Northfield Downtown Development Corporation

This past Saturday morning, a group of people representing organizations involved with local economic development continued their collaborative efforts on In-Fill and Redevelopment. Joining the NDDC, the EDA, the Chamber of Commerce and the Planning Commission were a number of property owners and the NEC.

The group reviewed the ideas relating to Market, Barriers, Assets, and Action Steps generated at the first session. There was some clarifying of terms and sharing of experiences but the focus was on moving toward prioritization of action steps for 2009.

It was of interest to me that although there were common themes to both discussions, there were clearly a few nuanced differences too. While there were a number of action steps related to our market(ing) and financial tools in the first session, the group in the second session was far more focused on removing obstacles and supporting successful models.

The attendees from both sessions are now selecting their top five priorities. We are planning to conduct a third session in mid-January and intend to produce a work plan/action matrix with names and dates assigned to the tasks.

Working together, we can accomplish great things for Northfield.

The new executive director at the Northfield Arts Guild, Ann Mosey, was our guest at the December Downtown Forum. The attendees came away with great excitement and expectations for the next year.

Mosey brought some interesting experiences with her from Stevens Point, Wisconsin, where she was the Executive Director of the Arts Alliance of Portage County. During her tenure on the other side of the Mississippi River, she conducted an Economic Impact Study of the arts, developed a Public Arts Master Plan, and coordinated collaborations in Tourism Marketing.

These experiences were immediately evident in her presentation. Ann seeks to expand collaborations between the downtown retailers and the arts community, looks forward to completing a strategic plan for the Arts Guild, offers her support of a local economic impact study of the arts, and, in her spare time, is considering founding and producing something along the lines of her Deep Winter Film Festival.

Mosey views the Northfield Arts Guild as a key member of the local arts community. “The Arts Guild is one entity at a table with many entities”, she told the group.

One of the unique strengths of Northfield that immediately struck Ann when she first visited is the presence of a number of private galleries in Northfield. She views these as a critical, and often missing, asset in cultural tourism marketing. She is also excited about the new energy and ideas coming out of the current Arts Quarter work. Her experiences in Stevens Point indicate that mutually beneficial partnerships between businesses and arts and culture organizations are crucial to successful economic leveraging.

Business leaders were key supporters of the arts in culture in her previous community, but the local government played an important role too. Both groups saw a link between employee retention and recruitment and the arts. In fact, the City of Portage said to her, “Tell us what you’re doing and we’ll help you do it”.

A couple of weeks ago, I attended a community economic development conference in Minneapolis. It was called 20/20, reflecting the twentieth anniversaries of the Metropolitan Consortium of Community Developers and the Local Initiative Support Corporation (or LISC). In fact, I got my very first predevelopment loan from LISC almost twenty years ago for ArtSpace Projects’ Frogtown Family Lofts in St. Paul.

Over 400 people involved in community economic development from around the region attended. As you can imagine, we live in exciting times, particularly those of us involved in community economic development.

LISC Executive Director Andriana Abariotes welcomed us. She recognized that we faced new challenges.

Then former St. Paul Mayor George Latimer led a panel discussion with leaders from the The McKnight Foundation, Travelers Foundation, Wells Fargo Foundation Minnesota, and the Northwest Area Foundation. While the panelists acknowledged the stock market decline adversely impacted their resources, all of the panelists, encouraged by Latimer, said that there were new opportunities for collaborative efforts between the public and private sectors.

During the break, I was able to connect with several of the people I had sought, including Ron Price, Senior Program Officer (and retail specialist) at LISC. He guided me to several excellent on-line resources which I am continuing to explore.

At lunch, I sat at a table full of bankers and equity investors. They all agreed that there was still money out there, that the underwriting requirements, at least for affordable housing, were still shaped largely by the state, and that the biggest change was a “flight to quality”, meaning higher returns and/or more reliable cash flow for financial participants.

Julie Causey, Chair of Western Bank, Michael Rubinger, President and CEO of LISC, Dan Bartholomay, Commissioner of the Minnesota Housing Finance Agency, and Elizabeth Kautz, Mayor of Burnsville, spoke during lunch. All were anticipating roles for the private sector in the economic development efforts initiated by the public sector in the coming months.

During the afternoon, I attended a session on “Community Development’s Return on Investment”. The speakers were Paul Fate, President and CEO of CommonBond Communities, Peter Heegaard, Founder and Director of Urban Adventure, and Mike Temali, Executive Director of the Neighborhood Development Center. All of the speakers seemed to indicate that neighborhoods were now being reviewed much like businesses, as a single entity that generates jobs, sales, and tax revenues.

The themes emphasized by the speakers during the conference included: 1. Collaboration, 2. Holism, 3. Community Engagement, and 4. Regional Integration. They are not unfamiliar to many of us in community economic development in Northfield.

Personally, I thought other concepts were strongly represented in the sessions. In my mind these were: 1. Grow Existing Assets, 2. Produce Local Results, 3. Clarify the Specifications of Success, and, in the current environment, 4. Cut Through the Noise, Fear, and Uncertainty when Making Decisions.

It was a great opportunity to renew old friendships, interact with peers and share successful models. I anticipate generating returns on this “investment” as part of the NDDC’s work plan for 2009.

Downtown, both the outsides and the insides of all the fine establishments, looked just great last night during Winter Walk. The good news is that it’s still dressed up and ready for more meeting, greeting and eating, as well as stopping, bopping and shopping, the day and days after the big event.

Friday, December 5th, It’s a Wonderful Life, 7:30 p.m., Northfield Arts Guild Theater, 411 West Third Street, St. Olaf Christmas Festival, 7:30 p.m., Skoglund Center on the St. Olaf College Campus, Karaoke, 9 p.m., Rueb-N-Stein, 503 Division Street, Beguine Brothers Old Time Country and Western Revue, The Contented Cow, 302B Division Street, and Joe Meyer, at the Tavern Lounge, riverside of The Archer House, 212 Division Street.

Saturday, December 6th, Festival of Trees, 6 to 9 p.m., Northfield Arts Guild Center for the Arts, 304 Division Street, with a Wine and Cheese benefit for scholarship programs, Scandium, 6 to 8 p.m., at The Contented Cow, It’s a Wonderful Life, 7:30 p.m, Arts Guild Theater, St. Olaf Christmas Festival, 7:30 p.m., Skoglund Center on the St. Olaf College Campus, Karaoke, The Fieldhouse, 9 p.m., Riverpark Mall on Water Street, DJ Music, 9 p.m., the Rueb-N-Stein, Matt Arthur and the Bratlanders, at the Contented Cow, and Jon Manners, at the Tavern Lounge.

Sunday, December 7th, “a date which will live in infamy”, It’s a Wonderful Life, 2 p.m., Arts Guild Theater, St. Olaf Christmas Festival, 3:30 p.m., Skoglund Center on the St. Olaf College Campus, Politics and a Pint, 6 p.m., Northern Roots Session, 7:30 p.m., and Quiz Night, 8 p.m., all at The Contented Cow.

So come on down(town) and enjoy the decorations of the season. You’ll be building your community by having a little fun this weekend.

This Thursday, December 4th, it’s the 10th Annual Winter Walk in Downtown Northfield. Sponsored by the Retail Committee of the Chamber of Commerce, the event is from 5 to 9 p.m. and there’s fun for the whole family.

In addition to the every-day Downtown Northfield opportunity to stroll through unique shops, dine at fine restaurants, and see your friends and neighbors, there are special events for Winter Walk. This year there is a parade along Division Street at 5 p.m., Santa’s helpers handing out candy canes throughout the downtown, Frosty the Snowman and Rudolph the Reindeer greeting people all evening long, caroling by choirs of all ages, music by various ensembles all around the area, real live reindeer on Division Street, horse-drawn wagon rides, and in-store specials, drawings, treats, and free gift wrapping in many of the business locations with special gift items for your family and friends.

For a listing of all the events, see the Winter Walk Schedule. So come on down(town), this Thursday, and enjoy Winter Walk!