East Side Financial Center/Center for Working Families
New role for a trusted old financial institution
The East Side Financial Center in the renovated Swedish American Bank serves immigrants and other neighborhood residents.
St. Paul’s Swedish American Bank building, long a pillar of the community, has stood vacant since the 2002. But in early 2008, after renovation, the historic building reopened as an innovative financial center offering bilingual services, matching funds for savings accounts, counseling on mortgages and debt reduction, and home-buying classes to new immigrants and others, as well as business incubation services. The new East Side Financial Center houses a credit union and a social services agency on the first floor and the East Side Center for Working Families. Thanks to community development, a building that served for decades as a neighborhood’s financial foundation can continue that service into the future. As St. Paul Mayor Chris Coleman said at the opening ceremonies, “This represents a rebirth, not just of one building but of an entire street.”
Lead CDCs
East Side Neighborhood Development Company, Neighborhood Development Center
TC LISC role
