Franklin Avenue developer will bring her talents to struggling West Broadway

Seven years ago, Minneapolis officials set out to rebuild the sagging economic fortunes of the city’s four major commercial corridors: Central Avenue Northeast, Franklin Avenue South, East Lake Street, and West Broadway Avenue on the North Side. Today, they can say with some accuracy that they’re three-fourths of the way home. To finish the job, though, they’re going to need some help.

Significant stretches of Central and Franklin avenues have been reborn with the combined energy of immigrant business owners and innovative projects by private developers. And with the opening last spring of the Midtown Exchange, once-moribund East Lake Street has become a regional attraction. Only on West Broadway has the effort lagged.

Despite a population with significant purchasing power (some $191 million annually, according to city estimates) and sufficient density to support a large commercial district, West Broadway remains an economic wasteland