Work has begun on a 40-unit apartment complex meant for low-income families in Mankato.
Situated at the corner of Poplar Street and Linder Avenue, the land was donated by the city.
“Forty units of supportive housing will certainly provide an opportunity to empty some of our shelter beds, providing a housing opportunity with supportive services to allow other individuals to get into those shelter beds,” said Andrew Pietsch with Blue Earth County Human Services.
The project is a collaboration of many groups: the City of Mankato, Blue Earth County, Trellis, Minnesota Housing and Partners for Housing, and others. GMHF provided a $3.2M construction loan to support the development.
“Individuals and families will be housed, providing rental assistance and other wraparound supports to make sure that the people who are living here are seen and heard as the human beings that they are within our community,” said Trisha Anderson with Partners for Housing.
It’s an effort that’s been in the works for several years, and with construction just now beginning, won’t be complete for at least another year.
Housing in the Mankato area has been an issue for a while, and it’s something that the City of Mankato says remains on top of their priority list with this project and future work to address homelessness in the area.
“We’ve seen them in the downtown area, we’ve seen them under bridges, we’ve seen them in the woods, it’s because we didn’t have that housing that met their needs and so we did a lot of talking with them to find out what they wanted in housing, and that’s what this project has come together as,” explained the city’s Housing Coordinator Nancy Bokelmann.
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Photo credit: City of Mankato
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