The Cooperage Senior Apartments

The Cooperage Senior Housing is a collaborative HUD 202 project between Seward Redesign and CommonBond Communities. The site is a part of a larger redevelopment that will occupy several city blocks immediately southeast of the Franklin Avenue LRT station in Minneapolis. This land has historically been used for industrial purposes. The project partners are working in tandem with the City of Minneapolis to transform the area into a dense residential use that will activate the Light Rail Transit (LRT) station and be a more appropriate use for this transit-oriented area.

Along with capital funding, the HUD 202 program includes a 40-year Project Rental Assistance Contract (PRAC) that allows residents to pay only 30% of their income toward rent. Other buildings with similar subsidies maintain long waiting lists. This fact along with the longstanding popularity of the geographically central and ammenity rich Seward neighborhood has led to immediate high occupancy.

The site is located within an area of minority concentration, with immediate access to a stop along the Hiawatha LRT as well as being nearby the wide variety of services on Franklin Avenue. The housing stock in Seward has very low vacancy rates for ownership and rental, and all five nearby affordable housing developments have long waiting lists. The neighborhood composition and desirability, along with the affirmative marketing efforts of Seward Redesign and CommonBond will promote greater housing opportunities for minority seniors, as well as creating new units that increase the chance for existing residents of the area to age in place on a walkable, transit oriented block.