Minnehaha-Hiawatha Community Works
Strategic Development Framework

In April 2008 Hennepin County Community Works launched a two-year process to develop a Strategic Development Framework for the Minnehaha-Hiawatha Corridor to guide County, City and other revitalization investments. These capital investment decisions will be community driven and based on a close collaboration among all stakeholders. A Community Advisory Committee (CAC) will serve as “stewards” of the community involvement process and work directly with the consulting team that the County has hired to lead this program.

Program Components

1. Community Input will gather perspectives and guidance from stakeholders through neighborhood listening sessions and other activities, supported by the Community Advisory Committee
2. Corridor Issues will emerge from community input and existing corridor plans and data (see information box)
3. A Corridor Strategic Investment Framework will be developed in partnership with stakeholders, the County, and the City, to reflect community priorities for a unique and valued sense of place
4. An Implementation Strategy will define how to leverage strategic investments in the corridor area to address issues and optimize revitalization opportunities

Hennepin County Community Works investments are based on the following principles:

• Strengthen communities through connections
• Maintain and improve natural systems
• Build relationships for effective planning and implementation
• Stimulate employment development
• Enhance the tax base

Examples of Community Works Capital Investments

The following are examples of County capital investments in other corridor revitalization efforts that support those principles.

• Develop pedestrian and bike trail connections and stabilize and enhance neighborhood property values and employment base.
• Acquire substandard properties, to be replaced with “aging-in-place” housing, greenspace, and connections to schools and waterways.
• Acquire properties to allow roadway redesign to include transit, pedestrian, and bike improvements and facilitate mixed-use redevelopment at key intersections.
• Install utility infrastructure to enable development of higher density residential and job centers near planned high-frequency transit stations.

Additional Information

Project Newsletter – Issue 1 (May 2009)

Overview and Invitation to Participate, May 2008

County Commissioner Peter McLaughlin introduced the Minnehaha-Hiawatha Community Works program in the February 2008 issue of the Longfellow-Nokomis Messenger. Click here to link to the Messenger’s website, and go to page 7.

Project overview video, featuring Robb Luckow, Hennepin County Community Works

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