November 21, 2013, Thursday - East Downtown Council Forum Luncheon

Time: Registration begins at 11:30am, EDC Update at Noon, followed by guest presentations

Location: Best Western Normandy Inn, 405 S. 8th Street

November 21 EDC Business Forum: Envisioning Downtown Minneapolis in 2025: Part One

Featuring Collin Barr, Chair of the Minneapolis Downtown Council and the Downtown Improvement District and Mikkel Beckman, Director of Heading Home Hennepin.

Please RSVP by Monday, November 18, at 4 p.m., to be included in the lunch count.  You can register by sending an email to info@edcmpls.org. The cost to attend the lunch is $15.00.

FORUM SUMMARY

The Downtown 2025 Plan was developed by the Minneapolis Downtown Council to cast a bold vision of growth for Downtown Minneapolis, including doubling the residential population, 21st century transportation innovation, and forging new connection to the University of Minnesota. The 2025 initiatives are critically important to economic vitality of the East Downtown district.

Collin Barr is Chair of the Minneapolis Downtown Council and the Downtown Improvement District. Mikkel Beckmen is the Director of Hennepin County's Office to End Homelessness.  He leads the Heading Home Hennepin initiative, which is the City of Minneapolis and Hennepin County community's 10-year plan to end homeless by 2016.  Beckmen is also a leader on the 2025 Plan “Downtown Community” committee.

This forum will cover an overview of the 2025 Plan, and the specific initiatives related to community development; including, working toward being the first major U.S. city to end street homelessness and providing diverse housing options for all.

FORUM AGENDA
I.   Noon - Welcome and Introductions, Dan Collison (10 Minutes)
II.  12:10 p.m. - Overview of 2025 Plan, Collin Barr (10 Minutes)
III. 12:20 p.m. - 2025 Downtown Community Presentation focusing on street homelessness and housing: Mikkel Beckmen (30 Minutes)
IV.  12:50 p.m. - Q & A Moderated by Dan Collison (10 Minutes)
V.    1:00 p.m. - Announcements and Adjournment

SPEAKER BIOGRAPHIES

Collin Barr
Collin Barr is the Chair of the Minneapolis Downtown Council and Downtown Improvement District, and the President of the Minnesota Region for Ryan Companies. Barr is an experienced developer and has led numerous projects in both suburban and urban areas for companies such as Target Corporation, Starwood Hotels and Resorts, and The Hartford.

MIkkel Beckmen
After serving as director of St. Stephen's human services programs, and working on homeless issues for more than 22 years in several different organizations, Mikkel Beckmen was named the head of the Office of Homelessness in Hennepin County (including Heading Home Hennepin) in 2013.