Minneapolis leaders seeking $2.5M for Heritage Park Housing crisis
Minneapolis leaders seeking $2.5M for Heritage Park Housing crisis
Minneapolis officials are calling Heritage Park housing a crisis and seeking $2.5 million in emergency funding. More than 680 residents must be moved from unsafe conditions, including mold and infestations. FOX 9's Karen Scullin has the story.
MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - Minneapolis city leaders are sounding the alarm over dangerous conditions at Heritage Park housing, calling it a crisis and pushing for emergency action.
City calls for emergency funding to move residents
What we know:
The Office of Community Planning and Economic Development is asking the City Council for $2.5 million to help move 686 residents from 212 households at Heritage Park to safer places. Mold, mice infestations and holes in rooftops have left the buildings in severe disrepair.
Councilmember Pearll Warren released a video showing the conditions inside Heritage Park, exposing what she and others say are years of neglect.
"I am definitely trying to understand why did it take little old measly me to come here and sit on this council and be elected for individuals to pay attention to the needs of the residents at Heritage Park? So how was that license issued and instrumented?" said Warren.
The city says the problems are so extensive, it’s unclear if any of the more than 400 units can be saved. Emergency funding would cover temporary repairs and the costs of relocating residents.
Years of neglect and finger-pointing over responsibility
What they're saying:
"This underinvestment has left the buildings in a state of disrepair, to the point where the city has come to the conclusion to provide direct assistance for those currently living at Heritage Park to find new, stable and safe places to live," said Eric Hansen, director of the Office of Community Planning and Economic Development.
City staff told council members that complaints about Heritage Park came through the city’s 311 system, but proactive inspections were not being done.
"So we would receive complaints through 311. We were not conducting proactive rental license inspections at that time. So as we received these complaints, we would go and inspect them and pass the information to the Public Housing Authority, as well as to McCormack Baron," said a city staff member.
McCormack Baron, the landlord, pointed to the city for not being a good partner in maintaining the property, saying they could not do it alone. The courts have now put the property in the hands of a receiver to try to stabilize the situation.
Council members agreed emergency funding is needed, but it’s not clear yet where the money will come from. There have also been calls for the director of the Minneapolis Public Housing Authority to resign, but council members say the immediate focus should be on helping residents.
"We have to be mindful that these are humans. These are people who are looking to us to lead, and leading is not fighting. Leading is not politicizing a real-life tragedy that is happening to people right now. Leading is certainly not blaming. Leading is taking what has happened and making it better," Minneapolis Council Member LaTrisha Vetaw said.
Council members say the breakdown in communication and responsibility over the years has left residents in unsafe and unhealthy conditions. The priority now is to stabilize the situation and move families to new homes as quickly as possible.
What we don't know:
It remains unclear where the $2.5 million in emergency funding will come from and whether any of the Heritage Park buildings can ultimately be saved. The city is still working to determine who is responsible for the years of neglect.
The Source: This story uses information from FOX 9’s Karen Scullin and statements from the Minneapolis City Council.