Services

Project Management

Donjek manages projects for city agencies, developers, think tanks and foundations. Coordinating your initiative, partnering with you at each step, allows you and your project partners to focus on end goals and the big picture.

Urban redevelopment projects and policy studies have multiple layers relating to market, entitlement, access, landscape and storm water management, and public engagement. Bringing together the focused capacity to assemble partners, establish a shared strategy, and move forward is essential.

Donjek project management services have proven valuable for:

  • The private, public and philanthropic coalition that included the Brookings Institution, for which Donjek provided project management of the Metropolitan Business Plan initiative in the Minneapolis Saint Paul region
  • Streetcar feasibility analysis undertaken to explore multimodal service in the Midtown Greenway / Lake Street corridor for the Midtown Community Works Partnership in Minneapolis
  • The Trust for Public Land and partners, who are exploring market impacts of new urban open space through the Gateway Redevelopment Impact Study
  • The McKnight Foundation, Rondo Community Land Trust and the Frogtown Community Development Corporation, with whom Donjek is developing an innovative model for commercial land trust, lease/purchase or other tools for long-term price stability

Public Finance

Public investment has never been more important or more challenging. The political climate, scarce funding, and a changing public/private sector relationship underlie the need for experienced advice.

Donjek has performed public finance work including:

  • Tax increment finance and value capture analysis for multiple private clients
  • Finance and economic consulting for corridor studies and a range of city plans for clients including AECOM, Conway + Schulte, the Cuningham Group, TKDA, and others
  • Identification of innovative public and public/private funding strategies for clients including the Public Strategies Group and the Minnesota Historical Society

Policy Analysis and Strategy

City building and redevelopment make for a noisy environment. Blurring of public and private roles, the changing nature of public engagement in the digital age, evolving transportation and land use practices, and changing consumer preferences each present opportunities for effective, innovative urban redevelopment. Without the right approach, these dynamics can also become barriers to success.

Donjek has provided strategic advisory services on a project or ongoing basis, to help clients:

  • Quickly and comprehensively digest the economic, cultural and political landscape in regions including Minneapolis Saint Paul. Recent examples include coordinating local efforts for Cleveland-based JumpStart, Inc., and for the winning team of the Minneapolis Riverfront  Design Competition
  • Advocate for public policy that leverages priorities of land owners, including work with Goff Public and Welsh Companies
  • Evaluate public/private partnerships involving local, state, or federal agencies