OUR SCOPE

  • Community

    We serve the African American community across Minneapolis–St. Paul, with a special focus on historic neighborhoods such as North Minneapolis, South Minneapolis, Rondo, Midway, Brooklyn Park, and Brooklyn Center. These are places where African Americans have built culture, resilience, and legacy — and where investment must be made to preserve community and create opportunity.

  • Barriers

    We confront the systems and structures — political, financial, and institutional — that block African Americans from shared prosperity. AACDC advocates for policies, practices, and investments that dismantle these barriers and replace them with opportunities for wealth creation, cultural preservation, and community-led growth.

  • development

    We drive business development and real estate investment — both commercial and residential — in priority neighborhoods. By expanding Black ownership in land, housing, and enterprise, we work to close the racial wealth gap and ensure African Americans have the power to shape their own economic future.

UPPER HARBOR TERMINAL

The Upper Harbor Terminal (UHT) is a 48-acre site along the Mississippi River in North Minneapolis that was formerly an industrial shipping terminal. For decades, the site represented disinvestment and environmental harm in a predominantly African American community. In recent years, it has become the focus of one of the most significant redevelopment efforts in Minneapolis.

Community members, through the Collaborative Planning Committee (CPC), worked with the City of Minneapolis to create a vision for the site rooted in anti-displacement, community benefits, cultural integrity, and equitable development. Their work laid the foundation for how redevelopment should serve Northside residents.

Building on this vision, AACDC stepped in to ensure that the Northside and African Americans have direct economic benefits and representation in the redevelopment process. AACDC successfully negotiated a historic Community Benefits Agreement (CBA) with First Avenue, the operator of a planned riverfront amphitheater. As part of this agreement:

  • A Community Fund will receive $3 from every ticket sold at amphitheater events.

  • The fund will be governed collaboratively by AACDC, First Avenue, and community representatives.

  • Resources will support housing, business development, cultural initiatives, and anti-displacement strategies in North Minneapolis and much more.

    The UHT redevelopment is a landmark opportunity for Northside residents and African Americans across Minnesota: to secure lasting wealth, cultural presence, and leadership in one of the most high-profile developments in the city’s history.