, havedone little to improve banksand businesses.The upon the condition of the businessalong these streets commercialbuildings. mirrored the demograph- ics of the surrounding The businessesalong the community.Al one point, East Side corridors pro- PayneAvenue was known vide basic servicesfor the as "SnooseBoulevard," a surrounding community. derogatoryreference to the Hardware stores, landro- Swede'saffinity to chew- Many older buildingsalong the East side coftidors mats. bars. furniture stores, ing tobacco,or "Snoose." are vacant or in disreDair. barber shops and pharma- Although there were many cies are typical businesses ethnicallvowned business- alonethe EastSide conidors. es along the East Side corridors,few of thesebusi- . nessesprovided authentic goods or services.

The Lessonsof Eat Street page11 The East Side (cont.)

restaurantsand clothing stores. PayneAvenue has an Historic Buildings on the East Side agglomerationof similar ethnicbusinesses around the intersectionof CaseAvenue. Arcade Streethas fewer ro oat, J ethnicbusinesses than Payne Avenue or EastSeventh reao- rers AverageYear Built for I Street,but the streetis hometo a coupleAsian restau- rero- rsze Commercial Buildings on J rantsand Hispanic money-wiring operations. the EastSide Commercial J reze- relr Coridors by Block Group I rslr - rscr Q recz- reer

Ave

Side

Ave One of severalethnic Asiangrocery storeson the East Side commercial corridors.

Severalethnic businesses have prosepered on the East Sideconidors. The PlazaLatina on PayneAvenue is a Hispanicmini-mall similarto the MercadoCentral on LakeStreet. The PlazaLatina has small stores, vendor stallsand a food cantina.The BymoreMexican Super- market and Las TapitasRestaurant are other examples of majorethnic operations on PayneAvenue.

Souce: RamseyCounty User'sGrouP; Census2000

As would be expected,many ethnic businessesare locatedon the East Side commercialcorridors. On PayneAvenue near EastSeventh Street, three Italian restaurantsselve as a reminderofthe EastSide's early immigrantpopulations. Most ethnicbusinesses on the East Side corridorsreflect the newerAsian and His- panic immigrantarrivals to the East Side.East Sev- The Plaza Latina is an example of a successful enth Streethas Hispanic and Asian grocery stores, ethnic enterpriseon the East Side,

The Lessonsof Eat Street page12 The East Side (cont.)

Potential alono the East Side Greater Success Corridors Potential for than Predicted Business -t Potential Much like the successfulintersection of SelbyAvenue Redevelopment + and WesternAvenue, the commercialcorridors on the on the East Side can capitalizeon the presenceof historic East Side LessSuccess buildings.Potential along the East Side corridors exists than Predicted in the historicnature ofthe streets.The redevelopment of olderbuildings could strengthen the streets'identity as well as make the streetsmore attractiveplaces to shop.The SwedeHollow Cafdon EastSeventh Street, with its renovatedhistoric fagade, provides one example ofhow historicpreservation can be usedto benefit The EastSide businesses. In addition.East Seventh Street East hasalready taken steps to inrprovethe streetscapeby Side installinghistoric style streetlampsand plantingtrees alongthe sidewalk.Similar steps along Payne Avenue andArcade Street could improvethe walk-abilityand aDDearanceof the corridors.

ethnic businessto The Swede Hollow Cafe on East Seventh monetaryassistance to bring more Street is an example of historic preservation of the streetsto fill out the availablecommercial space. commercial buildings on the East Side. Convincingethnic entrepreneurs that investmentin storefrontimprovements and historic preservationis Along PayneAvenue, the ethnic businessesmay also a worthwhileexpenditure is, at times,a difficult task. aide in the redevelopmentof the area.The successful At first, the ethnicentrepreneurs operate with narrow ethnicenterprises, such as the PlazaLatina, are creat- profit margins,Ieaving little resourcesfor infrastruc- ing multi-culturalcorridors on the EastSide. Creating ture improvements.Communicating community goals an identityrevolving around the historicnature of the to startupbusiness and financial assistance for improve- streetsin combinationwith theethnic experience could mentscould convinceethnic entrepreneurs to support aftractmore customersto the EastSide streets. ln or- corridorredevelooment. derto do this,community organizations should provide

The Lessonsof Eat Street page 13 Lake Street

Target and Super Valu along with many other chains moved onto Lake Street.These stores were set back For many decades,Lake Streetserved as the principal from the street to provide ample parking. Despite east-westcommercial corridor in Minneapolis.Built up bringingsome revenue to the street,these stores were mostlybefore the 1920s,Lake Streetwas anchored by not successfulin reversingLake Street'sfortunes. In the largeSears shipping center. The businessesalong 1994, Searsclosed the shipping center,leaving the Lake Streetprovided all necessarygoods and services street with an enormous vacanct building. The sheer to south-oentralMinneapolis. Along with the depart- size of the Searsbuilding made it a near impossible ment storo,the streetwas home to drug stores,profes- vacancyto fill. sionaloffices, bakeries, convenience stores, clothing stores,dancehalls, movie theatersand gtocerystores. At one point Lake Streetwas even home to an amuse- ment park and the MinneapolisMillers' baseballsta- dium. The street'slocation near the railroadalso pro- motedthe grol+thof many industial functions.r

The vacant SearsBuilcling encompasses an entire city block along Lake Street.

Lake Street Todav

Lake Streetstretches across several miles and runs - Lakestreet and ChicagoAvenue 7956 through many of Minneapolis' south-centralneighbor- Historical society Photo Credit: Minnesota hoods.Consequently, the streetexhibits a wide range of conditions.At its westernedge in Uptown, Lake As the population enteredthe automobile era, the face Street is home to trendy restaurantsand stores fre- of Lake Stre€t beganto change.Many auto centered quentedby young urban professionals.Moving east businessessuch as garages and car dealerships located Lake Streetis moreeconomically depressed with sev- along Lake Street. The rise in traffc on Lake Street eral dilapidated or vacant storefronts.Major intersec- led to a severeparking shortage.The parking problem tionsserve as focal points for commercialactivity' The along with the loss of inner-city population and com- businessesalong thesesections of the streetprovide petitionfiom new suburbanshopping centers ushered basic goods and servicesto the sunoundingneigh- in the periodofdecline alongLake Steet. borhoods.These neighborhoods are home to several minority and immigrantgroups. The diversityof the In responseto the decline, Lake Street businessesand neighborhoodsis reflectedin the typesof businesses plannersaftempted to bring shoppersback by remod- found on Lake Sseet. At its easternedge, Lake Street eling the streetto function like the suburbanshopping servesthe middle classneighborhoods located near centers.In the 1970s,big box retailerslike Kmart, the MississippiRiver.

The Lessonsof Eat Street page 74 Lake Street (cont.)

Ethnicbusinesses have a longtradition on Lake Street. The streethas always served as a centerfor ethnicenterprises.Ingebretsen's, a Scandinav.ianfood and giff shoplocated one block east ofBloomington Avenue, is a rareremaining example of the Europeanimmigrant shopsthatwere once found on LakeStreet. Ethnic businesseslocated along Lake Streettoday are focused on servingthe needsof recentimmigrant communities. Ethnictravel agencies, money wiring operations,grocery storesand restaurantsare ubiquitousalong Lake Street.These businesses serve a wide variety of ethnic groups:Hispanics, South EastAsians, East Asians, EastAfticans, Middle Easternersand SouthAsians. Thesebusinesses are not concentratedin certainsec- Theburned-out and vacantGustavus AdolDhus Street and 17th Ave S. tionsbased on ethnicity,but areinterspersed with one Hall at Lake anotheralong the street. is the Sabri Commons,a large mall-like bazaareast of Hiawatha Avenue that rents space to immigrant shopkeepers.The Sabribrothers own smallerproper- ties alongLake Street.Although they havefrequently clashedwith the city and eachother, the Sabri brothers haveinvested a lot of capitalinto Lake Street.2

Despitethe successof somebusinesses, blight and va- cancyremains a problemalong Lake Street.The map ofthe currentsuccess level below displayshigher levels of vacancyand lower propertyvalues along many sectionsof Lake Street.The sffeetscapein thesear- easreflects the lack of currentbusiness success. Many properties,like the GustavusAdolphus Hall which One of many Sabri Brothers' owned storefronts wasgutted by fire in 2003(see above photo), have re- along Lake Street, mainedvacant for sometime. The presenceof blighted and vacantproperties may influenceor reinforce While most of the ethnic businessesare small,a few perceptionsabout Lake Sheetas a stagnant,dangerous entreprenuersare quite successful and have expanded their businessesinto large enterprises.One example andundesirable shopping location.

Current success Levels along Eat Street

The Lessonsof EatStrcet page 15 Lake Street (cont.) Potential Along Lake Street

The map of potential along Lake Streetdisplays a greatrange of potentialalong the street.Several segmentsofthe streetare shown to be lesssuccessful than predictedwhile othersare currentlymore successful than predicted.Most noticeableis the high potential for futurebusiness success at Lake Streetand Nicol- let Avenue.The intersectionbetween Lake Streetand NicolletAvenue was closedto traffic in 1974to make spacefor the Kmart store.The severedconnection be- tweenlhe streetscut offtraffic flow to the areaand has adverselyaffected business success in this location. of Lake Street and remainsan underdevelopedsite; an of- The intersection The Kmart lot BloomingtonAvenue. ten discussedreconnection of Lake Streetto Nicollet Avenuewould help spur business development. customersto the street.Mexican food is a Lake Street specialty;besides the Mercado Central food court greater than was predicted One areathat has success thereare many restaurants offering inexpensivetacos, Avenue. is the cornerof Lake Streetand Bloomington tortasor tamales. This successis in largepart due to the MercadoCen- is locatedon the tral, a Hispanic marketplacethat Ethnic restaurantsand storeson Lake Sreet haveyet Central complex is southwestcorner. The Mercado to createbroad appealoutside the ethnic commun! The ethnicentrepre- hometo overfifty smallbusiness. ties.Simple steps to improvethe streetscapemight go good videosand neurssell every imaginable including a long way in attractingoutsiders to Lake Street.The music,clothing and authentic Mexican food. Mercado size and diversity of Lake Streetmakes attempts to popu- Centralis very popularwith the local Hispanic brandthe street difficult. Recentlyit wasannouced that is full of lation.On a given weekendthe marketplace an internationalbazaar will be moving into the Sears shop- shoppers.The agglomerationof vendorsmakes building.The redevelopmentofthis crucialspace may spurred ping easyand fun. The Mercado'ssuccess has give Lake Streetan opportunityto recastitself as the of Lake-Bloom. other developmentsin the vicinity internationalmarketplace of Minneapolis.3Operations restaurant. mostnoticeably the largeMe Gusta like SabriComrnons and the MercadoCentral, as well asthe ethnic restaurants, could figure prominatley into piquedthe in- Ethnicbusiness along Lake Street have this new Lake Streetidentity Afterall, of all the com- attractionto 'au- terestof non-ethnicshoppers. The mercialcorridors, Lake Streethas perhaps the widest bringnon-ethnic thentic'ethnic food may increasingly rangeofethnic experiencesto offer.

Potential for BusinessRedevelopment along Lake Street

The Lessonsof Eat Street page 16 Rice Street History

Rice Streetserved the North End neighborhoodof St. There are relatively few retail functions along Rice Paul.The North End was initially settledby European Street.Asian and Hispanicethnic businesses, such as immigrantsand remaineda fairly homogenouspopu- the Double Dragon grocery store,providb neighbor- lation.The neighborhoodgrew out fiom the industrial hood servicesto the local ethnicpopulations. A num- areasurrounding the railroadssouth of Front Street. ber of ethnic clothing and fashionshops are located Rice Streetserved as a major transportationand ship- south of Maryland Avenue. Yet the number of ethnic ping routebefween downtown St. Pauland the subur- businesseson RiceStreet is relativelylow ascompared ban farms to the north. to UniversityAvenue or the EastSide commercial corridors.The North End has not experiencedthe same growth of immigrantpopulations as other neighborhoodsin St. Paul.

Caron-Fabreis one of few retail businessesthat remainedon Rr'ceSfreet

Rice Streetwas not only a major tansportation route; Spacecleared for parking left gaps in the streetserved North End with neighborhoodretail commercial space along the Rr'ceStreet, functions.During the 1950s,white flight flom North End in combinationwith the building of public housing in the vicinity of Rice Streetled to public percep- Ethnic businessesaside, auto-focusedbusinesses tions of the streetas crime-ridden.Businesses in the dominatethe retail firnctions.One exceptionis the areadeclined as a result.Many of the street'sneigh- Caron-Fabrefumiture store that sells eclectic antique borhoodservices were replaced by auto-focusedbusi- firrniture.Business suppliers and constructionfirms, nesses.Other storefronts were simply leff vacant.r namely United Productsand Twin Cities Roofing, have located on Rice Street to take advantageof the In the 1970s, the lack of parking along Rice Street largeamounts of availablespace. The lack of general was viewedas preventingcustomers fiom comingto retailon Rice Streetis reflectedin the streetscape;sev- the sheet. However, attempts to revitalize the street eral storefrontsremain abandoned.Also, vacantlots by clearingspace for parkingproved to be unsuccess- line severalsections of the street.Consequently, per- ful at attracting businessback to the street. Instead, ceptionsof Rice Sfeet as an unsafeand undesirable the ample parking spacecreated gaps in commercial commerial corridor persist to this day. buildingsalong the strcetthat now sit as undeveloped lots.

7're Lessonsof Eat Street page17 Rice Street (cont.) Potential alono R.iceStreet

The potentialdispalyed on the map of Rice Streetre- sults from the many older commercialbuildings that remainalong the street.While many are vacantor in disrepair,they remainthe sheet'sgreatest asset. His- toric preservationand storefrontimprovements could combat the negative perceptionsthat plauge Rice Str€et.

Historicbuildings are an assetfor RiceStreet.

q) SeveralAsian fashion shops and clothingstores are locatedon RrceStreet o o The lack of retail along Rice Streetmakes the redevelopmentof the streetespecially challenging. The d,* businessservice providers and consfiuction firms !D OJ basedon the streetdo not createfoot-traffic or attract O(l shoppersto the street.The ethnicbusinesses, some of whichhave prospered while servingthe localcommu- nity, could serveas a new draw for shoppers.Small t< businessloans provided by the corridor community G aide in at- developmentorganization, SPARC, could p tractingmore ethnic businesses to the street.Bringing businessesinto the vaeantstorefronts would greatly improvethe imageof the street.The developmentof an ethnic fashiondistrict along Rice Streetis an in- triguingpossibility for the street.Clothing and fashion shopstargeted at ethnicgroups all overthe Twin Cities aswell asthe majoritypopulation could bring new life to the street.

The Lessonsof Eat Street page18 Selby Avenue History

SelbyAvenuewas initially thepremier shopping street for St.Paul's elite, servingthe RamseyHill and Sum- mitAvenueneighborhoods. By the 1930s,population demographicshifts transformedSelby Avenue into the commercialcenter for St. Paul's Jewishpopula- tion.As the Jewishpopulation assimilated and moved to the suburbs,African Americanstook their place.In this manner,Selby Avenue reflected a patternseen in mostNorth Americancities: series of new immigrant or minority groupsreplacing older groupsin the inner city. The elite shoppingfunclions once found on Sel- - by relocatedto GrandAvenue during this time period. SelbyAvenue near Dale Avenue 1975.The street riots. the 1950s, Avenue toward was abandonedfollowing the MLK Throughout Selby catered Photo Credit: The Minnesota Historical Societv, theAfricar Americanpopulation,

ln the 1970s,the fortune of SelbyAvenue began to reverse.The city of St. Paul acquiredfederal funds to improvereal estatein the RarnseyHill neighborhood. lnvestorsalso beganto buy and renovateold- er structuresin the RamseyHill neighborhoodand along SelbyAvenue. The DacotahBuilding at Selby and WesternAvenues was renovatedand reopened as the W.A. Frost and Companyrestaurant. The city improved the appearanceand accessibilityof the streetby widening the sidewalks,planting trees and installingstreetlamps. Developers responded to these efforts by building apartmentsand condosalong the TheIntersection of SelbyAvenue and Dale street.Entrepreneurs returned to the streetand opened Avenue - 1967. Photo Credit: The Minnesota restaurants.bars and shoos.2 Historical Society

The riots following theassassination of Martin Luther King,Jr. in 1968devastated Selby Avenue. Business- es were lootedand burned.ln response,many ofthe commercialoperations left the street.New businesses did not move onto the streetand many storefronts and lofsrernained vacant for decades-some remain vacanl to this day.The streetbecame notorious in St. Paulas the centerofvice andcrime. The intersectionof Selby andDale Avenues was known as "Hell's Kitchen." ln additionto decayalong the street,houses in the sur- Trendyrestaurants and boutiquesmoved into roundingRasmey Hill neighborhoodwere neglected the vacant storefronts on the eastern edge of and abandoned.l SelbyAvenue.

The Lessonsof Eat Street page 19 SelbyAvenue

Elforts to revitalizeRamsey Hill succeededin attracting middle classresidents back to the neighborhood. Businesseson the eastemedge of SelbyAvenue now benefit from the surroundingCrocus Hill neighborhood and the proximity to downtownSt. Paul, Since the streetwas largely abandonedin the 1970s,new businesseswere able to moveonto the streetwith rela- tive ease.The presenceofthe apaftmentsand condos along SelbyAvenue insures that businessesalong the streethave a steadyconsumer base. These attributes have led the easternend of Selby Avenuedevelop- of a future mixed commercial and ing into a smallrestaurart and entertainmentdistrict. The site residential building at Selby Avenue and Many smallneighborhood bistros and caf6s in the area Victoria Avenue. servegourmet food, coffee,wine anddessert.s potentialexists along the entireavenue, it hasnot been The westernside of SelbyAvenue has not benefited recognizedeverywhere. Slowly, however, the success from commercialrevitalization like the easternedge. experiencedon easternSelby Avenue is spreading Westof DaleAvenue, there are ferv commercial opera- westward.New developmentsare being built on pre- tions besidesconvenience stores or hair salons.Some viously vacantlots betweenVictoria and Lexingtion ofthe commercialproperties are in disrepairand many Avenues.These developmentsoffer storellontsand parcelsare stillvacant or havebeenconverted into large office spaceas well as loft-style living. Other empty parkinglots. Except for nodesof commercialactivify parcelsand largeparking lots arestill availablefor re- at SnellingAvenue and FairviewAvenue, the eastern development. edgeof SelbyAvenue is mostlyresidential, with a fe*' smalloffices and professional firms interspersed. ln manyrespects, the easternend of SelbyAvenue has alreadycreated a successfulimage of a vibrant com- Potential Along Selbv Avenue mercialcoridor. The neighborhoodbistros and cafes areinstrumental in attractingpatrons to the street.Un- like Avenue,these restaurants were not part The mapof SelbyAvenue displays potential along the Nicollet ofan enclave.Yet the sameprincipal ofjoint ar entirecorridor. The presence of an upper-incomepop- ethnic applies.Selby Avenue, ulationand historiccommercial buildings makes Sel- tractionthrough agglomeration once rougheststreet in St. Paul,was able to attact by Avenuean attractivelocation for shoppers.These the street offering a uniqueshopping two factorshave alreadycontributed to the redevel- customersto the by a historicavenue. opmentof the easternedge of SelbyAvenue. While anddining experience along Potential for BusinessRedevelopment along Selby Avenue

The Lessonsof Eat Street University Avenue

Duringthe 1970s,in responseto the declineofthe corridor, UniversityAvenue business leaders and the city UniversityAvenue served to connectthe two down- of St. Paul encouragedbig-box retailersto locateon towns of the Twin Citiesby streetcar.In St. Paul,the the street.The Midway ShoppingCenter now houses proximity of the railroadsled to the developmentof groceryand departmentstores as well as other large industry in the vicinity of UniversityAvenue. Com- nationalchain retailers. This sectionof UniversityAv- mercial functions located on University Avenue to enuewas developedto serveas a regionalshopping take advantageofthe well-traveledand highly acces- centerfor the residentsof St. Paul. The Cub Foods sible street.The large MontgomeryWards store near andTarget chains on UniversityAvenue are now both SnellingAvenue anchored the street'sretail functions. nationalleaders in revenuein their ftanchises.r Shopperscould find every imaginablegood along UniversityAvenue. In addition to retail, University Avenue has traditionally been fhe sife of automobile and truck salesare repairoutfits. The streetwas even hometo the St. PaulSaints' baseball stadium.

Auto traffic dominatesUniversity Avenue.

University Avenue Today

UniversityAvenue displays a wide rangeof functions. At theintersection of University Avenrre and Raymond Avenue,a small clusterof galleries,cofee shopsand The MontgomeryWards department store anchoredretail activity along UniversityAvenue restaurantsgives the streetan artsyatmosphere. Mov- - 1925; PhotoCredit: MinnesotaHistorical ing west-to-east,the big-boxretailers, fast food restau- Society. rantsand auto-centeredbusiness dominate the street. Smallerbusinesses along the streetdo little in terms With theremoval of the streetcarlines, University Av- of aestheticsto appealto passersby,as thereare few. enuewas taken over by theautomobile. University was Blighted storefrontsexist along the entire street.ln transformedinto a four lanethoroughfare with parking manyiueas litter accumulateson the sidewalks,which on both sidesofthe street.Traffic levelson University furtherdeteriorates the appearanceofthe streetscape. Avenueare heavy and constant.Auto centeredbusiness,such as car repairgarages and auto-partsstores The eastemend of UniversityAvenue is the siteof St. locatedon the streetto take advantageof the traffic Paul'slargest agglomeration of ethnicbusinesses. Be- and wide swathsof clearedindustrial land. The domi- ginningin the 1980s,Hmong immigrants from the high- nanceof the automobilehas detracted from the walk- landsoflaos beganto moveto the Frogown neighbor- ability oflhe street.New shopswere set back from the hood of St. Paul.University Avenue, which servesas streetto provideample parking for customers. thesouthem border ofthe Frogtownneighborhood, pro- videdcommercial space to the new immigrantgoup.

The Lessonsof Eat Street page 21 University Avenue (cont.)

So many Asian businesseslocated on the streetthat The map of UniversityAvenue displays several block the eastemend of UniversityAvenue has becomean groupswith slightpotential for futurebusiness success. ethnic enclave.Asian restaurants, In orderto recognizeany potential, grocery stores, garages.clothing University Avenue businesseswill stores,tuavel agencies and money need to deal with the problem of wiring fums provide basic goods traffc and the appearanceof the andservices to the immigrantpopu- street.University Avenue played an lation.In additionto thesebusiness- impodant role in the development es,a few Asian professionalservic- of the Twin Cities, yet that histo- essuch as lawyers and realtors have ry is not reflectedin the buildings locatedon UniversityAvenue. along the street. Efforls to repair blighted storellonts and preserve Theethnic businesses on University historic facadeswould improvethe Avenuecater exclusively to the lo- aestheticsof the street. Currently cal immigrantpopulation. The high businessesare focused on attracting demandfor ethnicgoods in the area tramc to their stores.lmproving the has allowed severalbusinesses to streetscapemight encouragepeople prosper.Shuang Hur, a largeAsian to walk down the streetand shop supermarketlocated at Dale Avenue ratherthan simply drivingto certain andUniversity Avenue, sells a wide businesses. variety of unique goods including Mai Vi age Restaurantboasts an seafoodand fresh vegetables.The elaborateinterior decore. The ethnic enclaveon Universitv storehas succeededin meetingthe Avenue may have potentialto at- demandfor authenticAsian groceries.Mai Village fact shoppersto the sheet.Although ethnic businesses Restaurant,located near University Avenue and West- in St. Paulwere not foundto contributeto the success ernAvenue, recently built a new multi-million dollar of a street,the lessonsleamed fiom Eat Stre.etcan facility to expandits seatingand servingcapacity. The still be appliedto UniversityAvenue. Cunently, Asian restaurantis now the largestVietnamese restaurant on businessesdo not seekto bring in customersfiom out- UnlversityAvenue. The restaurantis quickly becom- sidethe immigrantgroup. Mal VillageRestaurant is an ing renownedfor its expansivemenu and incredible exception;it afuactsa diversecrowd. FollowingMai d6cor.2 Village'sexample, ethnic businesses may moveto ex- pand their market.Although it is still in an early stage Potential alono Universitv ofdevelopment,the enclavehas the potentialto sellan Avenue ethnicexperience to the majoritypopulation. Potentialfor BusinessRedevelopment along UniversityAvenue

The Lessonsof Eat Street page 22 Conclusions

In an interview with the StarTribune, Daisy Haung, The potentialfor this transformationexists along many the ownerof the ShuangHur Supermarketsthat oper- ofthe corridorsin the Twin Cities.Arcade Street, Cen- ateon NicolletAvenue and UniversityAvenue, said of tral Avenue,East SeventhStreet, Lake Street,Payne her business,"lt's eitherreinvent or die. We'vehad to Avenue,Rice Street,SelbyAvenue and University Av- reshapeour businessto flt this neighborhood."Shaung enueare all examplesof streetsthat can developinto Hur hassucceeded in bothlocations by offeringunique successfulbusiness locations. Favorable attributes goodsand servicesto the Twin Cities'Asianand His- suchas historic buildingsand the presenceof ethnic panic population.ln many ways, Haung'sstatement businessesmakes redevelopment along these conidors about reinventionapplies not only to her business, possible.As has been demonstratedthrough several but to the commercialcorridors as a reccomendationsfor revitalization, promote preserva- whole. lt is urueasonableto expect "It's Either Reinvent effortsto historic that the corridorswill regain their tion, create attractive streetscapes historic position as the sole focus or Die." and enableethnic entrepreneursto of commercialactivity in the Twin do businessalone thes€streets can Cities.Instead, the conidorsmust find a new waysto all lead to the firture businesssuccess of the corn- drawconsumers to shopalong the streets. dors.

NicolletAvenue,which wasidentified as exceeding its The purposeof making recommendationsfor revital- predictionof success,is a clearexample of a conidor ization was to highlight possibleways in which un- thathas successfully reinvented itself. Eat Streetwas a recognizedpotential could be realized.The recom- uniqueconcept that capitalizedon the presenceofeth- mendationsmade in this publicationare not the only nic restaurantsand grocerystores. Through a strong waysin which theseplaces could redevelop in orderto businessand community organization,Nicollet Av- prosper.They aremerely startingpoints. Commercial enuewas able to improvethe srreetscapeand createa redevelopmentalong these streetsrequires the cre- new imagethat challenged ativity and imaginationof people'sperceptions of the concernedbusiness owners streetas blightedand dan- andcommunity members. gerous. In the words of Daisy The experienceof Nicollet Huang,"it's eitherreinvent Avenuein recreatingitself or die." Fortunately,there asEat Streetprovides valu- exists unrecognized po- able lessonsto community tential along the commer- organizationsworking for cial conidors. Hopefully commercial revitalization the strategiespresented in along the conidors today. this publicationto realize The Eat Streetexperience this unrecognizedpoten- highlightedhow business- The Shuang Hur Supermarket on Nicollet tial will help to assurethat community partnerships, Avenue, the demiseof the conidors infrastructure improve- neveroccurs. Affer all, the ments and the creationof livability andviabity ofthe niche markets can trarsform a street liom a blighted inner city neighborhoodsin the Twin Cities depends and undesirablelocation into a thrivins commercial on thehealth of the commercialconidors. corridor.

The Lessonsof Eat Street page 23 End Notes

The Historv of the Commercial Miami and Beyond," .Soc,iaL|]orces.72, no.3 (March 1994):693. Corridors 4. tbid., 693-694. t John S. Adams and BarbaraJ. VanDrasek,Minne- apolis-St.Paul (Minneapolis: University of Minnesota 5.Waldinger,Aldrich, Ward and Associates,Ethnic Press,1993),80-84. Entrepreneurs.106- 1 I 5.

Nicollet Avenue 6. Dana Moskowitz, "RE: Nicollet Avenue." 5 February2005, personal (5 l. JudithA.Martin andDavidA. Lanegran,Where We email February2005). Live: The ResidentialDistricts of Minneapolisand St. Paul (Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, Central Avenue 1983),70-72. l. JudithA. Martin andDavidA. Lanegran,Where We 2.rbid,72. Live: The ResidentialDistricts of Minneapolisand St. Paul (Minneapolis:University of MinnesotaPress, The Creation of Eat Street 1983),20-23.

l. JoanneChrist, Personal Interview, 22 February 2. John S. Adams and BarbaraJ. VanDrasek,Minne- 2005. apolis-St.Paul (Minneapolis:University of Minnesota Press,1993), 84. 2. RanaeHanson and John McNamar4 Partners(Min- neapolis:Dayton Hudson Foundation,1981), 146- 3. Lanegranand Martin, WhereWe Live. 18. t47. 4.Linda Mack, "CentralAvenue:A work in progress," 3. JoanneChrist, PersonalInterview, 22 February StarTribune, 5 September2001, sec. B, p.l. 2005. 5.Ibid. 4.rbid. 6. Kathie Jenkins, Ethnic Entrepreneurs on Eat Street "RE: Nicollet Avenue." 7 February2005, personal email(7 February2005). l. Roger Waldinger,Howard Aldrich, Robin Ward andAssociates, Ethnic Entrepreneurs(Newbury Park: The East Side SagePublications, 1990), 16. l. RamseyCounty Historical Society,"Payne-Phalen 2. AlejandroPortes and Robert D. Manning,"The lm- NeighborhoodProfile," RamseyCountv Historic Site migrant Enclave," in Competitive Ethnic Relations, SurveyReport. . ed. SusanOlzak and Joane Nagel (London:Academic Press,Inc., 1986),47. 2. JudithA. Martin andDavidA. Lanegran,Where We Live: The ResidentialDistricts of Minneapolisand St. 3. JohnR. Logan,Richard D. Alba andThomas L. Mc- Paul (Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, Nulty, "Ethnic Economiesin Metropolitan Regions: 1983),28.

The Lessonsof Eat Street page 24 End Notes Lake Street 2. Jeremy lggers, "VietnameseMenus Anew," Star Tribune.22 July2004, sec. T p. 8. l. Judith A. Martin and David A. Lanegran,Where We Live: The ResidentialDistricts of Minneapolisand St. Paul (Minneapolis:University of MinnesotaPress, 1983),17.

2. SteveBrandt, "Remaking Lake Street,"&}[@, 14 September2002, sec. B, p.1.

3. RochelleOlson, "SearsRedevelopment Gets Pre- liminary OK," Slilibggg, 5 May 2004,sec. 8,p.2.

Rice Street

1.Christine Grisham andAdam Buhr, "St Paul'sNorth End Communrty:A Reporton Industrial,Commerical, and Residential Redevelopment," Neighborhood Plannin g for Communit)'Revital ization. (August1998).

Selby Avenue

1.JudithA. Martin andDavidA. Lanegran,Where We Live: The ResidentialDistricts of Minneapolisand St. Paul (Minneapolis:University of MinnesotaPress, 1983),40.

2. John S. Adams and BarbaraJ. VanDrasek,Minne- apolis-St.Paul (Minneapolis:University of Minnesota Press,1993), 135-136.

3. Ibid.,136.

University Avenue

I . JudithA. Martin andDavid A . Lanegran,Where We Live: The ResidentialDistricts of Minneapolisand St. Paul (Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 1983),18.

The Lessonsof Eat Street page 25 Works Cited

Adams,John S. and BarbaraJ. VanDrasek.Minneapolis-St. Paul. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press,1993.

Brandt,Steve. "RemakingLake Street."Star Tribune, 14 September2002, sec. B, p.1.

Christ,Joanne. Personal Interview. 22February 2005.

Grisham, Christine and Adam Buhr, "St Paul's North End Community: A Report on Industrial, Commerical,and Residential Redevelopment." Neighborhood Planning for CommunitvRevitalization. (August I 998).

Iggers,Jeremy. "Vietnamese Menus Anew." StarTribune. 22 July 2004,sec. T, p. 8.

Jenkins,Kathie. . "RE: NicolletAvenue."7 February2005, personal email (7 February2005).

Logan,John R., RichardD. Alba andThomas L. McNulty. "Ethnic Economiesin MetropolitanRegions: Miami andBeyond." Social Forces 72,no.3 (March 1994).

MaclqLinda. "Central Avenue: Awork in progress."Star Tribune. 5 September2001, sec. B, p.1.

Martin, JudithA. andDavidA. Lanegran.Where We Live: The ResidentialDistricts of Minneapolisand St.Paul. Minneapolis: University of MinnesotaPress, 1983.

Moskowitz, Dana.. "RE: Nicollet Avenue." 5 February2005, personal email(5 February2005).

Olson,Rochelle. "Sears Redevelopment Gets Preliminary OK." StarTribune. 5 May 2004,sec.B,p.2.

Portes,Alejandro and Robert D. Manning."The ImmigrantEnclave." ComEtitive Ethnic Relations.Ed. SusanOlzak and Joane Nagel. London: Academic Press, Inc., 1986.

RamseyCounty Historical Society. "Payne-Phalen Neighborhood Profile." RamseyCountv Historic Site SurveyReport. .

Waldinger,Roger, Howard Aldrich, Robin Ward andAssociates, Ethnic Entreoreneurs.Newbury SagePublications, 1990.

The Lessonsof Eat Street page 26 Acknowledgements The author would like to thank Jeff Matson,The MinneapolisNeighborhoods Informa- the following people for their tion System. this contributions to study: The RamseyCounty User'sGroup. DavidLanegran Ph.D., Laura Smith Ph.D., Jovana Trkulja and ColeAkeson; Macalester College Depart- ment of Geography.

JoanneChrist, The Black ForestInn.

MarionBiehn, The WhittierAlliance.

DaraMoskowitz, City Pages.

Kathie Jenkins,The PioneerPress.

Mihailo Temaliand Rachel Dolan;The Neighborhood DevelopmentCenter.

TheresaCarr; American Indian Neighborhood Devel- opmentCorporation.

JoelHaskard; Phillips CommunityDevelopment Cor- poration.

Ed Johnson;Fort Road/West7th Foundation.

GeraldChristopher; Assembly ofArchitects.

Kari Neathery;West Broadway Area Coalition. Paul Singh JonathanSage-Martinson and SaiThao; SPARC. MacalesterCollege Depaftment of Geography UNITED. Brian McMahon;University St. Paul, Minnesota DougMcRae; East Side Neighborhood Development April, 2OO4. Company. Questions regarding this publi- Tom Reynoldsand Dale White; Whittier CDC. cation can be addressed to Paul Singh; [email protected]. SaraReller; Selby Area CDC.

JohnVaughn; Northeast Community Develeopment This repoft is available online at: Corporation. www. macaI ester. ed u / geogra phy

The Lessonsof Eat Street page 27