Immediate Action
On July 16, the city council will vote on allocating $2.5 million from the Minneapolis Affordable Housing Trust Fund to relocate 212 households or approximately 685 residents.
The Instigator
Ward 5 Council Member Pearll Warren toured Heritage Park, documented the mold, collapsed roofs, and unsafe living conditions with her cell phone, and posted the video to social media. What followed was swift action, not out of responsibility, but out of embarrassment. The Minneapolis NAACP is now demanding the resignation or termination of Minneapolis Public Housing Authority (MPHA) Executive Director Abdi Warsame. On July 16, the city council will decide whether to move $2.5 million from the Affordable Housing Trust fund to relocate approximately 212 households-685 residents in total. CPED allocated an additional $500,000 from their budget.
The Reckoning
Erik Hansen, Director of Community Planning and Economic Development (CPED), presented a report on the situation while the entire city council fumed. Enrique Velazquez (Regulatory Services) and Angel Bogard (Inspection Services) testified to confirm what residents had long known: Heritage Park was unlivable.
The problem was structural. A partnership agreement with MPHA meant the city only inspected when residents complained. This situation was made worse by accusations that MPHA retaliated against complainants by revoking Section 8 vouchers.
Warren’s critique was withering. She admonished CPED and Regulatory Services for their inspection lapses, demanding they “be as tight as a frog’s bottom” in future collaboration. She asked the simple, damning question: why did she have to inspect the property herself while the people paid to do so did not? She called McCormack Baron Salazar, the original developer, “a developer with a habitual practice of bad business,” adding she would take “a large glass of no thank you” to working with them again.
Every council member thanked Warren for exposing what happened on her predecessor’s watch. Jeremiah Ellison served Ward 5 from 2018 to 2026 as conditions deteriorated. We wonder if he could have done more to assist residents in the ward.
The anger was rightfully directed at Regulatory Services, CPED, and MPHA. Hansen summed up the moment: “We are in crisis mode,” he said. When asked about the scope of damage: “It’s bad, it’s bad.” The city doesn’t yet know if Heritage Park is salvageable or requires complete rebuilding.
The Bitter Irony
Council Member Whiting pointed out the cruel symmetry: Heritage Park itself was born from the Hollman v. Cisneros consent decree of 1995, which promised North Minneapolis a new chapter after four public housing complexes were demolished due to deplorable conditions. The decree mandated deconcentrated, sustainable, mixed-income housing. Thirty years later, the cycle has repeated. As the Spokesman Recorder reported:
In April 1995, the Hollman v. Cisneros consent decree promised North Minneapolis a new chapter-deconcentrated, sustainable, mixed-income housing to replace four demolished public housing complexes. Twenty-five years in, that promise is being tested in a Hennepin County courtroom.
The Financial Trap
Rebuilding costs remain unknown, though Warren estimates they’ll exceed $100 million. Conversations about funding haven’t even started. Council Member Soren Stevenson expressed what many felt: frustration that the city has become the financial backstop for decades of extracted developer profits. McCormack Baron Salazar profited for years before walking away.
Last year, Certus Financial LLC took over as property manager in receivership. MPHA retains underlying land ownership, but Certus now operates the rental property which is losing $200,000 per month. That’s why the city is raiding the MPHA fund. Certus has been transparent with the city; McCormack Baron Salazar was not, yet the city continued issuing them rental licenses. Director Bogard’s explanation of the inspection and licensing process left council members unconvinced.
What’s Next: July 16 and Beyond
The full council meets on July 16 and we anticipate it will be a long one. Three major items are on the agenda:
Emergency funding to relocate Heritage Park residents
Lyndale Avenue Reconstruction design (five years of debate; community resentment over proposed changes is deep)
Drone pilot program for first responders (concerns over surveillance; objections to Skydio’s prior supply of drones to Israel)
We’re sending a summary newsletter Friday morning. Later that day, we're interviewing Council Member Rainville about the Heritage Park vote, Lyndale Avenue, and the drone pilot. We'll also discuss the HERC closure report he requested. We’ll be traveling July 18-28, so our newsletter schedule during that period is uncertain.
