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Nicollet Square for homeless
youth ground broken Nov. 12

Nicollet Square – a Housing 150 housing and retail development to serve youth and young adults transitioning out of homelessness or foster care – broke ground Nov. 12. Plymouth and Westminster Presbyterian sesquicentennial funds were the seed money to start this joint project at 37th St. and Nicollet Ave.

Members of the two congregations have been meeting with staff of the Plymouth Church Neighborhood Foundation (PCNF) to work on the details of making this idea a reality. Many Plymouth members have been involved in writing postcards to their elected officials, attending neighborhood association meetings to get their vote of approval and lobbying Hennepin County Commissioners for supportive service funding. It took many caring hands and engaged voices to get this far and we celebrated together at the groundbreaking of this new building that will be called home by 42 formerly homeless young people ages 16 to 21.

Minnesota Housing approved Tax Credit Exchange funds for Nicollet Square, as allowed by the federal stimulus bill. The amount is approximately $6 million and effectively provides the capital dollars needed for the project. Lee Blons, Executive Director of PCNF, stated, “Getting to this capital funding milestone is a wonderful achievement given the storms we’ve experienced in the financial markets and funding community. This was only possible because of the progress we’ve made towards our service funding goals, which were boosted by the large turnout from Plymouth and Westminster members at public meetings.”

Nicollet Square promises to be a cutting-edge multi-use development. It will provide 42 units of housing for youth who have experienced long-term homelessness or are exiting foster care. In addition to case management services provided by YouthLink, an on-site retail business will offer immediate employment. Cookie Cart – a North Minneapolis nonprofit which has been offering youth the opportunity to develop life, leadership and employment skills through the operation of a bakery – will open a new location on the street level of the building. The goal is that any Nicollet Square resident who wants to work at the Cookie Cart will have a job waiting for them, which will teach them how to be a good employee. In addition, HIRED, a leading Twin Cities provider of job skills and employment training, will build on the work experience gained through Cookie Cart.

Service funding is expected from a variety of funding sources, including Homelessness Prevention and Rapid Re-Housing (HPRP) monies, extended foster care dollars made available by new federal legislation and private foundations. Although some additional service funding still needs to be raised, the Housing 150 taskforce and the PCNF board have both voted to take the calculated risk to move forward. They’re confident that community support from individuals and foundations will be forthcoming.

We can all take a deep breath and think of young people who are on the street tonight who will have a safe and caring place to live a year from now. –Jenny Mason

Demolition at the 3700 Nicollet site

Watch sped-up video of demolition, Jan. 5, 2009

    News & Issues

    Also see Special Events         Sesquicentennial Book

    More from Plymouth Church Neighborhood Foundation

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