Corcoran Neighborhood Organization

Proposals sought for Light Rail site

Development team shares a proposal to include the Midtown Farmers Market

Minneapolis, MN -- On August 5, 2010, the Minneapolis school district issued a Request for Proposals (RFP) for the sale and redevelopment of 2225 East Lake, the 6-1/2 acre property next to the Light Rail Transit station and the YWCA Midtown, and home to the Midtown Farmers Market.

The RFP and an early proposal shared by a local architect / developer team were featured in a Finance & Commerce article by Burl Gilyard and a public radio story by Tom Weber. The early proposal, which proposes a Market Square that would accommodate the seasonal Midtown Farmers Market, can be found here. The school board is expected to select a development proposal by the end of 2010.

Learn more about 10 years of citizen efforts to shape redevelopment at southwest Lake and Hiawatha at corcoranneighborhood.org/market.

2225 East Lake is one of 3 large parcels where redevelopment is underway or imminent at southwest Lake and Hiawatha. Clare Housing is constructing 45 units of transit-oriented supportive housing at 3105 23rd Avenue (1 acre), and immediately to the east, Wellington Management is pursuing funding to break ground on 4 stories of transit-oriented housing (roughly 100 units) on a vacant, 2-acre site.

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Public Radio: "School district aims to preserve farmers market"

The Minneapolis school district has put a valuable piece of commercial real estate up for sale, but the district will only sell the land to developers willing to include a permanent home for a community farmers market, reports Rupa Shenoy of Minnesota Public Radio, referring to the Midtown Farmers Market at 2225 East Lake. Mike Christenson, who directs the City of Minneapolis department of Community Planning and Economic Development, said it looks like there may be a happy ending for all parties involved. "...it just speaks so highly to what the Corcoran neighborhood has done and the organizers of the Midtown Market have done," Christenson said. Listen to the full story here.

Midtown Farmers Market Helps Grow Buying Power

Midtown was the first Minnesota farmers market to accept SNAP/EBT (Electronic Benefits Transfer), formerly called food stamps. This year, Midtown offers a new incentive to EBT users. "For the first $5 an EBT user spends at the market on anything from beets to broccoli to bok choy," writes Gail Rosenblum in a recent Star Tribune column, "he or she will get an additional $5 in Market Bucks. In other words, $10 in produce for the first $5 spent." Learn more about how to use the Market Bucks program here.

CURA, CNO study Parking, Development at Hiawatha/Lake

The demand, supply, and cost of public parking have become a central issue in the public conversation about the development underway at 3 sites totaling 10 acres at the southwest corner of Lake Street and Hiawatha Avenue, adjacent to the Midtown light rail station and the YWCA Midtown. These issues are at the center of an ongoing research project by the Center for Urban and Regional Affairs (CURA) at the University of Minnesota, in partnership with CNO. Read the full article.

Arsenic soil cleanup continues in south Minneapolis

Federally funded cleanup of contaminated soil is occurring at dozens of residences in the Corcoran neighborhood. The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) offers a new update as well as contact information for people who have questions about their own property. Read it here. You can also view a previous round of resident questions gathered by CNO in April 2009, with responses provided by the EPA project manager. Read it here. View the EPA webpage on the soil cleanup here.

Participate in Community Energy Services, mini grants

Upcoming workshops offer the chance to participate in Community Energy Services, a comprehensive one-stop residential energy program offered by Center for Energy and Environment in partnership with CNO, CenterPoint, and Xcel Energy. Corcoran participants will also be eligible for an ongoing $175 mini grant for qualifying home energy improvements. Click here to find upcoming workshop dates and everything you need to know about the easy mini grant application process.

Discuss neighborhood news with neighbors on Facebook

The Donut Cooperative is coming to Corcoran this fall, and Facebook fans were the first to know! Join us on Facebook to discuss breaking news with Corcoran neighbors, or post your own news such as a garage sale or lost dog. Find neighborhood nuggets you won't hear anywhere else, and make new connections with neighbors! If you’re not a Facebook fan, you can also follow breaking Corcoran news at Twitter. Corcoran’s Facebook and Twitter pages are run by neighborhood volunteers.

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