The next East Downtown Council Business Forum is scheduled for Thursday, January 15, 2015, and will take place at PadillaCRT – 1101 West River Parkway, Suite 400.
The title of this month’s forum is “Green Ribbons, Downtown Parks and the Nicollet Mile: Outdoor Urbanism at Its Best: Minneapolis Downtown Council’s 2025 greening initiatives, Park Committee, and 2025 Plan.”
Registration, lunch and networking starts at 11:30 a.m., with the EDC Update and guest presenters starting at Noon. The cost to attend the forum is just $20. You can pay by cash or check at the door. Please RSVP by sending an email to [email protected] by no later than Monday, January 12, at Noon.
FORUM DESCRIPTION
Minnesotans celebrate opportunities for outdoor activities in every season of the year. Hot or cold–we adapt our clothing to the weather and live as much outdoors as we do indoors. But, how does this take place in a dense urban setting such as Downtown Minneapolis? This forum is focused on how cities envision, create, and program parks, greening, and place-making in outdoor spaces. Guest presenters Steve Cramer, CEO of the Minneapolis Downtown Council and project consultant Peter Brown will present leading concepts and actual projects that are transforming how people experience life outdoors in downtown Minneapolis.
FORUM AGENDA
- Welcome and Introductions, Paul Mellblom, President EDC, Dan Collison, Executive Director EDC (10 Minutes)
- Stadium Construction Update, Lynn Littlejohn, Director of Community Affairs, Mortenson Construction (5 Minutes)
- Feature Presentation with Steve Cramer and Peter Brown (30 Minutes)
- Q & A Moderated by Dan Collison (10 Minutes)
- Preview of the February EDC Business Forum (5 Minutes)
SPEAKER BIOGRAPHIES
Steve Cramer, President and CEO of the Minneapolis Downtown Council (MDC) and Minneapolis Downtown Improvement District (DID)
A proven organizational and community leader, Cramer has worked at the intersection of public, private, and nonprofit sectors: as a Mayoral appointee; as the Executive Director of the Minneapolis Community Development Agency (known today as CPED); Director of the Hennepin County Department of Housing, Community Works, and Transit; and service at PPL as their Director of Housing, Chief Operating Officer, and President. Currently, Cramer
serves as the Chair of the Minnesota Ballpark Authority and serves on the Boards of the Minneapolis Consortium of Community Developers, the Twin Cities Community Land Bank, the Twin Cities LISC Local Advisory Committee, and the Northside Achievement Zone.
In addition to his previous experience, Cramer has served as a Minneapolis City Council Member from 1984-1993. Cramer, his wife, and their two children, live in the City of Minneapolis where he runs daily on the Mississippi Parkway. With a B.S. in Urban Planning from the University of Tulsa, Cramer went on to receive a M.A. in Public Affairs from the Humphrey Institute of the University of Minnesota. Past volunteer work includes: the Minnesota House Advisory Committee; Fannie Mae National Housing Impact Advisory Committee; Minnesota Task Force to End Homelessness; Minnesota Multi Housing Association Board of Directors; Greater Twin Cities United Way Housing Impact and Basic Needs Committee; the Sustainable Resource Center; Catholic Charities Board of Directors; St. Joseph’s Home for Children Advisory Board; and the Metropolitan Airports Commission.
Peter Hendee Brown, Consultant
Peter is an architect, planner, and urban development consultant based in the Twin Cities. He teaches private sector real estate development at the University of Minnesota and is the author of America’s Waterfront Revival: Port Authorities and Urban Redevelopment. His second book, How Real Estate Developers Think: Design, Profits and Community, will be coming out in April. Before moving to Minneapolis in 2003, he lived for seventeen years in Philadelphia, where he practiced architecture and worked in Philadelphia city government, serving in the administration of Mayor Edward G. Rendell.
