Nonprofit leaders, community members and elected officials clap after CAPI CEO Mary Niedermeyer cuts a ceremonial ribbon outside the nonprofit’s expanded Immigrant Opportunity Center Oct. 9 in Brooklyn Center.
(Sun photo by Jack Wiedner)
A nonprofit with decades of experience serving immigrants and refugees has more than doubled its footprint in Brooklyn Center. Funded largely by government grants, CAPI’s expanded Immigrant Opportunity Center brings a bigger food shelf, an outdoor garden, a technology resource center and wealth-building services to their Brooklyn Boulevard headquarters.
At an Oct. 9 grand reopening celebration, CAPI CEO Mary Niedermeyer said Operation Metro Surge sparked difficult conversations for the nonprofit — but it also highlighted why their mission is important.
“It would have been easy to postpone, easy to scale back, easy to decide that the timing was just not right. But people kept believing in this vision,” Niedermeyer said. “This community deserves investment, and this building is proof of what can happen when people choose to invest in a community’s future.”
The project broke ground last summer and was under construction for more than a year, requiring CAPI to provide their services in less traditional spaces. Their food shelf moved to the Shingle Creek Center, while other resources were offered via pop-ups at the Brooklyn Park Library and other community hubs.
Now, CAPI’s longtime services have returned to the expanded Brooklyn Center building. There are new amenities inside and out, such as the dozens of community garden plots that will soon supply culturally important crops. Other amenities include workforce development services, small business support, financial coaching, education programs and food access initiatives.
A stairwell leads from the ground floor of CAPI’s expanded Immigrant Opportunity Center, featuring a food shelf and other amenities, to the second floor, which offers a technology center and a variety of other resources.
(Sun photo by Jack Wiedner)
“Families will come here seeking foods that connect them to their family, to their traditions and their community,” Niedermeyer said. “Job seekers will find coaching, support and pathways to sustainable employment. Others will come to strengthen their financial futures, prepare for homeownership, or get help engaging systems that can often feel overwhelming.”
CAPI’s Minneapolis building provided office space early on during construction, but as of Sept. 11, that location is permanently closed. The nonprofit is now entirely based out of Brooklyn Center.
CAPI moved its headquarters from Minneapolis to Brooklyn Center nearly a decade ago, and when it did so, the nonprofit also purchased an adjoining parcel in hopes of future expansion. By 2025 the nonprofit had raised enough funds to move the project forward – and the Brooklyn Center City Council approved multiple variances to make construction possible.
The exterior of CAPI’s expanded Immigrant Opportunity Center, as seen from Brooklyn Boulevard in Brooklyn Center.
(Sun photo by Jack Wiedner)
The 16,050 square-foot Immigrant Opportunity Center expansion is interconnected with the nonprofit’s original 10,600 square-foot building. The community gardens will supplement CAPI’s culturally-specific food shelf for the Southeast Asian, LatinX and West African communities.
The immigrant opportunity center expansion had an estimated cost of $11.5 million, financed by CAPI reserves, donations and various forms of bonding. The nonprofit fell just short of their funding goal, requiring a pause on plans to build a greenhouse.
By adding more space for both the community and nonprofit staff, CAPI leadership has estimated 75 new jobs will be created. According to Niedermeyer, the nonprofit will support 20 small businesses and serve more than 5,000 residents in the Brooklyn Center area.
CAPI was founded as the Centre for Asian and Pacific Islanders in 1982 amid an influx of refugees coming to Minnesota after the Vietnam war. In 2008, the nonprofit changed its name to CAPI USA to reflect an increasingly multicultural focus.
CAPI went through another rebrand this year, maintaining the acronym but changing the full name to Communities Advancing Prosperity for Immigrants. A new logo and design language also accompanied the name change.
According to the nonprofit’s website, CAPI serves more than 12,000 immigrants, refugees and people of color living primarily in Hennepin County. 95% of CAPI’s visitors reportedly live at or below the federally-designated poverty level.
To learn more about CAPI’s services and the Immigrant Opportunity Center expansion, visit capiusa.org.