Looks are not deceiving when it comes to two major affordable housing projects in Mankato.
The new senior housing complex near Cub Foods West, which is already collecting names of interested tenants, could open two months ahead of schedule. And the vibrant eight-story mural that recently transformed a blank gray wall of the old Walnut Towers is an exterior reflection of the dramatic top-to-bottom renovation underway inside the city’s second largest apartment building dedicated to low-income residents.
Lewis Lofts
When construction began last spring, the $17.5 million Lewis Lofts building was slated for a July 2025 completion.
“We are currently two months ahead of schedule as far as construction,” said Brian Sweeney, development director for Cohen-Esrey Development Group. “We haven’t made a decision yet about opening day at the park.”
But it might not be too far behind the 2025 opening day for the Twins at Target Field.
“Within the next 30 days, we’ll make a decision,” Sweeney said. “We’re hoping May 1, I’ll say that.”
The project totals 64 apartments for people 55 and older who meet income guidelines, with some units reserved for those at 30% or less of the county median household income and the rest for tenants up to 60% of the median. Rents will range from $451 to $987 for the one-bedroom units and $538 to $1,182 for two bedrooms, based on those income thresholds.
Sweeney praised the performance of Brennan Construction of Mankato, the general contractor for Lewis Lofts.
“We’re just pleased as punch with working with the quality contractor that Brennan is,” he said.
The only potential hang-up at the moment is related not to construction but to the availability of switchgear — the collection of fuses, switches or circuit breakers in a building’s electrical room that ensure a safe and reliable power supply. A widespread and persistent shortage of switchgear has plagued the construction industry going back to the COVID pandemic and it’s dealt uncertainty about when Lewis Lofts will be completed.
“It’s just a nationwide deal where it’s up in the air,” Sweeney said of the availability of the equipment.
But the otherwise smooth construction has allowed Cohen-Esrey to maintain its list of planned amenities and even toss in a new one.
“We’ve actually added granite countertops. It’s just going to be a great product,” Sweeney said of the apartment units.
Other promised features include a community room, a pet wash, raised-bed garden plots, on-site management and maintenance staff, a fitness center, in-unit washers and driers and more.
Descriptions of features and amenities and overhead views of the varying types of apartments can be found at lewislofts.com.
Under federal rules governing the tax credits that are a major financing component of the project, lease agreements can’t be signed until a project is within 90 days of completion. But Cohen-Esrey is collecting names and contact information via the webpage of people interested being tenants.
The Alma
Known as Walnut Towers since its 1977 construction, the 86-unit downtown apartment building’s name was changed with the purchase by Minneapolis-based Trellis Co. as part of an $11 million renovation by the nonprofit developer and manager of affordable housing.
The building had fallen into disrepair and was, prior to the purchase, in danger of being converted to market-rate housing.
“… A developer coming along and converting it to higher-end luxury apartments I think has been a very real concern,” Karen Foreman, a council member at the time of the sale, said in July of 2022.
Dan Walsh, vice president of housing development for Trellis Co., said at the same meeting that the purchase and renovation would ensure that doesn’t happen.
“We never intend to sell our properties,” Walsh told the council. “We intend to keep them affordable into perpetuity.”
Now 27 months later, the project’s completion is within sight.
“Things are going well and we’re on track to finish by the end of the year,” Walsh told The Free Press last week.
Dec. 31 was the original target for wrapping it up, and there will be a sense of accomplishment if it stays on track considering the scope of the work involved. Basic building components such as the leaking sewage collection pipes are being replaced, along with flooring, lighting and windows. The apartments are getting new appliances, bathroom fixtures, base trim, cabinets and air conditioners, along with the addition of ceiling fans and built-in microwaves.
It hasn’t been an entirely smooth process.
“With any substantial renovation, there’s always going to be surprises, and The Alma was no different,” Walsh said. “Thankfully, we had adequate contingency.”
The lack of fire-resistant materials in the bathroom walls of the units was not up to code, and the condition of the subflooring in a lot of areas was poorer than anticipated.
“Everything that framed the windows was in much poorer shape and had to be totally rebuilt in a way that wasn’t expected,” he said.
The end result will be a completely depleted contingency fund, meaning some of the optional items that might have been accomplished with those dollars won’t be. One wish-list item has been added, however.
“We wanted more security cameras, and we were able to do that,” Walsh said.
The building’s tenants, who include some of Mankato’s most economically vulnerable residents, are being supported as best as possible, according to Walsh. A few agreed to move off site during the entire construction process, allowing remaining tenants to shift temporarily into the units renovated first while their own apartments are being overhauled.
“It has been very disruptive, as you can guess,” he said.
But tenants are increasingly able to envision the long-term benefit of the near-term pain as more and more units and hallways are renovated and as the exterior was spiffed up: “That light at the end of the tunnel helped.”
The final stages involve first floor work, including common areas like the new community room, fitness area and lobby.
Walsh describes residents as “very excited” about their new home and about a more stable environment that will come with completion.
“It’ll be the dead of winter, but we’re planning a celebration of the end of construction,” he said.
As far as the mural, Walsh has heard positive comments from city officials and Mankato residents alike. He hopes it, along with the broader renovation project, contributes to what has been an upswing in the fortunes of Mankato’s city center in recent decades.
“It’s just on a really positive trajectory and hopefully this will add to that,” he said.
If the downtown is beginning to reach new heights, then the renaming of the building and its mural featuring a windmill and soaring birds are fitting. Alma Wagen was a Mankato native who adored climbing to high places, resorting to scaling the windmills on area farms during her childhood before becoming the first female mountain guide in North America as an adult.
“I think the muralist did a really good job, and the image behind it is really meaningful and came from engagement with the residents,” Walsh said.