The Minnesota State Legislature’s historic $10 million investment in the Anti-Displacement Community Prosperity Program (ACPP) has significantly strengthened neighborhood’s ability to advance cultural placekeeping initiatives along the Blue Line Extension. This landmark funding represents a crucial step toward ensuring that the 13.4-mile transit line connecting Minneapolis, Robbinsdale, Crystal, and Brooklyn Park serves as a catalyst for community prosperity rather than displacement.
AMA has been actively involved in the Blue Line Extension Cultural Placekeeping initiative, working to ensure that as the project moves through its current phase of refining typical sections, site planning, and traffic plans through July 2025, anti-displacement strategies protect existing communities while fostering economic development along the corridor. The ACPP funding aims to help with infrastructure surrounding the Blue Line Extension, focusing on what happens to people when transit development is announced.
AMA has actively embraced the project’s focus on Cultural Placekeeping as a tool to prevent cultural displacement by anchoring Pan Asian community identity through visible and emotional symbols that create deep belonging along the Blue Line. AMA recognizes that cultural displacement often precedes physical displacement, making neighborhoods feel unwelcome and alienated in their own communities. Through participation in the Blue Line Extension Cohort, AMA advocates for using cultural heritage as a lever for economic investment while demonstrating the interconnected nature of cultural and physical infrastructure along the Blue Line corridors.
The $10 million allocation requires matching funds to be used, creating opportunities for leveraged investment in cultural preservation initiatives. As the project enters its 2026 phase of station architectural design, lighting, and landscaping plans, AMA is working with the Cultural Placekeeping Design Group to engage local residents, business owners, and cultural organizations as co-creators in the transit design process. AMA is particularly focused on ensuring that the visual aspects of the project honor and celebrate existing Pan Asian cultures and histories in the selected corridors. This includes advocating for culturally relevant wayfinding panels, interpretive signage, colors, patterns, and textures that reflect the diverse Asian communities along the route. The state funding provides crucial resources to support these comprehensive design elements that go beyond basic transit infrastructure.
AMA’s vision for a Pan Asian cultural district along the Blue Line involves coordinated action that keeps the rich culture of the corridor in place while enhancing it to thrive in the post-construction environment. With the $10 million ACPP investment, AMA hopes that the Blue Line Extension becomes a tool for cultural preservation and community empowerment rather than displacement, creating lasting economic opportunities for Pan Asian communities while maintaining their cultural identity and sense of place. The substantial state investment demonstrates recognition that cultural infrastructure is as vital as physical infrastructure for sustainable community development.
Enjoy the podcasting with highlights from the Cultural Peacekeeping Initiative. For more information: 612-376-7715, amamedia@amamedia.org.
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Additional Funding Information
The state Legislature awarded $10 million to fund the ACPP with the goal of preserving and enhancing community vitality by ensuring people in the corridor today are the ones to benefit from this important infrastructure investment.
The request for proposals (RFP) is intended to support those impacted by the Blue Line in the following areas:
- Housing stabilization
- Small/micro business support
- Real estate development
Informational Sessions
- 6-7:30 p.m. Monday, July 30 at UROC, 2001 Plymouth Ave. N. Minneapolis (Room 105)
- Details coming soon for additional community meetings in Minneapolis and Brooklyn Park
Important RFP Dates
- Solicitation for Expenditures application opens: July 1 (-ish), 2025
- Applications due: Sept. 2, 2025
- Awards: Late 2025/early 2026
Who Can Apply – Applicants must be one of the following:
- A commercial entity (such as a for-profit real estate developer)
- A nonprofit
- A government applicant must have a community-based organization as a co-applicant
Matching Funds Requirement: For every dollar requested from the ACPP Board through this Solicitation, the applicant must secure an equal amount of funds from nonstate sources (“matching funds”) as required by the ACPP Board and the enabling legislation. Matching funds do not need to be secured at the time of application, but if selected by the ACPP Board, the applicant must demonstrate they have secured matching funds prior to execution of any contract.
Learn more about the RFP at yourblueline.org/RFP
