Graves Foundation Steps Up to Answer the Call to Serve as Land Bank

May 19

Written By REACH

The Third Place interior shot - FB image on gallery homepage

The Third Place Gallery, a business located in the building currently being held by The Graves Foundation, showcases work by distinguished local photographer Wing Young Huie and serves a space for performances, community discussions and artist talks.

I leapt at the opportunity to meet with Graves Foundation President Bill Graves in the Community Room at his office located in the Midtown Exchange Building. Over the course of our hour-long conversation, he updated me on the Foundation’s unconventional forays into the realm of property acquisition. Normally, a youth-focused philanthropic non-profit, Bill makes it clear that the intention is to be holders of the land as opposed to acting as developers. And yet, when it comes to holding land in service of bettering the community, The Graves Foundation has generously stepped in to help.

Prior to the beginning of the pandemic, the Graves Foundation purchased the land that Roberts Shoes Store once occupied. The business had closed a couple years prior, and a Memorial Day weekend fire prompted the demolition of the building in 2018.

By the end of this year, the hope is that a Latinx Cultural Center under new ownership will be underway, as the community input directed.

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More recently, just north of George Floyd Square on Chicago Avenue South in Minneapolis, a small strip of retail (5) and residential (4) spaces owned by Mike Stebnitz became available when it went into foreclosure unable to weather the ongoing battering of the dual crisis of uprising and pandemic.

Longtime South Minneapolis residents PJ Hill, a financial advisor and Dan Coleman, owner-developer, had ideas to preserve these local businesses with community customers and residents, but weren’t in a position to purchase. They approached the Graves Foundation with a request to purchase and hold the space.

The strip will be held for three years by the Graves Foundation, after which time, PJ and Dan will be prepared to fully steward it. Bill sees the Graves Foundation’s role serving as owners of the space not as a financial investment for return, but rather an investment in community. Graves’ decision to make a positive impact by acting as a landbank until a transition is possible, provides security and optimism for the future of George Floyd Square.

To learn more about the Graves Foundation, visit https://www.jdgravesfoundation.org/.