October 4, 2000
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Page C 15
Natiowd Minority Business Week
Interstate Renewal Provides Challenges
and Opportunities for Minority Businesses
B y L ee P lrlmas to n T he F oiulamu
The new fnterstate Urban Re
newal District will mean a whole
new world for minority-owned
businesses within it, with new
dangers but also opportuni
ties.
Stretching at its widest
points from North and Northeast
Broadway to the Columbia
Slough and from the Burlington-
Northern
railroad tracks to Northeast
Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard,
the district takes in 3700 acres.
In the next 20 years $300
million in taxes generated by
local property owners will be
reserved for use within this
area. The first $30 million of this
are earmarked for a new MAX
light rail line along North
Interstate Avenue. How to
spend the rest is still under
discussion, but guidelines cre
ated by a citizen committee call
for some of the funds to be
spent on economic development,
in clu d in g
aid
for
entrenpreneurship, business ex
pansion, training
facilities and creating a posi
tive business environment. They
also call for retaining existing
residents and businesses at all
costs.
Carl Flipper, director o f the
Humboldt Target Area Program,
says there will be “significant
hardships” for businesses along
Interstate itself during the light
rail construction. Hopefully,
this can be overcome through
signage, to help people find the
business and its parking, and
subsidies for advertising and
other
business expenses. “It would
be very challenging indeed to
encourage new b u sin ess
startups during construction,” he
says.
During this period, develop
ment activity is more likely along
North Williams, Vancouver,
Albina and Denver avenues and
Killingsworth Street.
“On the positive side I see
unprecedented opportunities for
emerging African-American
businesses because we have a
commitment
to pull out all the stops to re
kindle the spirit of enterprise in
the community,” Flipper says.
S p ecifically
how? Jacky Strong
would like to see the
district
provide “some low-
interest loans with fa
v o rab le
payback
schedules
for e x p a n sio n .”
Strong currently op
era tes Ma and Pa
Strong’s
Kitchen at 4134 N.
Vancouver Ave. He is
pursuing a mixed use
project combining
ground floor retail
with m ixed-incom e
housing
at
20
N.
Killingsworth St. Con
sultant Peter Wilcox
says the
project could use
help with “pre-devel
opment” costs such
as
surv ey in g
and
soils testing.
Janet Bauer,
director of the Missis
sippi Avenue Target
Area,
points out that ur
but it could speed it up
unless we take specific steps.”
Betty Jo Austin believes in
the district. Her Mrs. B.J.’s
Academy for Hair Design at
435 N.Killingsworth St. offers
accreditied training in hair,
face and nail
cosmetology,
with
' ‘On the positive side I see unprecedented
e m p h a s is
opportunities f o r em erging African-Am eri
on care of Af
rican-Ameri
can businesses because we have a com m it
can
hair.
m ent to p u ll out a ll the stops to rekindle the
A usten a t
sp irit o f enterprise in the com m unity, ” -
tended
Carl Flipper, director of the
m e e tin g s
about the pro
Humboldt Target Area Program
posed district
and was im
pressed.
“I saw real camaraderie be
She also raises the spector of
gentrification. Urban renewal ac tween neighborhoods, busi
nesses,
tivity
public and private,” she says.
“calls attention to the area,
“There was concern and excite
creates incentives to invest and
ment,
move in, and creates competi
friendliness and beauty. It
tion. Then it may be harder for
can’t be anything but good. It
people without a lot o f capital
will
to buy or lease on the street. We
affect business in a very posi
need to be careful. If we don’t
tive way. I’m real tickled my
provide support, we’re not doing
husband and I will be here to
minority businesses a favor.”
see it.”
Flipper sees it differently.
Specifically, Austen would
“If what business owners are
like
to
see “buidlings restored
looking for is low rent, they
and
occupied,
the street scape
may have to start looking toward
well
lit,
the
area
thriving
as if
another part of town. If they
you were in New York City,
want to be a productive business
employing people in the com with people out on the street en
joying
munity and taking part in the
themselves. I ’d like to see cul
revitalization, they can be equal
tural activities and things
partners. If they want to own
happening, such as the Alberta
the property they’re currently
Street Fair.”
occupying, we can help with that.
Gentrification “is a con
“There’s good gentrification
cern,” she says. “We need to work
and bad gentrification involving
at
displacement. Both have been
the grass roots level to accom
going on for a decade. The new
modate
everyone."
district is not the cause of that,
ban renewal funds can pay for
physical
improvements and some ser
vices such as development op
portunity
assessments, but not for on
going programs and maintenance.
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