The Neighborhood Development Center is unlike any other organization. They build community through developing and supporting entrepreneurs. They fund, mentor and help entrepreneurs create their brand and online presence and often house them in developments that NDC owns to help make their business successful by lowering operating costs and rent. This relationship with the Entrepreneurs and NDC is long lasting. They mentor and support these business owners for years.  Over time this creates generational wealth and community stability and enrichment. The work that NDC does has been happening for decades. One could see their impact in the successful business they helped foster and support throughout the community or at their flagship development Midtown Market in Minneapolis.  Their office, their space, where they gathered community together to discuss important issues had quietly officed on the second floor of Western Bank on University Avenue in St Paul.  They had no sign on the building, no grand entrance, not space to gather, not even enough space for themselves.

“The dream of creating a signature mixed use development for the new NDC headquarters was years in the making,” said Betsy Vohs, Studio BV Founder and CEO.  “Four years ago we started on this journey with NDC to help create a vision of what that space might look like.” I remember hearing them talk about how people find about NDC and how a person with a dream would get the courage to go to NDC office to try to find out more about the company or the program, but was met with a tiny lobby with two small chairs and a table with pamphlets. There was no place to be, no place to feel welcomed, not a place for the community at all. The staff shared offices, and workstations and the conference room was also the breakroom.  Community meetings were at the library and they went to other locations as much as they could to do team meetings or meet with entrepreneurs.

The new office space for NDC is bright, welcoming space full of energy and optimism.  “Walking up the stairs to enter NDC’s new office is a jolt of energy. Bold colors, playful materials and energy greet you as you arrive,” says Vohs.  “The space is bright, playful and full of optimism, supporting staff, the community and visitors as they meet and connect together. “

The project uses bold colors to reflect the different people it serves. Color is a unifying concept, it's accessible, it's playful and it brings joy and optimism to people. This moment of joy was needed as NDC meets with potential entrepreneurs, and discusses the process and road map for starting a business. The design of the office should reflect the outcomes and impacts of the work NDC does and inspire all who visit to reach for their dreams.

Key features of the space include a welcome center that supports guests, community members and the team. The coffee bar and conference spaces support the team's needs and provide a space for entrepreneurs to meet together.

The stair that connects the 2nd and 3rd floor was designed by acclaimed artist Seitu Jones and features patterns cut into plywood and allows light to filter into the spaces from the two story window and atrium. The stair was placed here so the community could connect internally with the NDC space- making the energy of the neighborhood visible to the team at NDC and externally showing the community NDC was here and welcoming them into the building.

The design of the space supports a modern office. The flexible workspaces support open and closed collaboration as well as creative spaces for ideation and meeting.  Office spaces are full of glass and connect to the team spaces and are filled with light.

There is an abundance of social and open spaces. Each floor has lounge spaces, coffee amenities and places to meet and work. These components were missing in their previous space and were essential to support their work and their teams.  The social and community space is located at the top of the building on level 4. This space supports meetings and conventions with the community and the NDC team. The space has a full kitchen that can be used for test kitchen spaces for entrepreneurs testing out recipes and menu items and for supporting working sessions and events.

The gathering café space folds into two larger meeting rooms that have garage doors so they can support a variety of meeting needs.

The rooftop deck has views of downtown and the cathedral which make it a wonderful space for all to use.

This project uses color and texture to its fullest. Creating a bright and positive workspace to support the incredible work NDC does to make dreams happen for entrepreneurs.

This was a Studio BV Design Forward project and worked pro-bono on this work.