After years of construction cones littering the north edge of downtown St. Paul, the largest campus to tackle homelessness ever built in the state will officially open its doors this month.
With the completion of Catholic Charities’ “Dorothy Day Place” — now including two massive buildings housing hundreds, rather than dozens, of formerly homeless in the long term — the campus stands as the largest public-private expansion of affordable housing and shelter services in state history.
Tim Marx, chief executive officer of Catholic Charities of St. Paul and Minneapolis, said during a tour Wednesday that the campus would “help people dream for themselves. And if you dream for yourself, you can start making them come true.”
The newest building, which is already admitting residents, brings the total of new permanent housing units on the campus to 370, on top of the 356 people housed overnight in the emergency shelter across the street.
Compare that with the old total of just 75 permanent beds, all in the soon-to-be-vacant Mary Hall, which Catholic Charities ran next door. The agency’s old Dorothy Day Center, which housed an overnight shelter, was torn down to make room for the new expansion years ago.
MORE THAN A PLACE TO SLEEP
The newest building isn’t just beds. It includes a daytime health clinic — including dentist chairs, six examination rooms and extra emphasis on podiatric (foot) care, for patients who do a lot of walking.
It includes a massive cafeteria, which will serve three meals a day to all comers. A hair salon. A computer lab. Classrooms. A meditation room for prayer or spiritual guidance. A ground-floor laundry room for those still on the streets. A place to charge cellphones. Large cabinets for storing backpacks and belongings when running errands or attending job interviews.
“Taking care of people head to toe, mind, body and soul,” Marx said.
The new, 170,000-square-foot building has a mouthful for a moniker: the Richard M. Schulze Family Foundation Saint Paul Opportunity Center and Dorothy Day Residence, named after the efforts’ signature donor, the founder of Best Buy.
Roughly 40 percent of the building’s $100 million price tag came from private donors — with the rest coming from the city, county and state.
‘WE’RE ANXIOUS TO GET IN’
The new building sits just across from the campus’ other main building, Higher Ground, which opened two years ago and includes the campus’s overnight emergency shelter.
And those sitting outside Higher Ground on Wednesday mused about the media event taking place across the street.
“I’m waiting to see if this place opens, what’s there. It’s supposed to be more individualized,” said Mary Olson. “It should be a good deal. They’re working hard to get people in. They try.”
“Anyone coming in the city, they’ll think this is a nice-ass hotel,” said a man who asked to only be identified by his first name, Scott. “This is super nice, give people a little freedom.”
Larry Mason, 64, said he’s been on the waitlist to get a bed since August. “It’s taking too long. We’re anxious to get in.”
But the reality is that — even with a couple of hundred added beds — the waitlist is still much longer. Reported totals vary month to month, with estimates ranging from 500 to nearly 1,000 people waiting for a bed.
AFFORDABLE-HOUSING CRISIS CONTINUES
According to the most recent study by the Minnesota Housing Partnership, Ramsey County’s homeless population grew by 14 percent from 2012 to 2015 — more than any surrounding county. Statewide, homelessness actually decreased by 9 percent in that time frame.
Advocates for the homeless and affordable housing have been sounding the alarm in recent years as metro-area rents have increased and vacancy rates have dropped. A new St. Paul city policy of shutting enclosed skyways at night also went into effect last year, and a large homeless encampment appeared below the Cathedral of St. Paul over the winter before being shut down.
In preparation for the media event, Catholic Charities proffered a list of prepared quotes from politicians and business leaders across the state. The message was often similar: Congratulations on the accomplishment, it’s big, but more work needs to be done.
“Every Minnesotan deserves a safe place to call home. Dorothy Day Place is a prime example of the innovation and compassion that is quintessentially Minnesotan, and this new campus will boost its efforts to combat homelessness in our state,” Gov. Tim Walz said in his statement.
FULLY OPERATIONAL BY MONTH’S END
The expansion will include 40 additional jobs, in addition to 40 to 50 volunteers who will frequent the new building daily — from hairdressers to care workers.
But there also will be permanent space for other agencies to set up shop: Ramsey County, the health clinic run by Minnesota Community Care and Neighborhood House.
The new building will be fully operational by the end of the month; as for the apartments upstairs, roughly 100 people have already moved in — including the 75 transferred from Mary Hall, some of whom have lived there for decades.
As for what will happen to the old Mary Hall, “we’ll let it sit for a while and see what the future might be,” said Marx.
