NRP Success Stories - Ward 10 - Some of the Success Stories from Ward 10

 East Harriet Farmstead Neighborhood

• Lyndale Farmstead Park – Lyndale Farmstead Park became a true park with programming for all ages.  Located on a scenic hillside at 39th and Bryant Ave S., the Farmstead of Col. King was acquired by the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board in 1899 and became the home for Theodore Wirth, the superintendent responsible for planning the current park system. For many years, before NRP, neighborhood residents had questioned the usage of Lyndale Farmstead Park by a private day care operation. The NRP enabled the neighborhood to deal with the conflict and resolve the problem.

• "News From the Farm" Newsletter – “News from the Farm.” Doesn’t sound like a newsletter from a Minneapolis neighborhood, does it? “News from the Farm” is distributed to every household in the East Harriet Farmstead Neighborhood and covers neighborhood news and the variety of programs available to residents through NRP and other organizations. The "Farm” refers to the history of the neighborhood, which included the farmstead of Colonel William King. The "Farm" has contributed to the success of almost every NRP initiative that has changed the neighborhood, including a flourishing park program, traffic calming, housing grant and loan programs, and much more. It has become the voice of the neighborhood.

• Midtown Greenway Bicycle and Pedestrian Path – Residents in six Minneapolis neighborhoods invested nearly $90,000 in NRP funds to convert an unused sunken rail corridor into the 2.8-mile Midtown Greenway Bicycle and Pedestrian Path. When complete, the Midtown Greenway will extend all the way from Minneapolis’ western border to the Mississippi River along 29th Street.

• Lake of the Isles Improvements – East Isles helped fund rehabilitation of flood damaged areas around Lake of the Isles and supported improvements to the lake and surrounding park grounds.  East Isles was one of the major partners in the multi faceted program to improve the walking and biking paths, stabilize the shoreline and plant appropriate trees,

• Traffic Calming – East Isles residents have used NRP funds to address one of their major livability issues: traffic.  NRP funds paid for a traffic study, the installation of speed humps, and the redesign of several intersections

• East Calhoun Tot Lot – The East Calhoun Community Organization (ECCO) invested in a new tot lot on the eastern shore of Lake Calhoun.  The tot lot features all new equipment, a curved seat wall and wider park benches to make supervising children a more pleasant experience for adults. 

• Midtown Greenway Bicycle and Pedestrian Path – Residents in six Minneapolis neighborhoods invested nearly $90,000 in NRP funds to convert an unused sunken rail corridor into the 2.8-mile Midtown Greenway Bicycle and Pedestrian Path. When complete, the Midtown Greenway will extend all the way from Minneapolis’ western border to the Mississippi River along 29th Street.

• Jefferson School Playground – Residents in the Lowry Hill East neighborhood invested NRP funds and volunteer hours and energy in designing and installing (with over 200 neighborhood volunteers) a new playground.

• Jefferson School Community Computer Lab – Lowry Hill East NRP and the Minneapolis School District funded the Community Computer Lab.  The lab has 30 iMac computers and offers free community use every Thursday evening, as well as several computer education classes to the community, with waived fees for Lowry Hill East residents. Jefferson Community School became more true to its (middle) name when the school-community computer lab in Room 201 opened its doors. The lab offers an opportunity for people to have free computer access and become more technologically skilled in the friendly company of neighbors.  

• Lyndale Program Fund – Early in Lyndale’s revitalization efforts the Youth & Family Committee expressed concern that all children in the community should have access to the highest quality programs and services. Residents developed the Lyndale Program Fund to use the community’s resources to build the capacity of neighborhood human service organizations to deliver more effective programs that meet the real needs of residents. The innovative market-based system has successfully built a critical sense of accountability between local service providers, parents and their children and has fostered the development of long-term relationships that have strengthened the entire community.

• Block Clubs Deluxe – Lyndale’s Block Clubs Deluxe (BCD) is an innovative collaborative program developed between the Lyndale Neighborhood Association and the Fifth Precinct to expand traditional block club organizing. BCD recruits a broad-based leadership team on each block comprised of up to eight leaders who encourage neighborhood participation and serve as resources. Since 1996, the program has recruited and maintained 140 block contracts with leaders coming from all facets of the neighborhood

• Mujeres Latinas en Accion – The 79 Latino women and their families who are involved with Mujeres Latinas en Accion have created a powerful support network within Lyndale’s Latino community.  Mujeres Latinas en Accion focuses on building community by: creating learning opportunities on immediately relevant topics such as domestic violence, fire prevention and safety, tenants rights etc.; celebrating and sharing Latino culture with non-Latino neighbors; and supporting Latino women in their efforts to achieve economic independence. By taking this holistic approach, the isolation and alienation that was felt by Latino women five years ago has disappeared.  Relationships have been established that never existed before and Latino women have become more invested in the community.

• Youth Leadership Initiative – Lyndale’s Youth Leadership Initiative annually supports over 100 teens working to implement dozens of projects that have a tangible impact on the Lyndale  neighborhood including: graffiti removal and neighborhood beautification projects; three weekend-long leadership retreats; and weekly summer service and enrichment projects.  Youth are active and respected community builders in Lyndale. About three years ago Lyndale residents realized that involving teens as leaders and empowering them to play a key role in shaping their community was critical to revitalization efforts in the Lyndale neighborhood. Youth are now more than recipients of services and participants in programs.

• Youth Farm and Market Project – The Youth Farm and Market Project was established in 1995 to provide meaningful work experiences for low-income urban youth, ages 9-14. The Youth Farm and Market Project (YFMP) helps economically disadvantaged young people develop the skills and support they will need to make the difficult transitions from adolescence to adulthood. YFMP’s goals are to create entrepreneurial work experiences for urban youth, build community by strengthening relationships among youth and other neighborhood residents, create more “youth friendly” space in urban neighborhoods, teach youth skills to achieve economic independence, and produce high quality food for low-income people.

• Hosmer Library – Residents living in five Minneapolis neighborhoods (Bryant, Central, Kingfield, Lyndale, and Powderhorn Park) invested $440,000 of their NRP funds in the renovation and restoration of the Hosmer library. The major facility improvements at the rejuvenated 90-year old library included a computer lab and tech center, and community meeting room. Library patronage at Hosmer increased 100 percent over each of the first four years after the renovation was completed in 1997.