Minneapolis Woman Adds Health And Wellness ‘Oasis To $1.1M Building Acquired

The black woman behind the Black Women's Wealth Alliance (BWWA) has shared her plans to turn a $1.1 million building she bought in north Minneapolis into an "oasis" for health care.

Kenya McKnight-Sunday founded BWWA in 2014. The Minneapolis-based group is focused on empowering black women to create generational wealth. Since its inception, the organization has "served more than 4,000 black women, providing more than $1.3 million in low-skilled grants and $780,000 in loans," according to the BWWA website.

Now that Zarah has purchased the building, McKnight-Ahad shared plans to transform the building into a center for wellness services such as massage and acupuncture.

"I grew up surrounded by black women struggling to make ends meet," McKnight-Sunday told The Star Tribune.

"Many of them do poor jobs. Sometimes they sell drugs. I lived on the street and was homeless. But I'm always looking for a better life."

McKnight-Ahad Zarah is familiar with the property: He occupied a space in the building before being evicted because he couldn't pay the rent. McKnight-Sunday bought the building from developer and owner Stu Ackerberg of Minneapolis-based nonprofit Catalyst Community Partners and praised the transition from evicted tenant to owner.

"When he called to buy the building, he came back as a tenant, and it was a very perfect period," Ackerberg said.

The determined entrepreneur purchased the building using financing from Sunrise Bank and a $500,000 interest-free loan from the Minneapolis Commercial Real Estate Development Fund. Since acquiring the building, McKnight-Sunday has undergone several renovations, including a bakery.

"Kenyans have vision and courage," Akerberg said.

And he said, I've never been in real estate before. "But we work together. He had this idea of ​​building a black middle class up North. He was part of the changing times and the revolution on West Broadway."