“From Lake Street to West Broadway”: A Just Recovery Plan

This moment in Minneapolis is a call to action. As we rebuild from the COVID-19 crisis and the civil unrest in the wake of the murder of George Floyd by police, it’s essential that we have a clear plan for building a more just, more prosperous economy in Minneapolis together.

It starts with finally addressing the destruction along Lake Street. We will also tackle the other key corridors that were impacted by the civil unrest. As Mayor, I will personally work with the Lake Street community to create a cultural and economic recovery plan that is equitable and just. This plan will recognize that we must grow and coordinate rebuilding investments from all levels of the public and private sector. We will show up to strengthen the coalition work already taking place in these communities and I will be present to mobilize the needed government staff and resources to get Minneapolis’ rebuild job done. Our plan will center closing the racial wealth gaps in our city and specialize in transitioning Lake Street into a sustainable jobs and green economy.

We as a city also need to make sure downtown remains a vital part of our dynamic city and state. The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in a fundamental shift in the nature and location of work, which impacts our downtown area. We need mayoral leadership to dig in and partner with the many people involved in a thriving downtown to forge our path forward to an even more prosperous downtown.

This is the leadership vision and action we have not seen from Jacob Frey. He's supposed to be the leader of our city, but 16 months after Lake Street and West Broadway were devastated by civil unrest, there is still no real plan of action to repair and restore the cultural communities of our city. This is shameful.

We can do better. Here's how I'll jumpstart our recovery working together with community:

Place-Based Rebuild Plans

  • Instead of a failed ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach, my administration will respond to the unique make-up, assets, and knowledge of each impacted corridor. We will partner with each corridor to co-create a place-based rebuild plan that is authentically rooted in each corridor’s history, cultural identity, and vision.

  • As opposed to re-inventing the wheel, we will show up to deepen and strengthen existing coalition work that has been developing in each corridor. My Mayor’s Office will actively participate in the Lake Street – Greenway Partnership and will seek to find similar public-private tables in the other impacted commercial corridors.

Removing Barriers to Rebuilding

  • The City must be an active partner, not a barrier, in helping our communities rebuild. Instead of waiting for the community to come to City Hall, our plan of action will meet communities where they’re at by creating a City staff team that will provide accessible and regular consulting support to community partners who are actively working to rebuild their commercial corridors.

  • Lead monthly reviews of City department policies and practices to ensure that our local government is doing everything in its power to remove regulatory and cost barriers for rebuilding needs.

  • Mobilize City departments to establish a clear, customer-friendly, and well-organized service portal to help small businesses and community groups to better access City resources and programs targeted to reach our rebuild potential.

  • Address backlogged demolition and rubble clearance needs. 

  • Eliminate penalties on businesses for debris removal. 

  • Conduct proactive outreach to businesses in affected areas to help them qualify for city assistance when eligible. Outreach will be culturally competent and conducted in multiple languages.

  • Develop a streamlined, customer-focused model for supporting businesses through the process of permits, licensing, and rebuilding. The City must be a partner, not a barrier.

Proactive Community Engagement in Impacted Communities 

  • Neighborhood canvassing teams in places substantially impacted by civil unrest to assess community needs

  • Convene neighborhood-based working groups of residents, business owners, community organizations and other stakeholders in immediate aftermath of a crisis to coordinate on community needs and a response plan

Protect Workers in Rebuilding

  • Working with community groups, formalize training programming in basic workers’ rights, health and safety, with offerings in Spanish and English and a particular emphasis on the construction sector

  • Add staff capacity in the Civil Rights Department’s Labor Standards Division and expand collaborative enforcement funding to combat wage theft and other local violations, and work with state and county officials to enforce labor standards 

  • Expand use of project labor agreements when public funds are used

  • Enforce prevailing wage standards wherever public funds are used and explore options to better regulate trade fields -- like drywalling and roofing -- where the most labor standards violations occur.

Celebrating our diverse communities and cultural corridors

  • Refocus City Hall on working with communities to develop and execute clear plans for corridor investments that build on the strengths of immigrant communities in neighborhoods most impacted by current and historic inequities.

  • Prevent displacement and gentrification in our rebuild efforts by centering the voice of cultural communities in our plans. I will accelerate our repair and healing work by driving and deploying new investments into the City’s already designated Cultural Districts which build on the strengths of our racially diverse communities.

  • Organize public and private efforts that improve our ability to serve, retain, and grow businesses that are caught in the web of our nation’s broken immigration system including increased access to project planning dollars, capital investments, and relief funds.

  • Working with non-citizen business owners to creatively find solutions to help them access capital and relief funds in coordination with community organizations and philanthropic foundations


  • Stabilize small businesses by increasing the City’s initiatives and partnerships to promote activation in Cultural Districts through arts and cultural events.

  • Work alongside restaurants and shops hit hardest to bring back business through promotions, events, partnerships with Metro Transit, and publicity. 

  • Seek state and federal funding to build new active public spaces, like plazas and parks, in areas hit hardest by unrest

  • Incorporate investments into public art and artists as part of corridor revitalization efforts

  • Prioritize Cultural Districts development by accelerating programs and policies that serve the cultural communities most impacted by the pandemic and civil unrest.

  • Fully funding the City’s new Arts and Cultural Affairs Department to inject needed strategies and staffing that provide stronger support to cultural bearers, artists, and our creative economy.

Proactive mayoral leadership to rally and focus progress on restoring the dynamism of downtown

  • Convene a mayoral task force for a strong downtown including downtown residents, employers, workers, small business owners, social service providers, cultural organizations, and relevant government jurisdictions

  • Learn from and incorporate best practices for downtowns coming out of the COVID-19 pandemic and grappling with the shifting nature and location of work

  • Include proactive steps to address safety concerns of residents and businesses and communicate these efforts effectively

  • Create a regular series of small and large cultural programming to bring people and cultural/economic activity more fully back to downtown

  • Work with downtown promoters to ensure success of downtown activation events

  • Work closely with large downtown employers to make sure the return of workers to downtown is successful and involves downtown restaurants, service providers, and retail

Closing The Racial Wealth Gap & Advancing Community Wealth

  • Ensure oversight and accountability for remaining American Rescue Plan funds that prioritizes BIPOC-owned businesses 

  • Grow city programs that invest in pathways to homeownership and small business ownership, particularly focusing in Black communities.

  • Launch the “Claim Our Future” Initiative for young men ages 10-26, expanding on the OVP’s current work into a citywide program of leadership curriculum, mentorship, wraparound services, and employment opportunities 

  • Increase BTAP program funding for community organizations to provide entrepreneurship, leadership, and career training in communities that have been most marginalized.

  • Prioritize BIPOC, women, and locally-owned businesses in all city contracts. 

  • Partner with community organizations to provide training, promotion, and support for immigrant entrepreneurs.

  • Go all-in on 2040 Plan and Transportation Action Plan implementation with climate justice and mobility for a growing city as central goals; update Transportation Action Plan metrics to align with updated emissions targets if necessary

Build Back Green

  • Expand the resources in the City’s Green Cost Share program to prioritize businesses located within Cultural Districts so they can rebuild with lower carbon emissions and more resilience.

  • Provide free technical assistance on green energy for any small business looking to rebuild, we will work with our small business community and green energy partners to create a path towards shared solar, district plans, and large-scale green infrastructure.

  • Invest in shared solar, district energy, and other green infrastructure.

  • Ensure infrastructure demolition and re-building meets highest standards for reducing emissions and particulate matter. 

  • Require all RFPs (request for proposals) to the city disclose Equity and Diversity Plans and Environmental Standards in order to be considered.

  • Ensure that demolition of structures and new building construction are supported to meet the highest standards for reducing emissions and particulate matter.

  • Work alongside community and workforce organizations to advance training for jobs in green rebuilding across the city.

  • Recruit federal, state, county, and private sources of funding that advance our ability to rebuild Minneapolis through a green, sustainable, and environmental justice lens. From pilot projects to corridor-wide initiatives, our action plans will invest in rebuilding green.