Minneapolis City Council to consider Heritage Park complex voluntary relocation plan
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The Minneapolis City Council at its Thursday meeting will consider a voluntary relocation plan for some residents of the embattled Heritage Park housing complex.
Eighty-three of the current 211 households would be eligible for stipends to escape unhealthy living conditions, according to Erik Hansen, the city’s community planning and economic development director. Videos of mold, vermin infestation and leaky roofs prompted public outcry and led the city to pass $2.5 million in July for emergency repairs and relocation.
Hansen told the council during a Monday committee of the whole meeting the city is still evaluating whether the buildings are salvageable but wanted to move quickly to relocate residents.
“I think we’re on the side of the fence where we can, but I can’t give you with total confidence that we can save the buildings,” Hansen said. “To that point, that means there is no habitable unit.”
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Residents who lived in Heritage Park on or before July 17, who cite health or safety concerns as their reason for moving by Oct. 15 and relocate by Jan. 31, 2027, are eligible for the stipend. The total payout is designed to cover moving expenses and potential rent increases based on household unit sizes.
The city estimated stipends for a one-bedroom unit at around $6,500 while a five-bedroom unit would receive around $12,500.
The committee passed the plan by a voice vote without opposition, but several council members raised issues with spending on consultants and excluding 128 federally funded public housing units governed by the Minneapolis Public Housing Authority.
“I don’t have a problem with the relocation assistance that’s being given,” said Council member Pearll Warren, whose Ward 5 includes Heritage Park. “I just have an issue with the fact that the individuals who are participants of the Minneapolis Public Housing Authority are essentially being punished for being low- to no-income.”
Warren, along with other council members, were also concerned about a no-bid contract with SRF Consulting to provide relocation consulting.
To qualify for the stipend, residents must find apartments comparable in size to their current dwelling. The city would use SRF, which currently has a contract with the city, to expedite getting families out who wish to do so.
Warren questioned not putting the consulting portion up for a bid since several organizations are already assisting residents find new housing. Hansen said putting it up for a public bid would add two months to the timeline, delaying stipends until the middle of fall.
“That is unacceptable for me,” Hansen said. “I think we need to be able to push this funding out as quickly as we can. The staff and the team have come up with a way to do that. It’s not perfect. Nothing is perfect in an unplanned situation.”
Warren said the city was artificially limiting itself by not including the families who receive federal funding while awarding a consulting contract worth hundreds of thousands of dollars. She noted the $2.5 million in funding council passed in July equated to roughly $12,000 per family still at the complex.
“There’s not anything anyone needs to do to qualify to move,” Warren said. “Everybody is eligible. They should be. The truth is, it’s not habitable. It’s not anywhere that anyone should want to live.”
