In downtown St. Paul and the Midway, two nonprofit providers of deeply affordable housing for the previously homeless have requested substantial subsidies from the city of St. Paul to add or expand housing developments.

The Beacon Interfaith Housing Collaborative is asking the city for up to $3.35 million in federal pandemic aid made available through the American Rescue Plan to rehabilitate and expand Kimball Court at 545 Snelling Ave. N.

The project will renovate the existing 76 units and add 22 units, for a total of 98 housing units, as well as additional office, service and programming spaces. The goal is to add more supportive housing and housing services for tenants who were previously homeless.

In downtown St. Paul, AEON is asking St. Paul for up to $2.16 million to acquire and rehab Mary Hall, the vacant building neighboring Catholic Charities’ Dorothy Day/Higher Ground campus.

AEON would buy Mary Hall from Catholic Charities and convert it into 90 units of permanent supportive housing for single adults and small households who have experienced homelessness. Income limits would be 30% of area median income, which translates to $26,000 for a single person or $37,000 for a family of four. The building, at 438 Dorothy Day Place, is currently vacant.

Calls to AEON and Beacon Interfaith were not immediately returned on Tuesday.

Given an uptick in panhandling, loitering and open drug use in certain corners of downtown and the Midway, both projects have drawn some opposition from neighboring property owners concerned about an over-concentration of needs.

The Church of the Assumption recently dropped plans to oppose zoning relief for Mary Hall, and Beacon Interfaith has begun outreach to Midway residents to promise greater support services at Kimball Court.

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