Residents frustrated with slow pace of repairs, relocations from troubled Mpls housing complex
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Nichole Rojas spends a third of her income on a subsidized north Minneapolis apartment that reeks of mold, and where she and her kids are regularly haunted by the sound of rodents scurrying in the walls. She has a simple wish.
“I just want to be able to have a home that I can bring my family to on Thanksgiving,” Rojas said.
Rojas is among the 685 remaining residents at Heritage Park, a mixed-income development that has been under elevated public scrutiny ever since a Minneapolis City Council Member posted footage exposing filthy and dangerous living conditions there last month.
Two weeks ago, the Minneapolis City Council allocated $2.5 million toward the livability crisis at the development, which includes 200 units of public housing. At the time, city officials involved in the emergency response said most of that funding would go toward relocating residents, but could also be spent on addressing urgent repair needs.
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However, the city has since struck a less urgent tone.
So far, none of the occupied units that have been inspected have met the threshold for condemnation — meaning there will be no immediate relocations, said city spokesperson Jess Olstad. Inspectors have assessed 326 units, about half of which were occupied. An additional 47 occupied units are pending inspection.
Olstad said she could not yet provide details on how many people may need to be temporarily moved to accommodate repairs, or be moved permanently. She said it is also still early for a rough timeline on when residents can anticipate the remaining inspections and repairs to be completed.
“Our neighbors at Heritage Park are our first priority. They deserve safe places to live,” Olstad said in a statement. “If residents feel unsafe and wish to voluntarily relocate because of that, the City and partners will work with them. We’re working hard to ensure all residents get their questions answered and do what’s in the best interest of their families.”
Olstad said residents who want to move should first reach out to Property Solutions & Services, the property manager — and those who opt for that route will not lose their subsidy or be penalized for breaking their lease.
The new funding from the city has not been used yet.
Olstad said it will go to the development owner, or an affiliated entity, to hire help for rehab work, or a “contracted benefit provider” to help with potential relocation activities for eligible residents. She said a provider has not yet been identified but residents will be informed when one is available.
Still waiting
But while help has been promised, many residents said it isn’t coming soon enough.
Rojas said she has waited three years for a better apartment.
When she first moved in, she was told she would be relocated soon. Her unit didn’t match what she had signed a lease for. The carpeting and painting was unfinished, and there was no dishwasher, no oven, and not enough space for Rojas and her three children.
Soon after, she and her kids started getting sick all the time.
At the time, Heritage Park was owned by St. Louis-based developer McCormack Baron Salazar. Last December, the court appointed a receiver — Certus Financial LLC — to take over. That new owner employed a new property manager, Property Solutions & Services.
The Minneapolis Public Housing Authority owns the land beneath the development, but does not own or operate the development.
Rojas said after Certus took over, she was finally able to get an oven relatively quickly, but she still doesn’t have a dishwasher. The walls sweat and no matter how many candles or sticks of incense she burns through, she is always hit with the smell of mold when she comes home to her apartment. She’s worried about what that could mean for her three kids’ cognitive development.
“I can get on my knees scrubbing, clean everything in there, and it’s still not clean,” said Rojas.
Rojas said her children are too embarrassed to invite their classmates over and she’s tired of inventing excuses to deflect her friends when they ask to come up to her apartment.
She was told by office workers at Heritage Park that they will help move people who want to be moved, but Rojas said she’s still waiting to get the apartment she was promised in the first place.
“I just hope that everything gets squared away so that I can have a smooth transition to wherever the place is next,” she said. “I can’t be out here without a place for my kids.”
Gloria Jackson, 72, has been waiting even longer for a better place to live.
She’s lived in poor conditions at Heritage Park since before it was Heritage Park.
When she first moved in, it was a public housing complex. She was about 18 years old. Then, as a result of a housing segregation lawsuit in the 90s filed against the Minneapolis Public Housing Authority, the City of Minneapolis and others, the development was demolished and Heritage Park was built in its place.
Jackson was part of that class action lawsuit and among those who had to vacate before moving back in 2003. It was supposed to be an improvement — and it was at first — until problems got worse over the past 15 years, she said. Now she feels so unsafe from squatters and drug activity, she carries a gun and installed cameras at the front and back of her townhouse.
“We want to get out of here right away, as fast as we can get out,” she said. “If they give me the money right now, I’ll move out tomorrow.”
It is unclear if the relocation assistance will include direct financial support.
“I’m not a chicken. And I’m gonna speak up and I’m gonna speak my piece,” Jackson said. “I don’t care who like it or who don’t like it. If we have to go down to take it to court, we will do that.”
Legal action possible
Thomas Berry, the vice president of the Minneapolis NAACP, said that’s not out of the picture.
At a press conference in front of the Minneapolis Public Housing Authority headquarters Tuesday, Berry again pressed on Abdi Warsame, the director of MPHA, to resign or face termination. Berry characterized MPHA as “the referee between the private owner and the citizens.”
“They were supposed to be in the middle. The citizens were complaining to MHPA. MPHA didn’t do anything about that,” said Berry, who also casts blame on the city of Minneapolis for selecting the previous owner, McCormack Baron, and accused them of “dragging their feet” on relocating and supporting residents.
MPHA is working closely with the city, Certus Financial and Property Solutions and Services to understand the conditions at the site, a spokesperson for MPHA said in a statement.
The spokesperson said the agency led the effort to have the court replace McCormack Baron Salazar with a new owner in 2025, in part so the agency could learn more about the site’s conditions, and has helped 18 households relocate out of Heritage Park since 2024.
“MPHA has not received information from the court-appointed receiver or any other subject matter experts necessitating a large relocation action at the site, but MPHA continues to prepare should that be deemed necessary,” he said. “Meanwhile, MPHA is working on long-term strategies to stabilize the site and restore the Heritage Park community.”
Berry said the primary goal right now is to push for the urgent relocation of families at Heritage Park. He said he doesn’t want to fight with the city. Yet. He wants to work together.
“But will there be a class action lawsuit? Yes,” he said. “Why wouldn’t it be?”
