NEPG has recently secured final financing commitments and the last piece of property needed for the project. It bought one parcel from the Northside Association for Community Development, which spearheaded development of a Felpausch grocery store that opened in November 2003 a block away. The city's Brownfield Redevelopment Authority sold NEPG the remaining property in December for $12,000.

The strip mall will be built on an approximate 1.7-acre site located on the northeast corner of Westnedge and North. Five tenants—-a video store, tailor, restaurant, dollar store and credit union—-have signed letters of intent to locate there, though leases have not been finalized, Burt says. Space remains for possibly two or three more businesses, she says.

The city has committed $200,000 toward the project, including $100,000 from a federal Community Development Block Grant. Also included is a $100,000 loan from its Brownfield Redevelopment Authority. It will funnel the $12,000 in sale proceeds back into public improvements at and near the site.