First Ave. seminar on UHT kicks off business initiative for Northside entrepreneurs
Several Northside residents and entrepreneurs gathered together on Monday Dec. 2 to learn what they needed in order to benefit from the Upper Harbor Terminal’s development in their backyard. Photo by Sarah Swenty/SBA
By Abdi Mohamed Staff Reporter
No more than a few hours after clocking out from his IT job at Minneapolis Public Schools, Angelo Williamson found himself fulfilling a last minute catering job at First Avenue. The historic music venue is usually home to traveling performers, but on this night, it was the gathering space for Northsiders like Williamson to learn about the business opportunities set to come to their community through the Upper Harbor Terminal redevelopment project.
The event took place on Dec. 2 and was organized by the Northside Neighborhoods Council (NNC) and sponsored by First Avenue, the Northside Economic Opportunity Network, and the US Small Business Administration. Attendees of the workshop were encouraged to network, interact with the sponsors, and listen in on a panel with current Northside business owners.
Eric Won, one of the organizers, sees the UHT as an economic driver for the Northside. He hoped the First Avenue event would inform prospective business owners on how to get involved. “What we need are ancillary businesses that would naturally grow around a music venue. It’s what happened in Nashville, Bangor, Maine and Portland, Oregon,” Won said.
The music venue envisioned for the UHT will hold 8,000 to 10,000 people. All those people could be a stimulus for the Northside economy, according to Won who isn't sure the Northside is ready for that potential influx of consumers.
Systemic bias and economic barriers have made it difficult for businesses in communities of color like North Minneapolis to thrive. For Northsiders to benefit from the coming development, Won believes Northsiders need to take advantage of available resources and start businesses now.
Markella Smith, the executive director of the McKinley Neighborhood Association, agrees. She attended the event as a voice for the NNC, ensuring the community’s vision for the development was shared. In preparing Northside entrepreneurs early on and connecting them to local resources, Smith hopes to avoid pitfalls that usually cause new business to fail.
According to Smith, the idea for the First Avenue business event came about “organically” through conversations at the Collaborative Planning Committee (CPC) organized by the City of Minneapolis. She and the other members of the CPC recognized what they saw as the unique opportunity to generate wealth in the Northside. “It’s about changing our narrative,” Smith said speaking to the community engagement of the UHT. “It’s not just building minimum wage jobs but creating that generational wealth which is not an opportunity that we always necessarily get.”
The growing fear among many community members is that outsiders will be the ones who benefit most from the UHT development. Issues of gentrification, cost of living being raised, and economic competition have been raised.
The 48-acre UHT was once a barge shipping terminal now planned by the City and the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board (MPRB) to be repurposed into a destination for the region made up of parkland, a performance venue, housing, and businesses. Nearly 20-acres of the site is planned to be public park land for recreational activities such as fishing, sports and leads to trails. The rest of the development will consist of the outdoor music venue to be operated by First Avenue along with retail businesses, office spaces, possible housing and a hotel. This second part of the UHT was in focus at Monday night’s event.
Northside entrepreneurs like Williamson are starting to see the UHT development as an opportunity to transition to their businesses full time. Right now, Williamson works as an IT professional for Minneapolis Public School but manages and cooks for his business, Wha’ Jamaican, during his time off.
Williamson wants to see more community owned and operated restaurants take shape in this development instead of more big chain or fancy restaurants with. “I feel like we have a lot of restaurants and places that are not necessarily invested in the health of the people. They’re vested in the monetary gain of people and a lot of the time that feels like exploitation,” Williamson said. His authentic bistro takes an “urban spin” on Jamaican cuisine but by sourcing locally and changing some ingredients, Williamson aims to have a healthy option for his customers without sacrificing the traditional flavors he grew up on. Although having a quick "takeout" restaurant is nowhere in his current business model, Williamson’s goals are to bring a four-star dining option to North Minneapolis. He’d love to see a future space of this magnitude take place and make space for Wha’ Jamaican at the UHT.
Won estimates the construction timeline of redeveloping the entire UHT in the next two to three years. This is the time frame Won and others involved in the community engagement work hope to help incubate new businesses in time for them to move into storefronts. Failing to prepare now could result in a lost opportunity for many. Dayna Frank, the CEO and owner of First Avenue thinks the UHT will be “catalyst of economic development” bringing in business from food, hospitality, childcare, and retail in North Minneapolis for event goers and locals alike. She sees North Minneapolis residents as having a large role to play in the planning process. “This was really driven by seeing the opportunity as the plan begins to develop and wanting to make sure that Northsiders are going to be first and foremost the ones to benefit from it,” Frank said.
As the City and the MPRB make plans with contractors to lay the groundwork for the UHT, more community workshops and events are set to be held throughout the Northside in anticipation of the opportunities local entrepreneurs can benefit from. There are roundtable discussions with monthly themes set in place for community members to have their questions answered. Won hopes to organize a business bootcamp in the Spring to help accelerate the process for several entrepreneurs looking to house a business at the UHT. There are many moving parts with this development and those involved look to get a head start on their planning.