We Love Lake Street Recovery Fund

Acquisition & Predevelopment Fund

The We Love Lake Street Acquisition & Predevelopment Fund launched in January 2021 to support the community-led recovery and rebuilding of businesses and nonprofit organizations in the Lake Street corridor after the civil uprising that followed in the wake of George Floyd’s murder.

As of December 2024, after four successful and impactful years, the Acquisition & Predevelopment Fund has closed. We are no longer accepting new submissions for funding. Lake Street Council continues to support community-led redevelopment through other programs, including Lake Street Lift.

For historical reference, the guidelines for the Acquisition & Predevelopment Fund are listed below.

Eligibility

Applicants must meet the following criteria to be eligible for funding:

  • Projects must fall into one of three categories of project type:

  1. Rebuilding Projects: To be considered a Rebuilding Project, the address of the proposed property must be located on a site where a property experienced extreme damage during the uprisings related to the murder of George Floyd. This damage must have been significant enough to require demolition of the property or to prevent occupation of the building without major renovation that has not yet been completed. These projects may be led by any entity that meets other eligibility criteria, although preference will be given to development teams with strong connections to the Lake Street community and impacted businesses.

  2. Displacement Relocation Projects: To be considered an Displaced Entity, the lead applicant must represent a business or nonprofit organization located in Lake Street corridor that experienced very significant damage during the uprisings related to the murder of George Floyd, such that the business was not able to re-open at the previous site and either moved or paused operations. These proposed development projects may occur on any site within the Lake Street corridor.

  3. Asset-Building Projects: To be considered an Asset-Building project, the lead applicant must be a small business or non-profit that is seeking to purchase and/or renovate a building on Lake Street for long-term use. These projects must demonstrate a clear financial need for funding, and will be subject to evaluation by trusted financial partners. These projects may occur on any site within the Lake Street corridor.

• All projects must occur on a site that is located within the Lake Street corridor, which is defined as the area bounded by West River Parkway on the east, 26th Street on the north, the border of Minneapolis and St. Louis Park on the west, and 34th Street on the south.

• Applicants must be able to demonstrate the need for grant or forgivable loan funding. If a clear financing gap is not demonstrated in application materials, applicants may be asked to provide additional detailed financial information to demonstrate need.

• Applicant should have site control, purchase agreement, development rights, or equivalent. We will accept applications for projects who do not yet have site control or equivalent only if they are able to provide evidence that serious negotiations are underway.

• Project must be financially feasible or be seeking support to analyze feasibility.

Additional criteria may apply depending on whether you are applying for an acquisition grant or a predevelopment grant. Please see the details below.

Uses of Funding

We offer two funds, one for acquisition of new properties and another for predevelopment activities to scope out a potential development project. Applicants may be considered for one or both types of funding, depending on the stage of the project and status of site control.

Category 1: Acquisition

Projects where an eligible applicant is seeking to gain site control through purchase may be eligible to apply for acquisition funding, which will be structured as a forgivable loan.

Category 2: Predevelopment

Projects where an eligible applicant must complete predevelopment activities at a site in order to plan for new construction or a major renovation to an existing building in order to begin operations.

We will consider funding requests for one or more of the following real estate predevelopment activities:

  • Community Engagement

  • Architecture, Design and Engineering

  • Environmental Phase 1 and Phase 2

  • Feasibility/Financial Analysis

  • Development Consultant

  • Entitlement

  • Market Study

Funding Levels

Please consult the funding rubric below to understand the maximum available funding for different project types. Many projects will receive less than the maximum funding amount, due to high demand of funding and subject to a committee review of project need and prioritization level.

Categories Acquisition Predevelopment

New Construction		 Predevelopment

Renovation of Existing Property
Rebuilding & Displacement Relocation Projects Up to $100,000 or 10% of total project cost, whichever is lower Up to $50,000 Up to $10,000
Asset Building Projects Up to $25,000 or 10% of total project cost, whichever is lower Up to $50,000 Up to $10,000

Application Review Process

Applications will be reviewed in a three-step review process:

  1. Pre-applications will be reviewed by Lake Street Council staff and partners to determine eligibility, fit, and funding parameters. The applicant will be informed of the determination, usually within three weeks of applying.

  2. Applicants that are deemed eligible will be invited to submit additional information about their project. In some cases, and especially for Asset Building projects, the applicant will be asked to meet with a partner of Lake Street Council to undergo financial and feasibility analysis and ensure that additional funding is needed to make the project happen. Applicants will be asked to provide documentation or provide permission for direct discussion with other financial entities involved in the project.

  3. Once all necessary information has been collected, the project will be presented to a community review committee that will make a final determination on the request, including setting a funding amount.

The total time needed for funding determinations will depend on the depth of information and analysis needed in step 2. The community review committee meets monthly near the end of the month, and applicants in step 2 will be informed of the expected timeline for a decision when their review is scheduled.

Prioritization

This is a competitive grant, and we expect requests to exceed available funding. Projects that score well against the following criteria will be given greater priority.

  1. Critical Property: Project is located at a site that is important for its visibility, its history, its size, and/or the magnitude how it was impacted by the civil unrest.

  2. Racial Equity: Project benefits or is led by Black, Indigenous, People of Color (BIPOC) developers, property owners, and tenants.

  3. Lake Street Roots: Project benefits or is led by people with roots on Lake Street.

  4. Long-term Wealth Building: Project will help build wealth for low-income and low-wealth people and communities. Project will create living-wage jobs for community residents.

  5. Affordable Rental Space: Project includes affordable rental commercial space and/or affordable rental housing.

  6. Community Services: Project will increase access to important community services to nearby residents and/or to specific communities.

  7. Destination: Project will draw visitors to the Lake Street corridor and have spillover benefits to other Lake Street businesses.

  8. Public Realm: Project will create an inviting, vibrant, pedestrian-friendly public realm.

  9. Aesthetics: Project meets or exceeds Minneapolis 2040 design guidelines and integrates art and/or architectural details that will contribute to the beauty of Lake Street

  10. Sustainability: Project will minimize carbon impact and maximize the sustainable use of resources.

Funding amounts for each project will be based on the project’s identified need and it’s performance against these priority criteria.

Terms and Reporting Requirements

Detailed terms and conditions for funding recipients will be established in grant agreements provided after notification of awards by Lake Street Council.

In general, Acquisition awards will include the following conditions:

  1. Conditions of forgiveness may include:

    • Projects must obtain site approval and begin construction within one-year of closing.

    • Projects must comply with Lake Street Council reporting requirements.

    • Projects must provide a copy of the Certificate of Occupancy to Lake Street Council upon completion.

  2. Conditions of repayment may include:

    • Selling the property to another owner without redeveloping it - funds will be recovered at the sale.

    • Failure to begin construction within one-year of closing. Extensions may be considered on a case by case basis if awardee demonstrates progress in site development.

    • Failure to comply with Lake Street Council reporting requirements.

  3. Acquisition must take place within one year of the date of award, and grant awards are non-transferable between properties or parties.

  4. Funds will not be disbursed until closing (acquisition grants) or signed purchase agreement (earnest money).

  5. Recipients will be required to have a quarterly check-in.

  6. Recipients must agree to have information related to grant awards and projects shared with the broader public.

  7. Recipients must agree to participate in a community equitable development and design process to be determined.

  8. Recipients may be subject to additional requirements for underwriting purposes. Funds will not be distributed without a signed grant/loan agreement.

In general, Predevelopment grants will include the following conditions:

  1. If awarded, funds will be disbursed in a timely manner following final decisions. Depending on the size of the individual grant, the Lake Street Council may release a portion of the grant funds initially and require that grantees spend the initial amount before requesting the remaining portion.

  2. Grant recipients will be required to use and submit documentation of expenses within 6 months of receiving grant funds.

  3. Expenses must be incurred after grant approval.

  4. Grantees will be required to submit signed contracts/bids prior to funds being disbursed.

  5. Grantees will be required to report on how the funds were spent, potentially including receipts/invoices, a written narrative, and/or video report. Funds not spent will be required to be paid back in full.

  6. Agree to have information about your business or organization and the grant you received shared with the broader public.

  7. Grant recipients agree to participate in a community equitable development and design process to be determined.

  8. Funds will not be distributed without a signed grant agreement.