Dakota County had plans for its own homeless shelter. More than a year later, what happened?

A year and a half after Dakota County paused plans for a permanent homeless shelter amid fierce backlash, Minnesota’s third most populous county still lacks such a facility, concerning some service providers who say the area desperately needs more shelter beds.

The county has partnerships with three hotels that offer temporary rooms to adults and families experiencing homelessness, said Madeline Kastler, Dakota County’s deputy director of housing and community resources. But Kastler said that approach, which took hold in several suburbs during the COVID-19 pandemic, wasn’t meant to be long-term.

It’s one of a smattering of methods suburbs have leaned on to tackle homelessness, which reached a record high across the country in 2023. Plans are underway in Washington County to build a permanent emergency housing facility, but Dakota County’s efforts to open a similar space have stalled.

Dakota County Commissioner Joe Atkins said county officials are exploring other options to shelter people experiencing homelessness following the decision to pause the shelter plans. Atkins added the county is proceeding with caution amid concerns that state and federal funding to municipalities could dry up.

“We’re being extra careful,” he said.

Such a facility seemed imminent in September 2023. That month, most county commissioners coalesced around an idea to buy a Norwood Inn & Suites in Eagan and convert it into a 55-room housing facility, pledging to apply for a state grant that would defray the costs of the $24 million project.

But after residents sounded alarms about the short window for public comment and claimed the shelter would dent traffic to businesses and endanger children, commissioners reversed course.

Since then, the county has kept up the hotel approach, with about 30 people staying in rooms at any given time, Kastler said, in addition to partnering with community providers, mental health groups and a street outreach team to tackle homelessness.

Kastler lauded the county’s relationships with its hotel partners, whom she declined to name. But she called the set-up a “temporary fix,” noting that such businesses could always pull back from the arrangement.

“There is some risk to using hotels as a long-term option for sheltering,” she said.

To Atkins, the hotel model presents one clear advantage: Such buildings remain on the property tax roll while simultaneously sheltering homeless people. A facility built by the county wouldn’t be subject to property taxes, he noted.

But some service providers say Dakota County urgently needs its own low-barrier homeless shelter — a place for people to stay, no questions asked. Among those calling for such a facility is Amber Hanson, the housing and homeless services director at Ally Supportive Services, a West St. Paul-based organization that conducts street outreach to homeless people.

“Every community within Dakota County is saying not in my neighborhood, not in my city,” Hanson said of the blowback over the Eagan shelter idea. “But I think with the right information, and the right services, it can be done really, really well.”

Housing unsheltered people in hotels took off during the pandemic, amid worries of coronavirus’ rapid transmission in congregate settings.

The Bloomington City Council loosened its zoning code to allow hotels to house homeless people at the height of the health crisis.

In Washington County, the pandemic-era practice has persisted, said Sarah Tripple, the county’s community services division manager. Easy to deploy in a crisis, the hotel approach nevertheless requires the county to hew to building owners’ rules.

“We’re somewhat limited with what we can do,” Tripple said.

That’s one reason Washington County is in the process of building its own shelter in Stillwater. American Rescue Plan Act money is primarily funding the construction of a 30-unit emergency housing services building, a partnership with the county’s Community Development Agency.

Tripple noted that a permanent shelter, staffed 24 hours a day, will eventually be cheaper than continually renting hotel rooms. Plus, a planned community room will give service providers space to meet with guests, connecting them to job opportunities, health care and housing.

“The more services we can bring on-site to wrap around folks, the quicker they’re able to figure out their barriers to housing and move on to a more stable housing situation,” Tripple said.

Scott County, in contrast, lacks a fixed emergency shelter, housing coordinator Peter Goldstein previously told the Minnesota Star Tribune, though the county and various partners offer programs to help place people in temporary shelters.

In Dakota County, the only permanent shelter for families experiencing homelessness is Dakota Woodlands, an Eagan-based nonprofit.

“Dakota County has an ever-present need for shelter for people experiencing homelessness,” said Kastler, the deputy housing director. “Even though we do have correct shelter options, there’s always people sleeping outside.”

On one night in January 2024, the annual “Point in Time” count tallied 82 homeless people in Dakota County. In 2023, those participating in the endeavor counted 104 homeless people in Dakota County.

To Lisa Lusk, the county doesn’t have enough beds to adequately support its homeless population.

Lusk, the director of programs and operations at 360 Communities, a Burnsville-based group that operates a 23-bed emergency shelter for adults and children fleeing domestic violence, said stagnant funding forced her group to close a second domestic violence shelter.

And she worries homelessness across Minnesota could worsen if state politicians reduce the money they afford municipalities for rent assistance to families facing eviction.

“I do worry that as those funds become less, and as the cost of living has continued to increase, that we’re going to see more and more people who can’t afford the rent that they’re paying and make ends meet,” Lusk said.

Hanson, the Ally Supportive Services housing director, said she believes a permanent shelter is still possible in Dakota County. But that project’s success, she added, depends on whether officials address community concerns head-on.

When “people have their fears calmed and the questions answered,” Hanson said, “they will be more supportive of having a place for unsheltered neighbors to go.”