St. Cloud Planning Commission takes second look at 40-unit supportive housing project

(KNSI) – The St. Cloud Planning Commission will take up Center City Housing’s request for a 40-unit permanent supportive housing complex again on Tuesday, after postponing action last month.

The Duluth-based nonprofit wants to amend the St. Anthony Catholic Church Planned Unit Development to build a three-story, 40-unit studio apartment complex at 55 25th Avenue North, behind Walgreens and across the street from Central Minnesota Montessori School. The project, called Elm Ridge Apartments, would serve extremely low-income people who have experienced homelessness or who are living with mental health conditions, chemical dependency, or other disabilities.

The public hearing closed at the April 14th meeting and will not be reopened, but commissioners asked staff and Center City Housing for more information before making a recommendation.

In a letter to the city, Center City Housing Executive Director Nancy Cashman addressed several of the concerns raised by 19 neighbors who spoke against the project last month. Cashman wrote that the building would be modeled after the organization’s River Heights project at 1307 Lincoln Avenue Southeast, which has operated since 2023. She said that facility has 24 parking spaces for 40 units and that typically only half are used, with most cars belonging to staff.

Cashman drew a distinction between permanent supportive housing and an emergency shelter, writing that referrals come through multiple agencies and that every applicant goes through a background check and signs a lease.

She said the organization rejects applications for convictions including homicide, arson, first, second, and third-degree criminal sexual conduct, assault, child pornography, and illegal manufacture or distribution of controlled substances, and that anyone currently subject to sex offender registration is disqualified.

She also noted Center City Housing pays property taxes on its permanent supportive housing buildings, which she said would be a net tax increase for the city and county.

Cashman also addressed the proximity of Central Minnesota Montessori School, whose executive director spoke against the project in April. Cashman wrote that Center City Housing has reached out to the school and pointed to similar projects elsewhere, including the Gage East Apartments in Rochester, which she said sits less than 30 feet from a Head Start program and shares a parking lot without issues.

City staff also provided new information in response to questions from the April meeting. A St. Cloud Police Department review of calls for service at 78 multi-family properties with 30 to 49 units found River Heights had the most calls in 2025 at 77 total, though Cashman noted many of those were tied to a single resident who has since been evicted.

The next four highest were Place of Hope at 525 9th Avenue North with 55 calls, a property at 770 Savanna Avenue with 54, a property at 725 14th Street South with 46, and the VA Apartments at 4105 12th Street North with 43.

Staff also noted that the intersection of 25th Avenue North and 1st Street North has four marked crosswalks with overhead flashers and ADA-compliant pedestrian ramps, and said pedestrian-activated upgrades like a rapid rectangular flashing beacon could be added but are not critical.

Staff said the proposed facility is considered a multi-family dwelling under the Land Development Code, not a temporary shelter, because residents sign individual leases with no maximum length of stay. Separation requirements between shelters do not apply to apartment buildings.

Since the April meeting, the city has received 13 letters in support of the project, many from the church or the Diocese of St. Cloud, and four letters in opposition. Several of the opposition letters raised concerns about flooding in the area and called for a stormwater pond.

The planning commission only makes recommendations. No matter how it votes on Tuesday, the project will move to the city council for a second public hearing and a binding vote, likely in June.

It is Center City Housing’s second attempt to build the Elm Ridge Apartments in St. Cloud. The organization received council approval in June 2025 for the complex at 1530 Northway Drive, on the site of the former St. Cloud Area Family YMCA, but that project was scrapped in January 2026 after a state grant fell through. This new project is also dependent on grant funding.

The planning commission meets on Tuesday at 6:00 p.m. at St. Cloud City Hall.

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