Building Home at Cranberry Ridge: A Reflection
Written by Craig Freeman, Community Connection Manager
Cranberry Ridge has been a long time coming.
At Beacon, we estimate it generally takes three to five years for a building to go from concept to reality. This feels like a long time because it absolutely is. With the current need for affordable housing, three to five years is an eternity.
With the way the system is structured, however, it’s going to take at least that long to obtain millions of dollars in incredibly limited public financing, find and purchase an appropriate property, obtain necessary land use changes from the city, contract with a supportive services provider, and build a large building.
(Cranberry Ridge pictured left.)
The affordable housing system is built in such a way that Bimosedaa, the development that has moved faster than any in Beacon history, is just now approaching closing on the financing despite being conceived as a response to the Wall of Forgotten Natives encampment at Franklin in Hiawatha in the Fall of 2018.
That’s right: Our fastest development ever is still going to fall within our general estimate of timing. Meanwhile, Cranberry Ridge has taken nearly a decade.
As we’ve gone through the process, Cranberry Ridge has taken the same steps as every one of our buildings, but each step has taken significantly longer than usual. However, we at Beacon are tenacious. We are blessed with equally tenacious partners on this project.
Our service partner Interfaith Out Reach & Community Partners, lead Cranberry Ridge congregational partner Wayzata Community Church, and countless other congregational and individual partners have been steadfast in donating, sending emails, making phone calls, and showing up at community meetings.
Thanks to this…thanks to YOU…45 families will be calling Cranberry Ridge home starting in Spring 2022.
Construction is well underway at 18240 Hwy 55 in Plymouth, with the building being fully framed and plumbing/electrical started. In fact, construction is going well enough that the project is actually a couple weeks ahead of schedule (for once!).
Now, with how things have gone with Cranberry Ridge, it wouldn’t be at all surprising for a December blizzard or a January cold snap to use up that extra time. But nothing is stopping the end result: Cranberry Ridge is almost here and we are filled with gratitude.
Gratitude for each and every one of you who have helped us get to this point. Gratitude for every congregation who has participated in this process. Gratitude for our leaders and donors. Gratitude for the hundred plus who showed up at Plymouth City Council meetings. Gratitude for those who never gave up hope.
For an inside look at the construction of Cranberry Ridge, you can take a video hardhat tour here:
Plus, pandemic permitting there will be in person hardhat tours in the Spring, so keep an eye on your emails for those. We plan to celebrate Cranberry Ridge as much as we can, because it has been a long time coming.
While we celebrate this success, however, there are other projects that continue to need your support! One of those projects is only a few miles east of Cranberry Ridge and just north of Highway 55. That’s where we’re currently developing Emerson Village.
Emerson Village still has a Seeds gap of about 22 Seeds ($327,000). If you or someone you know is interested in learning more about how they can help get Emerson Village built (hopefully in less than a decade), please let me know by emailing me at cfreeman@beaconinterfaith.org.
Thanks again for your time and support as we work to see that all people have a home!
Sincerely,
Craig Freeman
Community Connection Manager
