RS Eden, a local nonprofit developer, plans to convert a 1900-vintage building in Minneapolis's Downtown East neighborhood into an $18 million affordable apartment complex.
Attached to the existing four-story building will be a five-story building, where a parking lot now stands, according to RS Eden president Dan Cain.
Construction of the development, called Emanuel Housing, is to begin in February 2012.
The project takes its name from the late Scotty Emanuel, a former RS Eden employee. “He was a long-term, committed role model to young people coming out of poverty,” he says.
The 101 units will include mainly efficiencies, with six one-bedroom apartments. It’ll be affordable, with some market-rate apartments in the mix, Cain says.
A certain amount of space will be designated for military veterans and those who’ve had problems with chronic homelessness or chemical abuse.
However, the building will be open to anyone who is interested in sober living, Cain adds.
Also in the building will be supportive services and community and retail space, while its previous owner, the
Council on Crime and Justice, will stay put in the building.
Part of the property could be turned into a green space.
The building is close to the light rail and the downtown area, which means convenient access to jobs.
More broadly, the development is a balance to the nearby high-end housing along the Mississippi riverfront. “Any community needs a mix of housing to be healthy,” Cain says.
It’s something that was lost in the 1960s and 70s when many buildings were torn down, he says. “This is an attempt to revitalize the whole Downtown East neighborhood."
Although RS Eden can’t do it single-handedly, he says, “We hope we can go a long way towards motivating that kind of change.”
In the future, the whole corridor between Washington Avenue and the Metrodome “will be much more pedestrian-friendly and vibrant than it is now.”
Source: Dan Cain, president, RS Eden
Writer: Anna Pratt