NRP Success Stories - Ward 13 - Some of the Success Stories from Ward 13

• Armatage Park/School Complex – Armatage residents invested $717,000 of NRP funds in the $2.8 million Armatage Park and School expansion and enhancement that opened in January 2000. The Armatage Neighborhood Association (ANA) partnered with the School District and Park Board to build a new gymnasium and playground joining Armatage Community School and Armatage Park Neighborhood Center.  NRP investments were made in: the feasibility study (1996-97); park and school construction (1998-2000); and a new playground design and installation (1998-2000).

• Commercial Improvement Grants – With a small investment of $20,000 in NRP funds, Armatage provided grants to five business owners to make improvements to a total of ten neighborhood businesses.  This represents improvements to nearly one-third of all the businesses located in the neighborhood.  Improvements included roofing, siding, windows, landscaping and awnings.  The business owners made substantial investments of their own funds as a match for the funds provided by the neighborhood.  The impact of the grants was immediately visible to the property owners, business managers and neighborhood residents.

• Home Exterior Improvement Programs – Armatage invested $ 305,384 of their NRP funds in housing and housing related programs.  Twenty-three loans were granted to a pool of 153 applicants as part of the neighborhood's First Step Plan.  The neighborhood's Action Plan exterior improvement program gave priority to residents with limited incomes.  Eligible projects included exterior improvements such as roofing, siding, windows, steps and sidewalks.  The ANA was able to fund the projects of every applicant who met the program's eligibility criteria.

• Neighbors for Safe Driving Campaign – NRP funds were invested in a highly successful and visible traffic calming campaign launched by residents in the Fulton and Lynnhurst neighborhoods along 50th Street South. Traffic calming measures aimed at reducing traffic speeds and volume are a priority in 36 NRP Neighborhood Action Plans. One of the most innovative and visible of these traffic calming projects was the Fulton/Lynnhurst "Neighbors for Safe Driving" campaign.   Developed in collaboration with the Minneapolis Police Department, this education and enforcement campaign used lawn signs, billboards, bumper stickers, newsletters, and a radar gun to encourage drivers to slow down. The campaign changed driver behavior along 50th Street South and helped build a greater sense of community.

• Lake Harriet Community School Upper Campus Playground – A master plan was developed to renovate the outdoor space at the Lake Harriet Community School adjacent to 50th and Xerxes.  Residents in the Fulton and Linden Hills neighborhoods invested NRP funds to assure that children at the school would have a playground. The playground renovation was part of a $4.7 million Minneapolis Public Schools project that included the building of a new addition to Lake Harriet Community School that now joins the original school to an annex that was built in 1965. The addition includes a new gymnasium, a new cafeteria and food service area, a new media center, a new computer lab, two new classrooms and a new art room. The playground was built through a community-build process utilizing volunteer labor for installation.

• Building a Sense of Community – A major effort was initiated to increase residents’ awareness of the neighborhood and connect residents to each other and their community.  The effort included the expansion of the Fulton Neighborhood Newsletter, installation of neighborhood signs, distribution of information and welcome packets, an annual Fulton Festival, an annual volunteer recognition program called “Friends of Fulton”, formation of the Fulton Safety Committee, and development of a network of block contacts. 

 

• Kenny Park and School Playground renovation – Residents in the Kenny neighborhood invested $185,297 of their NRP funds with $117,500 in Park Board funds to do a complete renovation of the Kenny Park and School playground. NRP funds were used to purchase and install new playground equipment as well as to do landscaping so that the playground area would be accessible to children with special needs.  The improvements included site grading and improving the drainage and installation of new playground equipment, lighting, play surfaces, and seating. 

• Environmental Programs – The neighborhood invested $12,240 in NRP funds and raised another $60,000 from DNR, MN OEA, CURA and the Minneapolis Foundation to develop a wetland management plan for Grass Lake.  Grass Lake, a Public Works asset, is an important hydrological and environmental amenity in Kenny.  Many volunteer hours were spent removing buckthorn and other non-native trees and vegetation as part of the wetland management plan.  The neighborhood made an additional investment of $10,000 in NRP funds for new plantings in 2003-2004.

• Senior Chore Corps – Neighborhood seniors often need additional help to keep their yards raked and mowed and sidewalks shoveled.  A Senior Chore Corps was formed in partnership with TRUST, Inc. and $11,000 in NRP funds were used to help pay for outside work performed by neighborhood youth.

• Lyndale Ave. South Renewal (LASR-CC) – The Kenny neighborhood formed a partnership with the Windom, Tangletown, and Lynnhurst neighborhoods (under the project name of LASR-CC Lyndale Avenue South Renewal – Creek to Crosstown) to develop a shared vision for this important boundary area and a future streetscape plan.  Kenny’s NRP investment of $15,000 was the seed money for this collaboration. The City has been a valued partner and provided a CLIC grant of $200,000 for the master planning process.  

• 43rd and Upton/Sheridan Improvements – NRP funds were used to make “downtown Linden Hills” greener and safer for both drivers and pedestrians.

• Linden Hills Library - NRP provided $138,000 for a restoration and renovation of the Linden Hills Library that included a new elevator and an accessible front entrance.  NRP funds were also used for an enhanced children’s room, an increase in audiovisual materials, and a new neighborhood history collection.

• Milfoil Harvester – Linden Hills invested in a milfoil harvester to address the quality of Lake Harriet.  The Milfoil harvester was purchased by the Park Board using $67,000 in Linden Hills and Fulton NRP funds and has helped keep this important and frequently used lake from being overrun with invasive vegetation. 

• Burroughs School Improvements – The Lynnhurst Neighborhood Association (LYNAS) discovered during their NRP plan development process that a significant number of neighborhood children were attending private schools.  To encourage neighborhood residents to send their children to the Burroughs Community School, LYNAS invested over $330,000 in NRP funds to: provide new computers and software; purchase multi-cultural library materials; add expanded arts curriculum; add a garden and environmental curriculum; purchase moveable furniture to create tutoring areas; and expand gym and basketball facilities.  LYNAS also provided $9,822 (2004) in NRP funds for computers and multi-cultural materials for the Washburn Public Library.

• Shoreline Stabilization, Removal of Non-Native Species, and Alum treatment of Lake Harriet Project – Volunteers from several adjoining neighborhoods worked together to help with the removal of non-native species and the planting of new trees to improve the water quality and shore line of Lake Harriet.

• Tree Planting – Lynnhurst invested over $52,000 of their NRP funds for tree plantings on parkland in the neighborhood.  The prospects for survival were enhanced by neighborhood volunteers who participated in the “Adopt a Tree” program and watered the new trees.

• Neighbors for Safe Driving Campaign – NRP funds were invested in a highly successful and visible traffic calming campaign launched by residents in the Fulton and Lynnhurst neighborhoods along 50th Street South. Traffic calming measures aimed at reducing traffic speeds and volume are a priority in 36 NRP Neighborhood Action Plans. One of the most innovative and visible of these traffic calming projects was the Fulton/Lynnhurst "Neighbors for Safe Driving" campaign.   Developed in collaboration with the Minneapolis Police Department, this education and enforcement campaign used lawn signs, billboards, bumper stickers, newsletters, and a radar gun to encourage drivers to slow down. The campaign changed driver behavior along 50th Street South and helped build a greater sense of community.

• 50th Street – A traffic study was conducted utilizing $20,000 in LYNAS NRP funds, which was matched with Fulton NRP funds.  Pedestrian scale lighting was added to LYNAS business nodes using $39,375 from neighborhood NRP funds.

• Excelsior Boulevard Master Plan and West Calhoun Village Center Public Improvements – West Calhoun used its NRP funds to develop a plan for the important intersection of Excelsior Boulevard and West Calhoun Parkway.  They also set aside fund for implementing complementary improvements. NRP funds were used for landscaping, brick detailing, burying overhead power lines, and other streetscape improvements. The result is a shopping area that’s pedestrian and bicyclist friendly as well as useful to area shoppers.