Supporting Businesses

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Light rail creates exciting opportunities for local businesses. It can connect them to more customers and workers and support their plans for growth. It can also attract new businesses that serve the community. Light rail construction also presents short-term challenges. Blue Line Extension project partners have a long history of supporting businesses to help them prepare for these opportunities and challenges and set them up for long-term success.

The planned METRO Blue Line Extension will connect customers, employees and investment to area businesses. To help businesses prepare for light rail construction and opportunities, Hennepin County and Met Council plan to work with a wide variety of local partners to provide support and technical assistance.

Check back soon for details, and in the meantime, leave your input below on how we can best work with businesses to prepare and support you through construction and beyond.

Light rail creates exciting opportunities for local businesses. It can connect them to more customers and workers and support their plans for growth. It can also attract new businesses that serve the community. Light rail construction also presents short-term challenges. Blue Line Extension project partners have a long history of supporting businesses to help them prepare for these opportunities and challenges and set them up for long-term success.

The planned METRO Blue Line Extension will connect customers, employees and investment to area businesses. To help businesses prepare for light rail construction and opportunities, Hennepin County and Met Council plan to work with a wide variety of local partners to provide support and technical assistance.

Check back soon for details, and in the meantime, leave your input below on how we can best work with businesses to prepare and support you through construction and beyond.

  • Building prosperity: Elevate Hennepin services available for businesses

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    In collaboration with the Blue Line Extension Project, Elevate Hennepin is offering support and resources at no cost to help businesses along the planned routes prepare to meet challenges and maximize opportunities of light rail.

    No-cost services and tools to help Hennepin County businesses of all backgrounds start, grow, and thrive.

    View our Elevate Hennepin handout or visit ElevateHennepin.org to learn more.

    Services available

    One-on-one services from experts in legal support, marketing, book-keeping, loan assistance, grant navigation, and more are available. Elevate Hennepin’s professional consultants and library of trusted resources are ready to help you plan, get organized, tell your story, and set you up for long-term success.

    Business consulting

    Up to 25 hours of one-on-one consulting and advising from each expert advisor across disciplines and cultural backgrounds.

    Peer-to-peer roundtables

    Ongoing facilitated small-group discussions and training grouped by industry and business scale.

    Topic-driven webinars

    Industry and subject matter experts explain issues and strategies to address the challenges of owning a business.

  • Hennepin County offering $500K for affordable commercial space and business ownership opportunities along Blue Line Extension

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    Up to $500,000 will be available for development projects in the Blue Line Extension Corridor that provide long-term affordable commercial spaces or ownership opportunities for local small businesses within a half-mile of planned stations.

    Applications closed on August 18, funding will be announced this fall.

    Learn more and view program guidelines.

    This funding is provided through Hennepin County's Affordable Commercial Incentive Fund, which aims to grow economic opportunity and support community wealth building.

    The Hennepin County Board of Commissioners approved this funding as one early strategy to strengthen businesses and grow community prosperity along the METRO Blue Line Extension Light Rail Transit route.


  • Supporting businesses during construction

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    We know that construction can be hard on businesses. Every effort is made to minimize construction impacts to businesses, but there are times when a little extra help is needed make sure local businesses are able to enjoy the benefits of light rail. We will work to provide funding and other support to help businesses stay connected with customers and stay in business during construction, while also helping them prepare to take full advantage of light rail when it opens.

    One example of this work is the largescale effort to support businesses during construction of the Green Line. Business support impacts and outcomes on that project included:

    • 450 businesses made preparations and improvements prior to and during construction
      1. $3.1 million in loans, $260,000 in façade grants, training, and technical improvements
    • 212 businesses were helped by $3.9 million in “Ready for Rail” forgivable loans
    • 128 street-level businesses opened fronting the Green Line during the four-year construction period, 13 more than closed or relocated.
Page last updated: 18 Aug 2023, 01:48 PM