The
Northeast Investment Cooperative (NEIC) is making headway toward its goal of revitalizing properties on Central Avenue in Northeast Minneapolis.
NEIC is a for-profit cooperative that lets community members “pool their resources and collectively buy, rehab and manage commercial and residential property in the neighborhood,” a prepared statement from NEIC reads. See the earlier story from
The Line here.
On Dec. 14, the group announced it had signed a purchase agreement for a property that includes two buildings at 2504 and 2506 Central Avenue Northeast.
NEIC, which has over 90 members that have invested $1,000 apiece in the coop, hopes to raise $300,000 by February 28 to pursue the project.
One of the group’s partners, the
Recovery Bike Shop, will go into the 2504 building, according to NEIC board member Chris Bubser.
This is good news because “It’ll really give people who are thinking of joining or who are on the fence a real reason to take the next step,” he says.
For the 2506 building, which NEIC will renovate and lease, the group is hoping to attract multiple tenants.
To that end, NEIC is looking for “proven business, aspiring entrepreneurs with a good plan, or a combination” of those to fill the space, according to NEIC information.
The projects will bring in more than a half million dollars in new investment to a highly visible intersection on Central, according to NEIC information.
The goals are ambitious, but it seems doable. “Over the last few days, the response has been incredible,” Bubser says. “I think it’s going to work.”
If all goes as planned, construction could start as early as spring of 2013, he says.
As one of the first commercial real estate cooperatives in North America, “We’re pioneers in the area,” he says. “We’re excited to take one of the biggest properties and show how a committed group from the neighborhood can turn it around.”
He hopes the project will help make Central Avenue a destination, not just a thoroughfare. In contrast to traditional real estate corporations, which are geared around profitability, “We’re about community building and support.”
Source: Chris Bubser, NEIC board member
Writer: Anna Pratt