Protesters tour luxury condos

by Sam Wilhide

Frustrated by the city’s failure to resolve the affordable housing shortage, protesters spent Saturday afternoon visiting expensive new housing developments in downtown’s warehouse district. The protesters, led by Minnesota Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now, traveled by bus to three separate developments, all of which have received public subsidies without building any affordable units.
Coming just two weeks before the election, the action was intended to focus attention on the housing crisis and raise doubts about the current city administration’s priorities. Protesters openly criticized the mayor and carried signs reading, “Sharon’s not sharin’ with the poor.”
“We want to raise the consciousness of city officials regarding this problem,” said Shada Buyobe-Hammond, an ACORN board member. “Maybe this is not a crisis that’s come out of nowhere. It’s inconceivable that we would have public servants who would just allow this to happen.”
The tour started at the River Station development on North First Street. Several protesters made speeches including 5th Ward city council candidate Natalie Johnson Lee. “There are all types of people that live in this city and we need to have a city government that represents everybody,” said Lee. “Everyone in Minneapolis deserves a house.”
Protesters gained entrance to one building in the development and went upstairs to see a model apartment. River Station received $3.6 million in public subsidies. Its units sell for between $179,000 and $279,000, and theres a $1,000 application fee. “That room’s too small for me,” said ACORN board member Sunday Alibi after viewing the model. “I’m not buying it.”
Next, protesters went to The Landings, on Fourth Avenue and West River Parkway. The Landings received $1.6 million in public subsidies. Its units start at $900,000. Several people went inside one unit that was under construction. Some walked out onto the roof and held up signs.
Police arrived and asked protesters to leave the construction site. The group of protesters, which included some elderly people and many small children, was peaceful and compliant. After boarding the bus, one mother assured her children, “We have a right to be here, the police can’t keep us from having a peaceful gathering.”
Two squad cars followed the buses to the final development, which was North Star Lofts on Portland and Second Street. The group did not attempt to enter the complex, but gathered outside to hold a brief rally.
North Star Lofts received $2.6 million from the city. Public funds accounted for 16 percent of the total cost of development. As with the other developments, no affordable units were built. Shada Buyobe-Hammond was moved by the scene. “There’s no word to describe the decadence and unfairness of the policies that these projects represent.”
Minneapolis’ affordable housing crisis has been well documented. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development reports that as many as 38,000 renter households in Minneapolis are in what they call a “worst case” housing situation. This means that these households have incomes less than 50 percent of the area median income, and they pay over half their incomes for rent or live in severely substandard housing.
ACORN board member David Buckley spoke about ways to approach the problem. “We need to take some of these projects currently going up and turn them around, put affordable units in them. We also need a $10 million affordable housing trust fund. This is an issue that’s been on the table and should go forward.”
The overwhelming sentiment among the protesters was for new leadership in dealing with the housing crisis. ACORNs political action committee has endorsed R.T. Rybak for mayor and Natalie Johnson Lee for city council. Rybak has signed on to the $10 million housing trust fund idea, a fund which would be separate from the money the city already spends on affordable housing each year.
“R.T. was the best, you could tell he’d done his homework,” said Beverly Coleman Johnson, an ACORN board member. “I really liked the way he looked in everyone’s eyes when he talked to them. Sharon just skated around all the issues.”
Sharon Sayles Belton has argued that her coalition building skills and fundraising experience make her the most qualified to attack the housing shortage. But with winter coming and projects like the Hollman site meeting delays, most of those who assembled Saturday were ready for a change.