More than Just Bricks and Mortar': A History of Redevelopment Efforts along the East Franklin Avenue Corridor, 1982-2007

The stretch of East Franklin Avenue in South Minneapolis situated between I-35W and Hiawatha Avenue is a corridor of central importance to the surrounding Phillips/Ventura Village neighborhood. It is a distinctive corridor known for many years as the visible face of a 'troubled' and 'blighted' neighborhood. More recently, however, the corridor has become known for a renewed vibrancy in its economic and pedestrian life, what many observers see as the fruits of years and years of efforts to rebuild and revitalize the area. This report is an attempt to capture the history of those changes--the story of one neighborhood's efforts to rebuild and redefine itself. This study focuses on a definition of the Franklin Avenue Corridor that follows the broad outlines of what is currently known as the Ventura Village neighborhood (I-35W to the West, I-94 to the North, Hiawatha Avenue to the East, and 24th Street to the South). The research for this report consisted of interviews with as many of the individuals involved in the history of redevelopment as possible, as well as secondary research of relevant documents (records, plans, reports, newspaper articles, etc.).