A Chicago-based social enterprise company is purchasing the Hawthorn Crossings strip mall in north Minneapolis, promising it will build local wealth and support community development in one of the Twin Cities’ lowest-income and most diverse neighborhoods.
Lyneir Richardson, co-founder and CEO of Chicago Trend, is undertaking a crowdfunding campaign, asking nearby residents to invest a minimum of $1,000 into the Hawthorn Crossings project. He seeks to make the strip mall 49% community owned, saying that ownership of commercial real estate on West Broadway will empower the neighborhood.