By: Holly Dolezalek | Finance & Commerce
It took more than a decade and the help of 11 major funders, but the affordable Greenway Heights Family Housing building designed for large families is up and running.
The 42-unit building at 2845 Bloomington Ave. S. is in Minneapolis’ East Phillips neighborhood, an ethnically diverse area with immigrants from Nepal, Somalia and Ethiopia, and significant Latino and Asian populations. The building was fully occupied immediately after opening in January, signaling that its larger units are in demand in the area.
The neighborhood has previously lacked suitable housing for the needs of its population.
“Many large families struggle to find housing,” said Kathy Wetzel-Mastel, executive director for Minneapolis-based project co-developer PRG. “Particularly with the Latino and East African populations in East Phillips, there were hardships created by not having adequate unit sizes.”
The building’s design emphasizes bright colors and cheery finishes for a family-friendly atmosphere, while exposed ductwork and open floor plans give the individual units an industrial feel. The building offers family amenities like a community room with an indoor play area, raised-bed gardens and an outdoor youth activity center.
Greenway Heights is part of a long-term neighborhood improvement effort by the East Phillips Improvement Coalition (or EPIC). It’s the first affordable housing on the Midtown Greenway bike path. Located on the northeast corner of 29th Street and Bloomington Avenue, just north of the Greenway, it’s less than a mile northwest of the Lake Street Station on the METRO Blue Line.
Completed in January, the project cost totaled $8.9 million.
PRG had purchased parcels to complete the half-acre site for a decade, and the last parcel changed hands in January 2014. St. Paul-based Frerichs Construction broke ground later in the month.
Rents are $840 for a two-bedroom unit, $977 for a three-bedroom, and $1,087 for a 4-bedroom.Units range in size from an 838-square-foot two-bedroom to a 1,164-square-foot four-bedroom. Two-thirds of the units have three bedrooms. The building offers four 4-bedroom apartments, and the rest are two-bedrooms.
Renters must earn twice the rent they pay, and must meet income limits that range from $33,200 for a family of two to $54,750 for a family of eight.
For now, Greenway Heights offers most of the larger affordable units available in the city.
“There are some three-bedrooms in The Rose, a property Aeon just opened on Franklin, but there’s nothing with the density of Greenway Heights,” said Loren Brueggemann, principal of Minneapolis-based Phoenix Development Co., the project’s lead developer.
Minneapolis Mayor Betsy Hodges’ 2016 budget proposal includes $1 million for development and construction of large family housing.
“Assuming that survives the budget process, I think we will see more focus on development of units with larger bedroom counts,” Wetzel-Mastel said.
Greenway Heights is managed by Premier Housing Management, which also manages Spirit on Lake, a 46-unit affordable housing building at Lake Street and 13th Avenue South, a few blocks west and south of Greenway Heights.
EPIC President Carol Pass said filling former vacant lots with the Greenway Heights project will help the stores nearby and the neighborhood to prosper.
“Economically it will be a boon to the area and in terms of crime and safety, the presence of more people will help with trouble spots,” she said.