Under new leadership, the WBC looks to drive more opportunity to Broadway

Dave Colling was hired to be executive director of the West Broadway Coalition in October. Photo by David Pierini

By Abdi Mohamed Staff Reporter

Entering his new role as the Executive Director of the West Broadway Business and Area Coalition (WBC), Dave Colling ushers in a new chapter for the organization as its fifth leader in four years. Colling hopes to be an advocate for the corridor by pursuing resources and opportunities for growth while maintaining a constant support system for businesses and organizations to lean on.

“One of the major things everyone wants to see is consistency here at WBC,” Colling said.

Colling’s diverse background positioned him well for the leadership role at WBC. For over 20 years, he worked on various political campaigns in Minnesota. His first landed him in North Minneapolis. Later, during Keith Ellison’s first congressional campaign, Colling served as the campaign manager. In this role he met with many leaders on the Northside including State Senator Bobby Joe Champion who then worked to help organize the church community for the election.

Colling got into politics due to his desire to give back. Raised by a single mother in a working-class neighborhood in Detroit, he was determined to succeed and in doing so, find ways to pass it forward.

Colling eventually left politics due to the long hours and time spent away from family. He transitioned into working with neighborhood associations where he felt as though his commitment to giving back could continue.

For two years Colling served as the director of the Harrison Neighborhood Association. He left the position in September 2017 and received his master’s degree in nonprofit management from Hamline University in 2018. During his time at Harrison, Colling witnessed many outside developers coming into the neighborhood, some of which worked well with the community, while others looked towards their own future in the area. He worries about gentrification.

Coming into his new role at WBC, Colling hopes to avoid any similar issues with developers who don’t share the community’s vision. “There’s not a lot of affordable business corridors around. To make sure that this space doesn’t get lost in the development shuffle is important to me,” he said. One of Colling’s initial goals at WBC is to assess the current landscape of businesses on the corridor.

Businesses have shared information with WBC in the past, but Colling hopes to learn more about their employees: how much money they’re making and how many residents are employed at these businesses. “What’s being spent by businesses in North Minneapolis that’s leaving and how can we change that? Using that to help recruit new businesses to North Minneapolis and to the W Broadway area,” he said.

One question Colling had for WBC before joining was about their financial health. In the past he served as the interim director at Frogtown Farm, an organization based in Saint Paul and discovered some issues with their finances that required him to transition himself out of his job. “It was nobody’s fault, things had kind of gotten mislabeled. There wasn’t enough funds to keep moving forward with a full time director,” Colling said.

Prior to being hired by the WBC, Colling says he took a dive into its books and shared that the organization was doing well. “It’s pretty good actually. That was definitely one of the things I wanted to make sure of before I started here,” he said. Although Colling is happy with where things stand, some say there’s room for improvement.

North Minneapolis' annual Open Streets celebration has been organized and led by the West Broadway Coalition. Photo by David Pierini

Ravie Singh manages the U.S. Bank branch on W Broadway and is a member of WBC, serving as the vice chair. He has been a part of the organization for seven years. “We’re always looking to create and sustain existing and new programs,” Singh said. “We’re not struggling but at the same time we can definitely be in a better place with cash flow.” In their search for a new director Singh expressed their desire for someone who was engaged, experienced with nonprofit work, and familiar with the Northside community. Colling met all of those qualifications.

This new change at WBC corresponds with other developments taking place in business hubs in North Minneapolis. James Terrell is the Principal Project Coordinator and Manager of Participation Loan Programs at the Community Planning & Economic Development Department (CPED) at the City of Minneapolis and spoke about some of the opportunities coming forth to help fund these projects. “The goal is inclusive community revitalization within communities that are challenged,” Terrell said. He described promoting home and commercial property ownership as one way to bring this about.

Terrell describes CPED’s relationship with WBC as an active one where he and others regularly meet with members of its board. Business owners and organization leaders have expressed their needs to the department and have received the opportunity to influence budget proposals that may impact their communities. Terrell shared that community outreach that was done to gain insight on the proposed Commercial Property Development Fund (CPDF) that is a part of the Mayor’s budget recommendation. “We reached out to various groups and the WBC when we were formulating the idea and said give us your comments on it,” Terrell said. As a part of this fund, City officials are looking at a proposed cultural district concept that could impact the corridor.

There is currently $2.5 million earmarked in the Mayor's proposed budget for development. $2 million could go to cultural districts which W Broadway Ave could benefit from. The remaining $500,000 is dedicated to general development projects. This fund could help improve properties along the corridor, making them an attraction for businesses and clients, falling in line with WBC’s vision. Terrell expressed his view on the importance of tying resources to these designations. “One of the things that we were all keenly aware of was that a designation without resources is just another pretty sign hanging on the street,” he said. Terrell shared that Erik Hansen, Director of Economic Policy and Development at CPED is reviewing all the financing tools available from the City including the CPDF, to assure that they meet the needs of the community.

Terrell was recently involved with the Capri Theater development. Outside of W Broadway Ave, he sees more development taking place in North Minneapolis to help incubate businesses in store front locations with the new theater set to open. He’d like to see a formal sit-down restaurant near the theater along with a first-floor retail footprint with offices and possible housing spaces above that. Terrell shares that there’s a potential for having small bay retail areas with 800-900 sq. ft. properties for small businesses to operate in.

This scaling of businesses seems to be at the heart of what Colling hopes to do at WBC. “We don’t have to look very far to find people who are already running their own business. That’s what excites me, being able to work with folks on the ground, to be able to help them move to that next level,” he said. The WBC hosts monthly business lunches for area entrepreneurs. The topics vary; recent topics include social media marketing, search engine operating, women in business, and more.

Wendy Puckett attended an Oct. 17 lunch meeting where Colling introduced himself to the community. Puckett owns and manages Wendy’s House of SOUL on W Broadway Ave. She would like to see more advertising for businesses in the area and the need for a local food storage location. “It would be amazing to have one of these buildings available as a place for storage. Maybe for a small fee, it could be conducive to where I’m at instead of driving far away, we could keep the money in the community,” she said. Puckett also mentioned that she put in an application for a façade improvement grant with the WBC but because of the new changes, was asked to submit it again.

Colling’s arrival to the WBC comes at a time of great change on the corridor but shared that he thrives in these spaces in transition. In November Colling will present the WBC’s board with a draft budget for the next year based on funds that the organization has received in the past and opportunities he sees for future funding. For now, Colling is focused on getting familiar with new faces and reacquainting himself with the old as he straps in to lead an organization that has lasting impact on a major part of the Northside.