A favorite Minneapolis neighborhood restaurant wants to use its popularity to make life in the area a little better.

The intersection of Central and Lowry has had its share of trouble in the past.

The Holy Land Restaurant and Bakery owner Majdi Wadi knows the neighborhood his business is located in isn’t known for being the safest.

"Drug use, prostitution," Wadi admitted.

Wadi wants to improve the area and in November of this year, hopes to break ground on a multi-million dollar development.

"We're going to build a 30 unit building with commercial in the first floor," said Wadi.

In 1987, Wadi’s mother began selling homemade hummus she made in her basement. Twenty years later, her son and his family went from owning a small storefront to redeveloping nearly an entire city block.

"The construction going to start very soon," Wadi said with excitement.

The project will eliminate vacant homes behind the restaurant. Together with a local developer and enough funding, a 30-unit apartment and town home complex should be expected to hit the market for carefully screened tenants.