The defeat of the River Run housing proposal in Sheridan neighborhood generated quite a lot of discussion about the influence of neighborhood groups in conducting citizen review of proposed projects in their neighborhoods. I believe the criticism leveled by some affordable housing groups over neighborhood opposition to River Run (stereotyping it as "NIMBYism) was unfair. A new affordable housing project in northeast Minneapolis, now about to have its groundbreaking, demonstrates that it is possible to build affordable housing with the support and involvement of a neighborhood group if it is done right.
Volunteers of America will construct 51 units of affordable housing for seniors on a now vacant lot on the 1900 block of Central Avenue in the Holland neighborhood. VOA will then provide a number of social services to residents. In addition, there will be 17,000 square feet of ground floor commercial space. The development is right on one of the busier transit corridors in the city and will blend in well with the urban streetscape of Central Avenue. A mix of affordable units will be included, including some at the 30% of median income level. In this case the neighborhood organization, Holland Neighborhood Improvement Association (as well as some citizens from other nearby neighborhoods), were heavily involved in the project right from the outset. Through a number of participatory meetings, priorities for the long vacant county-owned property were determined. Holland, and other nearby neighborhoods, have a relatively high population of low and fixed income seniors living in single family homes. They will need to transition into more supportive housing but many want to stay in their own neighborhood. However, there is a lack of such housing in Northeast. Providing such opportunities allows these people to stay in the area while opening up under-utilized relatively low-cost single family homes to new families, including the many immigrants coming to the area. The provision of street level commercial space in order to promote a vibrant streetscape was also identified as a priority. HNIA also has made the preservation of its existing affordable housing and historic urban style commercial buildings a priority. The identification of these priorities right from the outset made the later process much easier. A developer proposing a suburban style auto parts store for the site attracted some city interest but this was clearly not what the neighborhood wanted--we knew we could do better. Another developer proposed a large apartment building that would have required the destruction of the adjacent "Fat Boy" Pool Hall (a popular alcohol free pool hall voted best in the city by City Pages this year) as well as an adjacent nice older commercial building that includes several apartments. This generated more interest but many residents were concerned about the loss of viable businesses and housing. This proposal too eventually fell apart. Then VOA entered the scene. They worked closely with the neighborhood in designing a project that met their needs and neighborhood priorities. Fat Boy would be saved, commercial space included, and three stories of apartments constructed. HNIA was so impressed with their proposal that we worked with VOA on a successful application to the NRP Phase 2 Affordable Housing Fund for crucial project financing. Closing the deal required a long process but it is now becoming a reality. The biggest new project on Central Avenue in many years is now getting underway. Combined with the opening in a few weeks of the new $1.9 million Eastside Food Cooperative, Central Avenue is getting a tremendous boost. Neighborhood groups have been key to the process. I should also mention that the VOA project site is only a block from another recent affordable housing success story--Alliance Housing's Central Avenue Apartments. Alliance Housing also worked very closely with neighborhood groups to gain support for their sober supportive housing project which is aimed at helping homeless people transition back into housing and jobs. While that proposal was initially controversial, it did gain crucial neighborhood support mainly thanks to the tireless efforts of Alliance staff. So I think it is incorrect to assume that neighborhood groups in Northeast are automatically going to be against affordable housing. Affordable housing can work--but developers, particularly if they want public financing, really need to listen to and work with the neighborhoods right from the outset. Bruce Shoemaker Holland Neighborhood REMINDERS: 1. Think a member has violated the rules? Email the list manager at [EMAIL PROTECTED] before continuing it on the list. 2. Don't feed the troll! Ignore obvious flame-bait. For state and national discussions see: http://e-democracy.org/discuss.html For external forums, see: http://e-democracy.org/mninteract ________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Un-subscribe, etc. at: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
