Minneapolis City Council members propose emergency funding to save downtown shelter, food shelf

A group of Minneapolis City Council members want to spend $1.5 million to preserve a century-old building downtown that provides a refuge for 137 homeless people.

The proposal, announced Friday, would provide a $1.5 million rehab grant to help Agate Housing and Services make repairs to 510 S. 8th St. and its food shelf at 714 Park Av. Without $3 million to $5 million for critical repairs to the plumbing and bathrooms, Agate will close the facilities by Oct. 9 and lay off 23 employees, the organization has said.

“We hope that other governmental partners step up, join the Minneapolis City Council and prevent the permanent closure of these needed services,” said Council Member Jason Chavez, chair of the public health committee. “As encampments continue to be shuffled around our city, we cannot afford to lose critical transitional housing and shelter services.”

Chavez, Council President Elliott Payne and Council Member Jamal Osman are sponsoring the grant proposal, which they plan to introduce at a budget committee meeting on Sept. 16. The grant would be contingent on Agate securing at least $1.5 million from other sources by the end of next year to complete improvements at 510 S. 8th St.

Agate Housing is one of several nonprofit providers of housing for homeless people that has been outspoken in recent years about an imbalance in public funding sources that makes it much easier to finance new construction of affordable housing than preserve aging buildings.

Agate is building a new 54-bed shelter and 50 affordable apartments in the Longfellow neighborhood for $25 million, but could not secure the minimum $3 million needed to save 510 S. 8th St.’s 42 shelter beds and 95 board-and-lodge units — a form of temporary housing for people facing hurdles renting elsewhere.

Last month Agate employees rallied outside 510 on their lunch break, emphasizing the irony.

“I am grateful for the quick response from city leaders to this crisis,” said Agate CEO Kyle Hanson, who hopes other public and private philanthropic entities will step up. “This is a very important resource to the community, as it serves some of the most vulnerable of our neighbors. This is a small investment compared to the cost of replacing these units with new construction. I remain hopeful that a permanent solution is within reach.”

Hanson said rehabbing 510 now would keep it going for the next 15 to 20 years without any more deep capital improvements. But if emergency funding cannot be found, Agate will not be able to afford keeping it vacant for long before selling it for some other use, resulting in a permanent loss of beds in an emergency shelter system that turns away homeless people for lack of space thousands of times each year.

Building repairs are estimated to take six to 12 months. If Agate secures the funds necessary, 510 will still close temporarily for construction on Oct. 9.

“The City Council is committed to doing everything in our power to address this crisis, including putting our money where our mouth is to stop the loss of over 100 beds,” Payne said.