April Graves, Mayor, Brooklyn Center

Brooklyn Center Mayor April Graves talked with Invest: about the varied economic fluctuations experienced by the city over the last few years. She said Brooklyn Center’s city council is focused on investing in infrastructure and economic development to further the city’s recent growth.

Reflecting on the past year, what have been some of the main highlights for Brooklyn Center?

Brooklyn Center is a first ring suburb of Minneapolis with around 34,000 residents. We previously had a regional shopping center, which was demolished after a slow decline, and we eventually redeveloped the space into Shingle Creek Crossing Shopping Center. It re-opened with Walmart as an anchor, but Walmart ended up closing in 2023. This was initially a major hit to the city as Walmart had only been in the location for a decade, and with the closures of Target and Sears in 2018. In this same timeframe, Discount Tire and Applebee’s shuttered its doors.We have tried to adapt to the shifts in the retail climate and have recently seen a resurgence of smaller businesses and restaurants in line with Minnesota’s most diverse city. The former Walmart location reopened in less than a year as grocer Empire Foods, Applebees reopened as Dos Hermanos Mexican Grille and Bar, and Discount Tire is being renovated into an expanded beauty supply store (Icon Beauty). We have seen more businesses open in Shingle Creek Crossing in the last year than in the past several years, and a former bowling alley that sat vacant for nearly a decade recently opened as Los Campeones’ largest gym.  

What are your immediate priorities for the Brooklyn Center?

We have shifted our approach from reactively trying to fill vacant spots to becoming proactive and assertive around meeting the demands and needs of residents. The goal is to attract new businesses and investments that set us apart from neighboring cities. We do not want to accept things as being “good enough” or “better than nothing.” Despite the city having a smaller tax base to work with, and limited incentives as compared to other cities, the city has prioritized economic development by hiring its first dedicated economic development staff member in 2018 and added staffing in 2024 to address the City Council’s strategic goals and build up the economic vitality of the city. 

The city has been proactive in securing grants for different development projects, totaling over $8 million between 2023 and 2024. This allows us to help support different initiatives and developments like Community Corner, which is a mixed-use veterans’ housing development with ground floor office space and a proposed youth-led coffee shop. The city has also been involved in local non-profit CAPI’s Immigrant Opportunity Center expansion project on Brooklyn Boulevard, and additional grant funding for non-profit ACER, who purchased a struggling shopping center with the intent of creating an innovative catalyst center for small businesses and entrepreneurs of color.

The city has acquired a sizable amount of land over the years, including over 60% of the City’s Opportunity Site. The city recently adopted a master plan to transform the over 80 acres of land located in the core of Brooklyn Center to a dense, walkable downtown with new neighborhoods. 

What are the primary industries that are driving growth in Brooklyn Center?

In 2019, the city adopted its 2040 Comprehensive Plan, which was a major shift away from past comprehensive plans and set the stage for adoption of our new zoning code in 2023, which had not meaningfully been updated since the 1960s, and introduced new land use flexibilities, mixed-use districts, increased housing density, and streamlined procedures to make our city more competitive. These changes were made in part to make our city more competitive and able 

We have a strong, established history of hosting businesses. We are home to three different coffee companies: Caribou, Bizzy, and Tiny Footprint. Surly Brewing Company and New Horizon Academy were also founded here. The city is home to many diverse businesses and employers like TopGolf, Showdown Displays, Legacy Production Group, Imprint Engine, and Cass Precision Machining. Some of our larger employers include Medtronic and Luther Automotive. We try to reinforce our commitment to diversifying businesses and housing through the recent adoption of our strategic plan. 

We have a lot of naturally-occurring affordable housing that are well-maintained, but older and overwhelmingly homogenous. We desire more diversity in our housing, including market-rate and move-up housing. The city of Brooklyn Center continues to grow younger, with a median age of about 32 years old, and with many residents starting families,  we are looking to develop new housing types, including market-rate and move up housing. 

How does your relationship with Hennepin County and Minnesota state officials contribute to achieving the city’s goals and objectives?

In our efforts to become more assertive in meeting our economic development and investment goals, our staff has strengthened our relationships over the past few years with both the county and the state. We’ve gone to the state several times for different bonding requests to help with development and funding needs. We’ve used tax increment financing, which is also related to state and county regulations, and become more involved as a community at the state level. I believe the city is always open to any opportunity to leverage resources at the state or county level or even our relationships to help bring development to the city. We’ve also worked with some other organizations that are more focused on sustainability or climate resilience. Recently, our Brooklyn Center Elementary became the first pilot site for Trust for Public Lands’ Minnesota Community Schoolyard program, which resulted in a new inclusive playground and  native plant gardens.

How is the city continuing to support residents and small businesses amid this period of growth?

We have different programs within the city to support small businesses. One such program involves upgrading facades so they have more impactful  signage and curb appeal. We also have been supportive of incubator spaces and have a dedicated space that is connected to our municipal liquor store. There are currently discussions surrounding adult-use cannabis businesses following its legalization in Minnesota, and how to make sure the city remains a safe space for young people. Small businesses have been an intent focus of our council for several years. We’ve worked with a couple different organizations that are more well-versed in working with small businesses, as well as Elevate Hennepin, because we recognize that they need additional assistance and guidance. We brought on staff to address this issue in a more nuanced way and are working towards creatively promoting our diverse businesses.

Brooklyn Center also boasts multiple amenities focused on our residents, including a fantastic community center, a golf course, and a conference center called the Heritage Center, which hosts multiple events throughout the year. The city prides itself in having over 522 acres of parks and open space, three regional trails, proximity to North Mississippi Regional Park and Mississippi National River and Recreation Area. 

What are some infrastructure, development, or construction projects in the works for Brooklyn Center?

We are in conversations with the Minnesota Department of Transportation around the potential conversion of Trunk Highway 252 to a freeway. Brooklyn Center’s city council is not supportive of this potential conversion, largely because it would negatively impact our tax base, could possibly cut off access to our businesses, and would move many cars through our city as people make their way to downtown Minneapolis. This would expose our residents to negative health impacts due to decreased air quality.

We are also interested in expanding our community center and had a ballot option for a local area sales tax to fund this. Unfortunately, the ballot option was a close race but did not pass. We do have $5 million in bonding dollars which have already been approved for this project, which the city intends to match in order to maintain the community center. The center already has an Olympic size pool and fitness center in addition to meeting spaces. City staff are still working on what improvements can be made within the scaled back project budget.