Updates - Urban Homeworks

October 2, 2023

New Office, Same Heart – 2022 Annual Report

In 2019, the seed for Urban Homeworks’ (UHW) new office was planted. Juxtaposition Arts (JXTA) reached out to inquire about purchasing both of our offices on Emerson and the lot between. In that inquiry was an incredible opportunity to support a partner organization and restructure our own space to better serve our changing staff structure.

At the beginning of 2021, UHW sold our former offices to JXTA and made finding a new home a priority. Seventy-five percent of all UHW residents live within one mile of W Broadway Avenue, so finding a space accessible for current residents and future applicants in the heart of North Minneapolis was a top priority.

At a community event in April of 2021, AsaleSol Young, UHW’s Executive Director, bumped into Calvin Littlejohn, co-owner and CEO of Tri-Construction. Calvin shared his vision for the building at 927 W Broadway—a community hub of Black-owned businesses and Black-led organizations. Sharing UHW’s commitment to rebuild, invest in, and uplift the community in North, Tri-Construction and the Phillips Family Foundation purchased 927 W Broadway from the City of Minneapolis in 2018. Built in 1901, 927 W Broadway had sat vacant and neglected for decades before it was sold. With construction breaking ground in late 2020, nearly $7 million was invested into renovating and building an addition.

In that meeting, it became clear that UHW had found a values-aligned partner. We signed our lease in October 2021 and construction began on Suite 301 in May 2022.

Officially moving into our new home in October 2022, our office is designed to be a space for collaboration. The layout fosters multiple ways of working and thinking, including hybrid workspaces and plenty of room for gathering.

The renovation and construction at 927 W Broadway are just the start of more than $100 million in projects that will break ground or open along the Avenue in 2023. These investments are largely the result of various racial equity pledges made by organizations, corporations, and foundations in 2020 following the murder of George Perry Floyd Jr.

Though the path was difficult, remaining true to our values made it worth every setback. We’re proud to have planted ourselves in the heart of North Minneapolis as an ever-present commitment to the powerful community we serve.

October 2, 2023

A Tale of Two Homes – 2022 Annual Report

Early spring 2021, Urban Homeworks (UHW) broke ground on two new constructions in North Minneapolis located right next to each other: 2131 Bryant and 2129 Bryant. Just a little over a year later, construction on the homes finished and we put them on the market. Despite nearly identical timelines, development, designs, marketing, and identical pricing, one house sold within a few months, the other remaining on the market until early 2023. Why?

Even though the homes started on the same path of affordability, the Federal Reserve’s increases on interest rates in 2022 played an outsized role in their diverging paths. The average mortgage interest rate in March 2022, when the homes were listed, was 4.4%. By December 2022, the rate had increased to 7.3%. One home selling before the increase meant that their monthly payment would likely be ~$400 lower than their next-door neighbor.

In our efforts to sell to first-time buyers, UHW lists our homes for less than it costs to build them AND limits purchasing to income-qualified buyers—buyers at or below 80% of the area median income (AMI). Given the significant increases in materials and labor over the years, however, these discounted prices can still be too high for potential homebuyers in the area. In 2022, the qualifying income for a family of four in the Twin Cities was $89,000. The median household income in North Minneapolis was $44,096. As interest rates increased, buyers who had low enough incomes to qualify became less able to afford mortgages.

Building more affordable housing alone is not enough to close the racial wealth gap in our state. Services like downpayment assistance, homebuyer education, special purpose credit programs, and diverse ownership options in tandem with both affordable rehabilitations and new constructions are essential for ensuring we combat the homeownership disparities between Black and white Minnesotans.

As Urban Homeworks looks ahead to 2023, we know that to be successful in our mission and vision, it is imperative we grow to support and provide the additional services our neighbors need to own a home. It is by expanding the scope of our work—testifying for policies like Minnesota House File 685, reimaging private capital pools through new iterations of UHW Loan Pools, and providing homeownership resources like our partnership with Build Wealth—that the core purpose of our organization, dignified and affordable housing, will be most successful.

October 2, 2023

Reimaging Community Safety – 2022 Annual Report

Adequate and equitable resource distribution is proven as one of the best forms of violence prevention—crime goes down in neighborhoods where vacant lots are transformed, community organizations are funded and supported, and resources are made available(1). Seeing the need for greater safety in our community during the heat of the pandemic and the 2020 Minneapolis Uprising, Urban Homeworks decided to partner with Brothers EMpowered—a community-based peacekeeping organization started by one of our very own residents, Charles Caine—to provide free meals and peacekeeping in and around the corner of Broadway and Emerson.

Noting the positive impact on the Northside community in 2020, Urban Homeworks decided to take the work to the Southside, partnering with Centro de Tyrone Guzman, Chase Bank, Norway House, Project for Pride in Living, and Ventura Village Neighborhood Association to create the Southside Peacekeeping Coalition (SPC). Coalition members recognized the frustrations of the thousands of residents, commuters, and businesses that are impacted by disinvestment in our neighborhoods and put together the funds to pay Brothers EMpowered to begin addressing community safety in and around the corner of Franklin and Chicago Avenues.

Promoting peace in our streets, Brothers EMpowered did incredible work to connect with residents and build trust as both a community resource and positive presence. Their system understands how conflict happens—when employed in an area, they canvas the community, talking with residents, local businesses, and institutions to understand the flow and conflicts happening in that community. As a result, they are able to bring together key stakeholders in neighborhoods to deescalate situations and promote peace.

Hearing positive feedback from area residents and staff and noticing the significant impact on the community throughout 2021, SPC decided to continue this peacekeeping work into 2022, hiring Brothers EMpowered to patrol during the most active months of the year, March through November, weather-informed. In addition to their peacekeeping work, Brothers EMpowered worked in partnership with SPC to put on community events for neighbors to engage with each other in fun activities, access free resources and services, and enjoy outdoor areas that typically feel unsafe to visit.

As a community-driven coalition, the work and the way SPC does it is ever evolving and changing to best match the communities’ requests, needs, and responses. We are excited to continue this work in 2023, ensuring that individuals, families, and children feel safe and secure in the neighborhoods where they have chosen to live, while also beginning to help other local organizations understand how they can replicate this work in their own neighborhoods to help reimagine what community safety in the Twin Cities looks like.

(1) Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2022, June 8). Violence Prevention: Prevention Strategies.

October 2, 2023

From the Desk of AsaleSol Young – 2022 Annual Report

Peace and Blessings Dear Supporters,

As you have come to know, at Urban Homeworks we believe that housing is a human right. We believe that every person created by God is deserving of human dignity. This has always guided our work.

Sometimes I struggle to remember what we’ve accomplished—as we were completing each milestone, we believed each step was simply the work that was needed to ensure greater housing stability, equity, and dignity for our neighbors. But, upon reflection, I realize the transformative nature of what we’ve truly done.

In 2022, we continued to invest in dignified homes by reimagining community safety. Through intentional and strategic co-creation with neighbors to design what community safety looks and feels like, we went beyond just working toward safe neighborhoods, instead investing in and calling for solutions that address the root causes of community violence. Check out page 7 to learn more!

We continued to invest in neighborhood empowerment and engagement, holding our first community-centered, Black, Brown, and Indigenous driven Think Tank in 2022. The ideas that were crafted in these sacred spaces became meaningful forces in driving change, as folks volunteering were able to see themselves and each other as a part of the solutions. As neighbors chatted with and worked alongside elected officials, we knew we were embarking upon an ancient but powerful catalyst for change: deep listening and genuine connection. Check out page 6 to learn more!

We continued to invest in affordable homeownership. One of the most beautiful aspects of one of 2022’s development projects was that the home was donated to us by a white family who had owned the home for generations, nearly 100 years! When they were ready to let it go, they wanted to ensure it went towards affordable homeownership opportunities for their neighbors, just as it had for them. They put the betterment of the community above financial gains for themselves. This was an act of neighboring centered in love and a commitment to human dignity that we will always remember them for. Check out page 8 to learn more!

As we look back on 2022 together, it is my hope that everyone can recognize the part we each played in the outcomes of our communities. We are all responsible, in some way, for what is happening in society today. The arc of justice is long, and the seeds we collectively plant today will manifest for our children. At Urban Homeworks, we choose to continue to plant seeds of love. I am grateful to have you walking collaboratively with the community toward greater housing equity for all. May the next generations be free to take on a different fight, may they eat from trees we planted with love, and may you and the work we do together continue to be blessed.

In community,

August 24, 2023

Urban Homeworks Community Update

Urban Homeworks Community —

As the ongoing issues of gun violence, solicitation, and illicit substances continue to impact the 21^st Ave intersections of Emerson and Fremont, we want to express our shared concern for the neighborhood and be transparent about the work we are doing to combat these issues, as well as the work that still needs to be done.

Though we have been continuously at work in this area to make homes safe and dignified for our neighbors and our residents, we agree that things are still not what they should be. After the investigations of Merwin Liquors and Winner Gas Station in 2022, many of the long-standing activities from the area moved to this corridor. These activities are born from centuries of racist policies, practices, and disinvestment in North Minneapolis—they did not begin overnight and cannot be solved overnight.

Urban Homeworks has been working with the City of Minneapolis, the Minneapolis Police Department (MPD), and the West Broadway Livability Coalition to ensure that solutions for the corridor address the root causes and avoid continuing to push activities to different locations. Throughout this summer we’ve been bringing community members, organizational leaders, and elected officials together at our properties on the block to understand the problems impacting the corridor and discuss new initiatives to disrupt the ongoing activity. If we truly seek to solve these problems, our responses must be holistic and systemic.

As we work on realizing meaningful long-term solutions, we have short-term solutions at work to reduce activity in the area. Two of our three properties in this corridor are occupied, one under renovation. Our third property in the corridor is vacant and remains boarded, secured, and marked with “No Trespassing” signage while we renovate in preparation for sale to a community-vested owner-occupant. Repeated break-ins at this property have made the renovation process slow.

We visit our properties in this area multiple times daily to clear loiters and speak with residents to better understand happenings on the block, discourage door propping, and encourage calling 311 or 911 when witnessing criminal activity. Any garbage or foliage in the area has been reported to the city for clean-up or dealt with if on UHW property. Any UHW residents who have been found guilty of selling or distributing drugs have had their leases terminated.

We have been continuously requesting increased MPD surveillance and responsiveness in the area; tracking 911 calls that have been made in the area by residents or staff. Since 2020, UHW has employed community-based peacekeeping in the area, working to thoughtfully de-escalate activity and compassionately protect neighbors. We have applied for grants to cover additional private security in the area and are working internally with various security organizations.

Our overall goals are to, 1. create a positive presence in the area, moving in more neighbors who are passionate about community; 2. move more resources into the area, working to address the long-standing, deep-seated issues of poverty, addiction, and displacement impacting neighbors; and 3. create more intentional, informed partnerships with service organizations, government, and law enforcement in the area. We need neighbors, elected officials, and safety groups in the area to recognize our shared responsibility and work together to ensure that these issues are solved not just for today, but for tomorrow.

This is not an extensive list of all the community partners we have spoken with nor all the actions we have taken to protect our neighbors. We understand the very real frustrations and fears that continued activities cause. If you have further questions or concerns, we welcome you to reach out to us over email at communications@urbanhomeworks.org.

May 17, 2023

Creating Architects of Destiny

Imagine the strength it takes to parent your children when faced with the challenge of not being able to afford the rent for your home.

That was Tira’s reality in 2009 when she bravely navigated through being forced out of her home and found herself in a shelter. Determined to create a better future, Tira connected with a program at a partner organization that eventually led her to Urban Homeworks. There, she found a deeply affordable rental home that gave her family the stability and breathing room needed to get back on their feet.

Through her resilience and with the support of Urban Homeworks, Tira became the architect of her own destiny, securing a brighter future for herself and her loved ones. Ten years later, Tira is a homeowner and considers herself family to Urban Homeworks because of our role in her life.

"Even though I moved out, I'm still UHW family and always will be UHW family."

Stories like Tira’s are possible when we come together to build a future where everyone has a safe, dignified, and affordable home. Housing instability is affecting too many people in our community. In fact, nearly half of Twin Cities renters are cost-burdened, paying more than 30% of their income on rent each month. That’s why Urban Homeworks’ mission to provide dignified, affordable housing options is so critical.

Maintaining affordability is not easy, however. There is a funding gap of $5,000 for each of the 134 rental homes that Urban Homeworks manages. We’re calling on monthly donors, who we call Stability Makers, to help us fill funding gaps like this and make a tangible impact for more families like Tira’s.

Stability Makers have already given the equivalent of keeping 7 UHW apartments affordable in 2023 alone, and we need your help to grow that number even more!

Tira’s story is a testament to the importance of safe, dignified, and affordable housing. Because of the stability she found at Urban Homeworks, Tira was able to build up her credit, pay off her vehicles, and become a homeowner!

We hope you’ll join us in our mission to create more stable homes so that everyone can thrive.

Will you become a Stability Maker today and help us reach our goal of 25 for $5k?

Maintaining affordability and dignity for one rental home takes: 16 donors giving $25/month, 8 donors giving $50/month, 4 donors giving $100/month, 2 donor giving $200/month, OR 1 donor giving $400/month.

Plus, if you join before June 30, you can choose a special gift as a token of our gratitude. Show your support for housing justice with a “Housing is a Human Right” vinyl sticker, enamel pin, t-shirt, or the full package, depending on your gift amount.

$15/month

vinyl sticker, 3″ x 2.28″

$25/month

enamel pin, 0.5″ x 1″

$50/month

t-shirt, sizes XS-2XL

$100/month

your choice of all/any of the gifts listed

Attention Current Stability Makers!

We are so grateful for the dedication and strength of our current Stability Makers who contribute over $80,000 together annually. We want you to be part of this journey too! Here are two ways you can participate and help us reach our goal of 25 for $5k:

1. Increase your current monthly gift:

By increasing your monthly contribution, you amplify the impact you’re already making and help us create more stable homes for families in our community. As a token of our appreciation, you’ll receive ‘Housing is a Human Right’ swag if you increase your gift before June 30th, 2023.

2. Invite a friend to become a Stability Maker:

Spread the word about our mission and invite your friends or family members to join the Stability Maker community. When they sign up, you’ll receive matching “Housing is a Human Right” swag as a gesture of our gratitude for organizing your community around making Housing a Human Right! Don’t forget to ask your invitees to put your name in the comment/referral section of the donation form.

April 7, 2023

Acting Through Hope for a Better Future

Spring means something different to every one of us — warmth, sunshine, new life. For DeAndre, Trina, and their five kids, this spring means the celebration of their one-year anniversary as new homeowners!

I love sharing stories like DeAndre’s because they demonstrate the power of hope and perseverance, the power of community in meeting our long-held dreams, and the role that each of us, including you, have in that work.

DeAndre’s dream of being a homeowner is just one example of the way we come together to transform hope into reality. DeAndre shared, “I grew up in a single-parent household. My mom did the best she could, but I wanted to break that [homeownership] barrier. I wanted to be the first one to build some generational wealth.”

DeAndre spent much of his time moving between Minnesota and Chicago when he was a kid. Not only was it expensive for his single mom, who was doing her best to support him and his siblings, but it was difficult to be uprooted continuously.

He became a permanent Minnesota resident in 1998 and moved to North Minneapolis in 2000 where he’s been ever since. Even though he was planted in North over 20 years ago, he continued to be unstable due to problems with landlords and other barriers that come with renting.

DeAndre’s experience involved relying on non-responsive landlords who didn’t care about the condition of his unit, often leaving him to feel powerless over his own home. With all he endured, the breaking point was when he was forced out unexpectedly in the middle of the pandemic. His fiancé, Trina, was pregnant, and they had 4 other children all under the age of 7. It was stressful to be forced out of what he thought was a reliable living situation with just weeks to find a new home for his growing family.

When DeAndre had his first child at age 27, he knew he didn’t want his kids to face the same challenges he did growing up. He wanted them to have one home — a place to feel safe and secure, to come back to and say, “that’s where I grew up.”

He wanted his family to be rooted and sustained in community.

DeAndre didn’t know what it would take but was determined to be a homeowner. He had a stable job with Hennepin County and a longstanding relationship banking with US Bank on West Broadway, one of Urban Homeworks’ close partners. He stopped in one day to ask what he needed to do to buy a house.

To his surprise, he found that he was in a financial position that would set him for homeownership success.His hunt for a home began. He put in 6 offers that were all rejected in the impossibly fast-paced, housing market — a market that continues to push first-time buyers out of ownership opportunities as homes are bought up by outside investors looking only to achieve profit. With each rejection, DeAndre’s hope wavered — he began to question if homeownership was truly for him. At the brink of hopelessness, Troy Bowman, an Urban Homeworks’ Finance committee member and mortgage originator at US bank, shared that UHW had just completed the construction of a brand-new affordable home, and DeAndre met the criteria to purchase!

After touring the house twice, DeAndre couldn’t stop dreaming of all the possibilities this house would give him and his family. He loved that it was a brand-new home with new, stainless-steel appliances, a spacious backyard, and potential for building equity with an unfinished basement roughed out for two bedrooms and a bathroom. He was shocked that such an opportunity was available to him.

DeAndre recalled, “When I was a kid, I used to look through magazines and look at furniture and houses. I always wanted to know how I would be living and what kind of home I would be in. Everything I looked at wasn’t even as good as this house.”

His hope, determination, and connection to community were invaluable to this outcome. After much excitement and anticipation, DeAndre closed on the house in May 2022!

Within the first couple of months, he built two additional bedrooms in the unfinished basement, growing his three-bedroom into a five-bedroom home that now comfortably fits him, his fiancé, and their five kids, ages 6 months to 8 years old.

This summer, he plans on focusing his efforts on the backyard by building a vertical garden, planting a clover line, and paving another parking stall near his garage. DeAndre has built an estimated $30,000 in equity to his home in just one year.

“I’ve never been able to do a garden before. When you’re a homeowner, you have more opportunity, more leeway, you just know you have someplace to be, you have something to maintain. Owning a home is a job in itself, but it’s a job worth having.” DeAndre shared.

DeAndre’s unrelenting hope for homeownership became his reality, and the ripple effects of that determination are growing beyond his front porch. He’s already seen firsthand how settling into his home and getting to know his neighbors is cultivating trust that didn’t exist before.

DeAndre shared, “Community means a lot to me… A lot of people have taken it upon themselves to build a safe community here in North Minneapolis. Everybody in my neighborhood owns their home and values taking care of their home. And we take care of each other.”

DeAndre found the stability he needed for his family and the foundation he needed to start working on his own dream. He recently opened an LLC and started saving to begin his own business in the real estate industry!

At Urban Homeworks, we work to be community-centered in everything we do because it takes all of us to accomplish the work of housing equity. It takes the determination and resilient hope of folks like DeAndre working toward a better future for their family. It takes hard work from UHW staff, board, and volunteers to remove barriers, provide resources, and respond to community needs.

And it takes you — giving generously to overwhelm this mission with the resources it takes to make more homes available to more people.

Urban Homeworks is putting $4.9 million to work in the community this year, $1.9 million from supporters like you, that will directly benefit individuals who are just one stable home away from achieving their dreams.

Will you join us in this ambitious hope by donating to Urban Homeworks today?

When you support Urban Homeworks, you do more than perpetuate hope through stories like DeAndre’s. When you invest in the power of “home,” you invest in a more connected and equitable future.

DeAndre’s powerful story demonstrates the importance of acting through hope for a better future. We ask you to do the same – to mirror his hope, to honor his determination, and to give generously as part of this community so that even more families like DeAndre’s can find the home they dream of.

With determination that we can come together for meaningful change,