Buying a House, Gaining a Neighborhood

Gerry and Kevin weren’t really looking for a new house. They sort of stumbled on it one day on their way to a garage sale. Seeing one of my open house signs, they decided to go inside. There they discovered a lovely home with a fire roaring in the fireplace and sun pouring onto newly refinished floors. “Oh my God!” I remember Kevin saying. “We have to buy this house!”

The 1909 home had been beautifully restored by its former owner with help from a Corcoran neighborhood rehabilitation grant. Gerry and Kevin focused their work on the backyard, which was overrun with neighborhood kids and giant weeds. They cut down trees, built a beautiful flagstone patio, and put up a new privacy fence with the help of friends and family.

Venturing out into their Corcoran neighborhood, they found a wonderful diversity of families. They soon became leaders of our block club and helped plan activities to build a greater sense of community. One summer the club hosted a National Night Out featuring a Mexican dance troupe. “This helped our Spanish-speaking neighbors feel more ownership in the block club,” says Gerry. “Our club acts as a team now. We really watch out for each other.”

Soon the two jumped into bigger neighborhood projects. Kevin served on the Corcoran Neighborhood Organization Land Use and Transportation Committee, which was looking at ways to lure people into the neighborhood from the new light rail station at Lake and Hiawatha. While brainstorming ideas, Kevin and Gerry remembered the popular urban markets they’d seen on the west cost, including Pike Street Market in Seattle. They   wondered if something like this could work on Lake Street.

Gerry contacted the Minneapolis farmer’s market coordinator, who grew up in Corcoran and felt a strong connection there. Gerry also spotted a school parking lot across from the rail stop that looked like a great site for a market. Before long he found himself serving as co-chair for the new Midtown Public Market advisory committee, working with a coalition of local neighborhood organizations and volunteers.

Now almost three years old, the Midtown Public Market has blossomed into a  wonderful neighborhood center, featuring a mix of local growers, food vendors, artisans, craftspeople, community groups, and live music. All produce is locally grown and the market is full of flowers, homemade jam, pastries, local cheeses, and hand-made crafts.

Last summer a Latino family health fair moved to the site from Powderhorn Park to attract new clients, and a group of  puppeteers performed there regularly. The market now has a full-time staff  person and partnerships with the Minneapolis Farmer’s Market, Midtown YWCA,  Minneapolis Public Schools, and the Central Minnesota Vegetable Growers Association.

“We’ve taken a lot of ownership in our neighborhood,” says Gerry, who now serves on the Corcoran Neighborhood Organization board and was instrumental in proposing the new “Midtown” identity for the area and the light rail stop. “There are lots of exciting things going on here, but you have to make things happen,” he says. “If you wait for things to happen, they usually don’t!”