MANKATO — The first phase of a comprehensive effort to fight homelessness in Mankato could be open by the end of 2026 just west of downtown.
Minneapolis-based affordable housing developer Trellis Co. has finalized funding, reached out to neighboring property owners, submitted a traffic study to the city and requested a land-use amendment — all in preparation to begin construction by December on a 40-unit supportive housing complex.
“The project remains on track and we are progressing on design and entitlements,” said Justin Eilers, vice president-housing development for the Trellis Co. “We are excited to be at this stage and hope to break ground by the end of this year.”
Trellis is working with the city of Mankato, Blue Earth County, Partners for Housing and Connections Shelter to build the facility just north of Burger King and northwest of Cub Foods West.
“The Mankato Supportive Housing project intends to create permanent housing for singles and families who are homeless or at risk of homelessness,” according to a project description recently submitted by Trellis to the city of Mankato.
The three-story building will provide 14 studio apartments, 22 one-bedroom units and four two-bedroom options, along with a range of supportive services to help tenants get on track to permanent stable housing.
“Site improvements will include outdoor common areas, green space, landscaping and sidewalks,” Trellis stated. “Building amenities will include a community room, office and meeting space for service providers and site managers, and a fitness room.”
The partners originally proposed an $18 million two-facility project that would have also included a 24/7/365 homeless shelter offering 20 emergency congregate shelter beds and 30 non-congregate privacy units. People graduating from the shelter would then have the opportunity to move to the adjacent 40-unit apartment building and receive ongoing services ranging from health care and mental health counseling to case management and employment assistance.
Minnesota Housing, which divvies up grants for housing assistance across the state, did not fund the joint project when $9 million was requested in 2023. A new strategy was attempted in 2024, breaking the project into phases with $7.2 million sought for the supportive housing component.
That was approved and the hope is that fundraising for the Phase 2 homeless shelter will gain momentum from the construction of the Phase 1 apartment building.
Along with the funding from the state, the Mankato City Council has committed to providing $100,000, rental assistance vouchers and 1.56 acres of city-owned land at the corner of Linder Avenue and Poplar Street that would provide enough space for both buildings and a parking lot. The vacant lot is currently used only for storage of snow hauled from downtown during particularly harsh winters.
The Blue Earth County Board has chipped in $2 million to be used for development of the supportive housing component.
Services for tenants would be provided by Connections Shelter, which has traditionally operated a church-based homeless shelter seasonally from fall to spring, and Partners for Housing, which provides a range of shelter, transitional and rental housing units for people who had been homeless or are on the brink of homelessness.
Although completing the comprehensive full-service complex could take several years, the supportive housing facility now looks to be all but set for construction. Trellis said funding is fully in place, as is a purchase agreement with the city
“With construction anticipated to take one year to complete, the building would open in quarter four of 2026,” Eilers said.
A neighborhood meeting held in February, with notices sent to property owners in the area, prompted just a single attendee looking to ask questions of Trellis, the project architect or representatives of the other partners.