Our mission

To foster a safe, diverse, and thriving neighborhood by engaging the community to create healthy, affordable housing and support commercial development.

What we do

East Side Neighborhood Development Company (ESNDC) is a 40-year old, locally governed community development corporation based on the diverse East Side of St. Paul, Minnesota.

Community Development
The East Side is a diverse and evolving neighborhood. Once a primarily white, working-class community, most residents now are people of color. ESNDC collaborates with various stakeholders to create solutions that work for our neighborhood. We are comfortable navigating complex problems, thinking creatively and holistically about community issues and identifying cross-sector solutions.

ESNDC helps shape real estate development through outreach and engagement, giving developers like Project for Pride in Living, Habitat for Humanity, Singular Development, Schafer Richardson, and others the opportunity to prospect and assess their proposals with the community. At the forefront of our engagement work is inclusion and racial equity during these important conversations. ESNDC successfully executed two planning processes that delved into developments that link housing, jobs, services, and transit to create inspiring Livable Communities.

Healthy Homes - Healthy Children
ESNDC works to improve the conditions of older homes that are lead contaminated with old lead-based paint to reduce a family's risk of exposure and prevent lead poisoning. Our community outreach and education include screening children and pregnant mothers for elevated blood levels, in-home assessment and remediation through rigorous swabbing and encapsulation procedures that will permanently get rid of lead hazards in homes, and in some cases full window replacement of original lead based paint windows. ESNDC works in the seven county metro area to provide these services, and with partners in Duluth, MN and Albert Lea, MN.

Economic Development
ESNDC supports and invests in local businesses by administering loan and grant programs for storefront renovations and commercial code remediation. We partner with others to provide expertise in business planning, marketing and other pertinent technical assistance for start-up entrepreneurs and established businesses. We also have a youth entrepreneurship program called Yungpreneur Workshops with Aniki Allen.

As locally owned businesses improve and grow, they provide a wider array of goods and services, add jobs for residents, and become well-established anchors. Revitalizing the commercial corridor contributes to heightened civic participation and strengthens our sense of community.

Commercial Corridor Beautification
Coordinated efforts by residents, business owners, and municipal partners can create conditions to revitalize inner city commercial corridors and spur economic growth.
By improving physical surroundings, assisting businesses with upgrades, attracting new stores to fill vacancies and branding the corridor as a destination, East Side's Payne Area Corridor will improve and elevate the surrounding neighborhood.

ESNDC works to spruce up public spaces with loans for parking lot improvements, organizing commercial corridor cleanups, and creating place-making opportunities. We do this in partnership with the Payne Arcade Business Association through our Payne Area ReBOOT initiative.