Standing in front of the long-vacant Great Fans and Blinds shop on Snelling Avenue, Gene Gelgelu talks up his $4.5 million dream of converting the two-story constructing into “Little Africa Plaza,” the bustling industrial center of a community on the move.
Measuring nearly 15,000 square feet, the boarded-up constructing is little greater than 12 months away, in his eyes, from reopening as an African foods grocer adjoining two smaller retail stores at ground level, in addition to a pan-African museum of continental art and culture.
Upstairs on the second floor, Gelgelu, himself an Ethiopian immigrant, plans to locate the brand new headquarters of African Economic Development Solutions, the nonprofit he launched on University Avenue in 2008.
‘Little Africa’
Could Little Africa Plaza develop into the industrial heartbeat of St. Paul’s official “Little Africa” industrial district?
Given the growing numbers of African immigrants in the realm — this weekend marked the ninth 12 months of the Little Africa Festival, which closed Snelling from University Avenue to Blair Street to traffic for nine hours — Gelgelu firmly believes the reply is yes.
“When people fit into the material of society, they invest,” said Gelgelu, who played no small part in getting Snelling Avenue north of University Avenue dubbed “Little Africa” in 2013. “It’s about job retention. It’s about attracting recent talent to an area. They buy a house there because they feel a way of belonging. Many business owners, we ask them why they began a business here. They are saying ‘I hang around here. That is where I do my hair and get a cup of coffee.’”
African Economic Development Solutions purchased the dilapidated Great Fans constructing at 678 Snelling Ave. N. in January of 2021 from Latest York-based SG National, LLC for a comparatively modest $300,000. It’s taken greater than two years to assemble a lot of the $4.5 million in city, state, federal and philanthropic funding needed to even contemplate repairs and an application process for storefront space. Interior renovation is more likely to get underway this fall.
The constructing has sat on the town’s “repair or removal” calendar — a sort of precursor to condemnation — since not less than May 2020, a precarious legal designation made much more precarious after a fireplace around February 2022.
‘A protracted road’
Council Member Mitra Jalali said a wide range of city funds have gone into Little Africa Plaza, including upwards of $60,000 in STAR grant dollars awarded directly through her ward office, on top of $1.5 million from the state bonding bill and state surplus. Still, arguably the best contribution has been the town’s commitment to administer the extensive rehab timeline, which continues to be a piece in progress.
“It had super old wiring, plumbing. It’s an old constructing. It was pretty seriously damaged (by the hearth),” Jalali said. “It’s been an extended road, partially, not less than on the town side, because we’ve been attempting to support the community vision on this site. That is about helping Little Africa have a house to remain.”
She said she hopes that a few of the retail space shall be used for pop-up booths or small business incubators.
“Plenty of African immigrant businesses don’t need, or have capital to have, a everlasting brick and mortar space. Some sort of shared space that very small businesses can access — that’s ultimately a lot better than an old, vacant constructing,” Jalali said. “They’re making progress. They’ve a whole lot of support from their respective elected officials. There’s a whole lot of partnerships in play to make it what it might be.”
Ups and downs along Snelling Avenue
The structure, constructed in 1926, adjoins but doesn’t include the Bella Hair Salon and Sole Traditional Korean Restaurant, two hold-outs in the middle of a block otherwise bookended by drained, vacant storefronts.
Reviving half a industrial city block is a an enormous dream for a stretch of Snelling Avenue that’s dotted by hits and misses. Empty former retailers sit next to popular but sparsely decorated restaurants, in addition to some industrial enterprises.
The sizable CVS pharmacy that after anchored the corner of Snelling and University avenues closed in March 2022, followed more recently by the longstanding Fasika Ethiopian restaurant across the road. Heading north on Snelling toward Hamline University, a Holiday gas station still draws plenty of consumers, as does the Ginkgo Coffeehouse, which incessantly hosts live music and an open mic night.
Just like the live performances at Ginkgo, the goal of putting in a museum in Little Africa Plaza is that “we’re using art and culture as a catalyst for economic development strategies,” said Tsegaye Gelgelu, organizer of the Little Africa Festival and director of Community Constructing and Advocacy with AEDS.
All in all, the Little Africa corridor hosts a mixed-bag of challenges and opportunities, though Gelgelu is banking on creating more of the latter.
Launching a business
As he explains his vision on Monday, he’s interrupted twice — first by a visibly disabled panhandler, after which by the owner of a shiny recent catering van, who pulled over after spotting his friend and mentor on the sidewalk.
The caterer is Chef Nessib Negusse, who effusively recounts walking into African Economic Development Solutions in 2016 with a level from Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts but no idea easy methods to launch his own business.
“I said Gene, I want help,” Negusse recalled.
That very same day, Gelgelu helped Negusse fill out an application for a catering license. Before long, Negusse was providing meals to high schools and charter schools. Then he opened his own restaurant — the Hilltop International in South St. Paul — in 2021, in addition to the Hilltop Coffeeshop within the Hennepin County Government Center.
“He’s probably the greatest,” said Negusse, beaming after encountering his old friend. “He’s my base. Information is certainly one of the keys to assist small businesses to grow. He helps everybody, not only Ethiopian people — all of the people.”