Housing Updates: January 2025
There’s good news in the world—We’re making progress on over 300 Beacon homes to serve more individuals and families in the Twin Cities Metro.
It has been a busy few months since our last update on Beacon’s supportive and affordable housing progress. Thanks to all of you: volunteers, supporters, advocates, and partners whose contributions have helped make home possible for more community members!
New homes in development
The Aragon (St. Paul)
December was a big month for The Aragon, a Beacon building in the earliest stages of development in East St. Paul. The Aragon is envisioned as 53 apartments with a mix of 1-, 2-, 3-, and 4-bedroom units. The building will include homes for families who earn between 50-60% of the area median income (AMI). Approximately 13 supportive homes will serve families or individuals with barriers to housing stability due to a disability or history of homelessness.
We are excited to announce that on December 11, 2024, after four public hearings and months of conversations, Councilmember Cheniqua Johnson and the St. Paul City Council voted to approve the rezoning and conditional use permit. A big thank you to all who raised their voice in support of more needed affordable homes in St. Paul and to the leadership of the St. Paul City Council, who worked diligently to ensure that many voices from the public were heard as they made their decision.
Prairie Pointe (Shakopee)
The long journey to create Prairie Pointe, supportive homes for families in Shakopee, is nearing another milestone: we have assembled capital financing for the building and, in early January, moved to close! Construction will begin in January 2025. If all stays on track, families in Scott and Carver Counties will begin moving into Prairie Pointe in late 2025!
Service provider Volunteers of America – MN/WI secured $15K in services funding from Carver County’s first Local Area Housing Aid (LAHA) RFP to support the delivery of services to Prairie Pointe families when the building opens. Stay tuned for more updates as they happen!
Aster Commons (Richfield)
The vision of Aster Commons is to provide 38 affordable apartment homes to autistic and other neurodivergent individuals at risk of homelessness. Our current vision is to prioritize 12 units for The Red Lake Nation (RNL), with the referral source coming through Mino-bimaadiziwin, meaning “living the good life” in Ojibwe.
“Mino-B” is a Wellness Clinic and multifamily housing development for Red Lake Ojibwe Band members and local Native American residents. 19 units at Aster Commons will come from one or more Hennepin County referral sources such as Coordinated Entry or Health and Human Services.
We are still assembling funding for this project and have recently received some significant awards! This includes an investment of about $850,000 from the Met Council about a month ago—their second contribution, which brings their overall commitment to $1.85 million. Additionally, with the support of a seed grant from Red Lake Nation, Aster Commons has attracted significant investment from the Federal Home Loan Bank of Des Moines.
We are also honored that Hennepin County selected Aster Commons as their preferred candidate for a $7.5M award from “CoC Builds,” a national funding competition. If we win this award (decision anticipated in spring 2025), it will advance Aster Commons significantly by funding services, rental assistance, property, capital, etc.; either way, we feel confident that we’re moving toward completing the financing puzzle.
Once financing is assembled, we move to close, and then construction begins. Building a Beacon property generally takes about a year after all the financing is in place.
Gladstone Crossing (Maplewood)
Gladstone Crossing will provide about 40 apartment homes focused on creating a supportive environment for young families. Our partner in this project is Solid Ground, a nonprofit based in White Bear Lake that has been working with young families experiencing housing instability for decades. Their onsite staff will help residents improve their physical and mental health, employment opportunities, education, financial literacy, and parenting skills.
We continue to assemble funding for Gladstone Crossing and will need an additional year to accrue resources, including dollars to pay for services for the families living there.
Another point of pride is that Ramsey County chose Gladstone Crossing as their chosen candidate for a $4.2M award from “CoC Builds,” a national funding competition. The decision on this award is anticipated in Spring 2025. An award would mean more resources for supportive services, rental assistance, property, capital, and admin.
Updates – existing homes
Emerson Village
Families are beginning to call Emerson Village home! As of December 2, 2024, Emerson Village received its Certificate of Occupancy, and site-based interviews for prospective residents began on December 3. Our current trajectory is to welcome ten new families to Emerson Village monthly from January through April 2025. When fully leased, 40 families who have been navigating the challenges of homelessness and housing insecurity will rest easy in their new homes with the on-site team from Project for Pride in Living supporting them with individualized case management.
Learn more about the history of the development at Emerson Village by clicking here, and sign up for our next tour opportunity in March 2025!
Vista 44
In September, residents, neighbors, and elected officials celebrated the opening of Vista 44 in Hopkins. And today, nearly all 50 homes have families living in them!
Since its opening, Vista 44 families have been building community with each other and Hopkins neighbors. Service provider Volunteers of America MN/WI hosted both a Halloween party and a Holliday Celebration that were well attended by the resident families.
Sign up here for a chance to tour the homes at Vista 44 later this month, and contact MJ to learn about volunteer opportunities to support residents!
Bimosedaa
The 48 homes at Bimosedaa have been open for an entire year! With the historic renovation complete, Bimosedaa is now operating at nearly full capacity. The state-of-the-art design contributes to a quality experience for individual residents, the onsite staff, and the community that has space to gather within the walls of Bimosedaa. Despite coming to Bimosedaa with complex histories of homelessness and barriers to stability, 83% of the residents have maintained their housing at Bimosedaa since moving in.
Bimosedaa is an Ojibwe word meaning “let’s walk together.” The building is uniquely positioned to serve a primarily Native resident population and was created in collaboration with Avivo and Red Lake Nation in the spirit of partnership. Residents who call Bimosedaa home receive onsite services provided by Avivo and other community partners, including MN Recovery Connection, Healthcare for the Homeless, and Native American Community Clinic.
The onsite services staff have prioritized medical needs and combating food insecurity, and future goals include fully stocking a clothing closet and food shelf for resident use.
The NorthView
While this may be the first time many Beacon supporters have heard of it, we are proud of the significant progress on another Beacon project in 2024: The NorthView is a recapitalization project that will redevelop 31 homes in various parts of Minneapolis (what is called “scattered-site” housing) into one new entity, bringing valuable resources to bear for the families and individuals who currently call these sites home. The three properties being redeveloped are CedarView, NorthHaven, and 3rd Avenue Townhomes. In addition to helping Beacon optimize our real estate portfolio for financial health, nine additional units of Section 8 rental assistance from the City of Minneapolis have been secured for these homes, ensuring affordability for the families who live there, and additional services will be brought to more units to support family success.
The City of Minneapolis provided essential “first-in” money (this helps us attract other funders) for the project, which was a direct result of the advocacy work Beacon led to target the Affordable Housing Trust Fund to benefit households at 30% AMI and below.
The recapitalization project is targeted for completion in late 2025.
Renovation & Expansion: Kimball Court
The Kimball Court renovation and expansion project will enhance housing quality, resident experience, and safety, allowing Beacon to better deliver the Housing First model at this site.
The renovated program and community space, coupled with enhanced entry security, will address concerns expressed by residents and neighbors alike, with the primary goal of providing a quality, positive experience for residents.
Contact Emily if you’re interested in supporting residents with donations of winter gear, household supplies, and other items!
For more information on the Kimball Court renovation and expansion, click here.
Working to increase local government investment in supportive homes
Since the summer of 2025, Beacon staff and volunteer advocates have been engaging with their elected leaders to encourage significant investment in supportive housing operations through Local Area Housing Aid, made possible through the metro sales tax for affordable housing enacted in the 2024 legislative session.
We are thrilled to announce that the St. Paul City Council included $880,000 for supportive housing in the St. Paul Housing Redevelopment Authority (HRA) budget passed in December. This commits new funding from the Local Affordable Housing Aid program for affordable housing providers like Beacon!
The Minneapolis City Council has passed a budget that includes $1 million proposed by Mayor Frey for the new Minneapolis Affordable Rental Stabilization program. This new program will complement Hennepin County’s Repair and Grow, which assists with the costly operations for affordable housing providers such as Beacon. Thanks to Mayor Frey, the City Council, our coalition partners in supportive housing, and all the amazing volunteers and congregations who advocated for this funding.
Hennepin County was an early leader in crafting a strategy for their LAHA funds. They put out an RFP called “Repair and Grow” that intended to sustain existing affordable housing in the county. Beacon applied for funds, and we are happy to announce that Hennepin County has awarded us $1.3M over two years.
Ramsey County’s Support and Stabilize RFP was released on January 3, 2025, and aims to “Support and Stabilize” distressed affordable apartments serving low-income residents. Developers may use the funds to stabilize building operations and buffer the effects of higher maintenance costs. The goal is to increase occupancy rates so that buildings reach fiscal health. Beacon staff will explore opportunities this new funding brings for the benefit of Ramsey County residents of Beacon homes.
Give today
When adequately resourced, supportive housing has been proven to be one of the most effective solutions to ending homelessness.
With onsite case management and affordable rents, the Beacon resident community can thrive. Please make a gift to help sustain supportive housing today.
