The Housing First Minnesota Foundation and build partner Lennar broke ground on transitional housing for homeless veterans and their families in North St. Paul on Friday May 22. The home is being built in partnership with the Minnesota Assistance Council for Veterans (MACV) on a lot conveyed to the Housing First Minnesota Foundation for charitable purposes by the City of North St. Paul.
After construction, MACV will own the four-bedroom residence which it will operate as transitional housing for veterans and their families who are experiencing homelessness.
The land for the project sits directly adjacent to North St Paul’s Veteran Memorial Park. When the housing project is completed, two of the four corners that intersect at 12th Avenue and Margaret Street will pay homage to veterans who served our country.
Representatives of the Housing First Minnesota Foundation, Lennar, the City of North St. Paul and MACV kicked off the build project that will provide much-needed housing for Minnesota veteran families.
“We are very thankful that the relationship is there, and whoever lives in the house, who will be a veteran, can look across the street and see Veterans Park every day,” said North St. Paul Mayor Terry Furlong.
Currently, there are 246 veterans on the state’s Homeless Veterans registry, with 175 located in Ramsey and Hennepin counties. Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz has made eradicating veteran homelessness in Minnesota one of his administration’s priorities.
“It is an amazing accomplishment when the housing industry, nonprofit organizations and local governments can work collaboratively to leverage our collective resources to ensure housing is available for our neighbors who are experiencing homelessness, especially during such unprecedented times,” said Donnie Brown, manager of the Housing First Minnesota Foundation.
The Housing First Minnesota Foundation is a 501c(3) nonprofit organization, composed of members of Housing First Minnesota, celebrating its 25th anniversary this year. This is the fourth Housing for Heroes project in the metro area.
Visit the Housing First Minnesota Foundation’s website to view the progress of this project, make a donation, and get involved with the organization.
