Supportive housing project for homeless breaks ground
Sara Gomell of the Minnesota Housing Finance Agency speaks Tuesday at a groudbreaking ceremony for the new Poplar Apartments in Mankato, saying it’s rare to see such comprehensive community support for services for the homeless. Robb Murray
MANKATO — A year from now, the newly opened 40-unit Poplar Apartments will be housing individuals and families who otherwise would be at severe risk of homelessness and providing them a range of support services aimed at helping them make a permanent turn in their lives.
The transition of the yearslong effort from concept to construction was enough to draw more than 50 partners to the celebratory groundbreaking ceremony Tuesday morning.
The project will provide not only a nearly $10 million apartment building but also a host of rent subsidies and other assistance to help residents stabilize their lives and their finances. Because tenants will be expected to move to more traditional housing over time as their personal challenges ease, the apartments and the related support services will regularly become available to new residents in need of special assistance, said Justin Eilers of the Minneapolis-based affordable-housing developer Trellis.
“Over the decades, this is going to serve hundreds and hundreds of people,” said Eilers, vice president of housing development for the nonprofit.
Gold shovels were on hand Tuesday as part of a ceremonial groundbreaking for a new $10 million supportive housing apartment building along Poplar Street. Heavy equipment was already in place to dig into the first stage of the yearlong construction project.
The event offered the traditional photos of dignitaries moving a bit of dirt with golden shovels, but it was unique in the number of representatives who wanted to participate — about five individuals for each of the 11 available shovels. The size of the crowd — staff and elected officials from the city of Mankato and Blue Earth County, someone from the Minnesota Housing Finance Agency and multiple folks from the homelessness-prevention organization Partners for Housing — reflected the extent of the collaboration behind the project.
“This is the most community-driven project I’ve ever been a part of,” Eilers said.
Trellis guided it through the financing and development stages and will own and manage the apartments. Minnesota Housing awarded $7.2 million in financing. The city is providing the 1.56-acre site at the corner of Linder Avenue and Poplar Street, along with $100,000 in grant funding. The city also is providing 40 of its federally funded housing vouchers, which provides revenue for the facility so that rent payments can be kept to no more than 30% of each resident’s income.
Blue Earth County targeted $2 million in federal pandemic-relief funds to finance the support services, which Partners for Housing will staff. The state Department of Employment and Economic Development granted $116,000 for cleanup of soil pollution on the parcel, located just north of Burger King and northwest of Cub Foods West.
There were more partners than golden shovels when representatives of the various government and nonprofit agencies behind Poplar Apartments gathered for a ground-breaking ceremony Tuesday. Robb Murray
The result will be an apartment building specifically designed to help lift people out of housing instability and homelessness in a lasting way. Some of the components added to the design, following consultation with people who had experienced homelessness and local staff who work with them, include a multi-purpose community room, lounge, fitness room, computer lab and wellness rooms. Poplar Apartments also will have work space for both the Trellis apartment management staff and the support services workers from Partners for Housing.
Services will include case management and referrals to address physical health, mental health, employment, transportation and other challenges.
Eilers predicted the facility will be “the gold standard” for affordable housing services and complimented local officials for many of the ideas.
“We felt like we were stepping on a train that was already going down the tracks in a really wonderful and beautiful way,” he said.
Mayor Najwa Massad, who came to Mankato as young girl from Lebanon, recalled how her family relied on subsidized housing to get their footing in a new nation.
“Because of that, projects like this is deeply important to me,” Massad said. “Housing isn’t just about buildings. It’s about dignity and giving people a place to start again and move forward.”
County Board Chair Patty O’Connor echoed the sentiment: “What we really are building is opportunity.”
This article was originally published on March 24th 2026 by the Mankato Free Press.
Story by Mark Fischenich Photography by Robb Murray
