Construction starts next week in downtown Minneapolis on a $17 million, five-story housing complex for people in their late teens and early 20s who are homeless.

Downtown View will be located at 41 N. 12th St. and include 46 residential units and support services for people ages 18 to 24, according to this week's announcement by YouthLink and Project for Pride for Living (PPL), the longtime Minneapolis social-service nonprofits behind the effort.

"We know investing in young people experiencing homelessness has long-term positive outcomes for both the young person and our community," YouthLink Executive Director Heather Huseby said in a statement Monday.

With the creation of the housing units, combined with various opportunity and career-path services, "we will increase economic and [educational] opportunities for young people," said Huseby, whose YouthLink headquarters will connect to the complex.

A groundbreaking ceremony for the building is scheduled for 4 p.m. April 18. It was designed by Urban Works Architecture, developed by PPL and will be built by Greiner Construction.

Construction is scheduled to be done in late 2017.

It's being paid for with nearly $12 million in public funding, along with $6 million that YouthLink collected in a fundraising campaign, the nonprofit said. The largest donation to the campaign was $500,000 from the Pohlad Family Foundation, YouthLink said.

The public funding is a mix of local, state and federal sources, with more than half coming from low-income housing tax credits from the state and the city of Minneapolis.

YouthLink said it serves more than 2,000 homeless youth annually.

Paul Walsh • 612-673-4482