Brooklyn Park’s big bet on a city-built Small Business Center is hitting a messy middle. The 25,000-square-foot incubator, launched as a home base for entrepreneurs and retail pilots, is only about half full, and the city has been quietly plugging annual budget holes to keep it going. With a $175,000 state grant set to disappear in 2027, the long-simmering question of who should run the place, and how, is suddenly a lot harder to ignore.
The center sits inside Northwinds Plaza at the intersection of Brooklyn Boulevard and West Broadway and includes offices, co‑working desks, and retail testing spaces. The City of Brooklyn Park lists the site at 7970 Brooklyn Blvd and describes roughly 25,000 square feet with about 60 offices and retail spaces, set up to offer below‑market leases and programming for local entrepreneurs. Local event listings and city venue pages show the space has also doubled as a community spot, hosting outreach events and public gatherings since it opened.
How The Buildout Was Funded And What It Costs
The city spent roughly $4.5 million to build out the center, pulling together grant funding, tax‑increment financing, about $1 million in federal dollars, and other municipal contributions. According to the Star Tribune, the center has about 118 members, and the city is covering a funding gap of roughly $100,000 to $200,000 a year. That ongoing cost, combined with broader pressure on the city budget in recent years, has pushed officials to dig into which operating model actually pencils out.
City Steps In To Steady Operations
When the contracted operator’s relationship with the city ended, staff moved in to keep the doors open and the lights on. They took over day‑to‑day management and retained on‑site employees through temporary staffing arrangements, according to a March 16 EDA work session packet. That document lays out a laundry list of fixes meant to improve the facility and the member experience, from lighting upgrades to structured quarterly member meetings, all aimed at boosting retention and making the center easier to market.
Staff told the EDA they plan to bring forward options for the city council on whether to keep running the center fully in‑house, bring in another outside operator, or land on some kind of hybrid model that splits responsibilities.
Business Owners Want A Seat At The Table
Small‑business members say the concept still matters, but the money and expectations have not always matched up. “This was not designed to be a profit center. It was designed to be more of a service center,” former operator Indred Alexander told the Star Tribune, arguing that the city needs a real marketing budget and clearer governance if it wants the place to thrive.
Other tenants, including nonprofit leaders and retail entrepreneurs, have floated a co‑op or member‑owned model so people using the space can help set programming priorities and shoulder some of the fundraising work. The basic message from inside the building, put simply, is: let the folks who rely on the center help shape what it becomes.
What To Watch Next
Officials say they want to lift occupancy to at least 80 percent and ultimately get the center to a point where it is either self‑sustaining or community‑owned. In the meantime, they are pursuing interim steps, including bringing in outside marketing expertise and additional temporary operational support.
City council and EDA meetings in the coming weeks are expected to spell out the options and their price tags so leaders can choose a long‑term path that balances services for entrepreneurs with fiscal responsibility for taxpayers. For the small‑business owners who depend on affordable workspace, the outcome will shape where and how they grow their ventures over the next few years.
