MINNEAPOLIS—The Red Lake Band of Chippewa Indians is getting ready to launch a major affordable housing development that will change the face of this city's American Indian Cultural Corridor, home to the greatest concentration of urban American Indian people in the state. The group, which also has 900,000 acres of land and water in the northwest part of MN, just purchased 37,367 square feet of land at 2109 Cedar Ave. in Minneapolis.

They plan to build a mixed-use development on the site, located at the intersection of 17^th Ave. South and Cedar Ave. about 200 feet from the Franklin Station of the Blue Line, and say it will benefit not just the roughly 2,100 Red Lake Band members plus their descendants that live in the Twin Cities area, but the entire Seward community.

The Red Lake Band plans to demolish the existing, blighted structures and develop 115 units of affordable rental housing, their Minneapolis Embassy, and a healthcare clinic to serve tribal members and others. The name of the development will be Mino-bimaadiziwin, Ojibwe for “living the good life.”

“We are excited to build a strong, healthy affordable housing community for Native Americans in this culturally significant area that will not only benefit our own tribal members but also the entire Minneapolis community and Seward neighborhood,” says Red Lake Band of Chippewa Indians chairman Darrell G. Seki, Sr.

“Redevelopment of the Amble Hardware site has been a long-time goal of the Seward Neighborhood Group,” says Ashley Freitag, co-president of the group. “We are excited about the Mino-bimaadiziwin housing development and support the efforts of theRed Lake Band of Chippewa Indians.”

Initial concepts for the project have been proposed and the group has begun finalizing financing for the property redevelopment, with construction expected to begin in 2018.

Instant Insights /

Native American Group Preparing Big Affordable Housing Project

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