New affordable housing project in north Minneapolis targets Black, Indigenous families

A new initiative is developing eight vacant lots in north Minneapolis into affordable homes for Black and Indigenous families.

About 50 people gathered Friday on a sunny and humid afternoon to celebrate a groundbreaking ceremony at the first site at N. Logan and N. 14th avenues. A triplex will be built on the first site; seven other sites will feature duplexes.

The Black Lives of Unitarian Universalism (BLUU) is spearheading the initiative, and purchased the eight lots in 2019 for $183,214.78. The Minneapolis-based organization was founded in 2015 as an online faith community for Black Unitarian Universalists.

“This is a time to celebrate, and it’s only the beginning because we still have seven sites to go,” Lena Gardner, BLUU’s executive director, said at the groundbreaking. “But even to come this far is an accomplishment that I want to celebrate and express gratitude.”

The first families are expected to move into their homes in the summer of 2026. The estimated total cost of constructing the triplex is $1.6 million. The total cost for land development of the site is more than $2 million for various expenses such as utility access, administrator fees and design fees.

Each unit in the triplex will feature four bedrooms and two and a half bathrooms. Instead of a traditional mortgage, families will pay a monthly $1,900 payment to own a share of the cooperative and cover the costs of maintaining it.

Each unit of the triplex will be sold for $196,000 to Black and Indigenous families. A $5,000 grant from Wells Fargo Bank will help each family with their downpayment. The cost to purchase a unit or develop the other sites has yet to be determined.

The Minneapolis Homes program, which helps build, fix and finance affordable housing projects, committed about $1 million to help cover purchase costs. Other funders are also stepping in to help cover costs.

The homes are aimed at families that earn 60 percent of the area median income or less annually, which is about $67,000 based on a three-person household.

The homeowners across all eight sites will enter a cooperative together, jointly owning all of the properties. BLUU and Urban Homeworks will not serve as a member of the cooperative, but will continue to serve in coordinating and supporting roles for the families.

Roxanne Kimball, manager of the city of Minneapolis’ real estate development services, oversees homeownership programs such as Minneapolis Homes.

“To see this cooperative come to life, it represents our values in the Minneapolis Homes program, that community members have the answers for the future we need to build, and that when community works together, we can achieve our dreams,” Kimball said at the groundbreaking.

The initiative aims to support Black and Indigenous single parents, because many come from communities that have experienced historical trauma that has limited their wealth or access to land, said BLUU’s executive director, Lena Gardner.

“We’re putting a lot of money, staff time, and resources for an organization of our size behind this initiative because we see housing as part of becoming self-determined people and having more autonomy in the world,” Gardner said.

She also said that north Minneapolis has historically been targeted by corporations that buy up houses to rent out at high rents.

BLUU is partnering with Urban Homeworks, a Minneapolis nonprofit dedicated to affordable housing, on the project. There is high interest in the homes from potential buyers, said AsaleSol Young, Urban Homeworks’ executive director. Young’s organization will recruit long-time renters who want to transition into homeownership.

“Our residents are incredibly excited for the opportunity, not only to become owners, but a lot of folks are excited about this idea of working so closely with other families and essentially creating like a mini-neighborhood within a neighborhood that they already love, which is north Minneapolis,” said Young. “This is what housing justice rooted in love looks like.”

For more information about the program and a fundraising effort, visit the BLUU website .

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