Uptown businesses are opposing a proposed medical respite shelter at 918 W. Lake St., saying they want local homeless people to have access to assistance but don't want it located within view of their stores.
Lakeshore Care has applied for a conditional use permit from the city to operate the shelter in an area designated as a “Community Mixed-Use District.” The applicant, Tim McLaughlin of Grootwasink Real Estate, did not respond to an interview request, but the application states the center's goal is to provide a smooth recovery process for users in a facility monitored around the clock by trained staff and advanced medical personnel.
Still, local shopkeepers worry that the homeless shelter's proximity will create an “image” of crime and drive customers away.
“My staff doesn't feel very safe right now, especially in the winter when it gets dark earlier and they trip on conifers,” Stephanie Swanson, an agent with State Farm in Lake and Hennepin, told the planning commission on Monday. “When I think about the area becoming even more crowded with unhoused people, it makes it hard for anyone to feel safe. I say 'feel safe' because I have no confidence that these people would ever do anything to harm us.”
Mathis Johnson, owner and aesthetician at #FACE, a spa directly across from the proposed shelter, said he has to keep the doors locked because homeless people frequently try to get in.
“It's scary to think of my clients sitting in these beautiful, $500 rocking chairs that sometimes they're too scared to sit in,” Johnson says. “I don't want them to be sitting there looking at the building and not knowing what's going to come out of it.”
The planning commission also received dozens of emails from business owners and neighbors opposing the plan, most of which were copies of letters from Vibrant Lyndale, a group that primarily advocates for preserving on-street parking along Lyndale.
City staff is recommending approval of Lakeshore Care's conditional use permit. A Planning Commission public hearing has been postponed until Aug. 12.
The Uptown business district has struggled with ongoing protests since the police killing of Winston Smith in a parking lot in 2021. Drag racing, road reconstruction and homeless encampments near the Walker Library have created myriad challenges for businesses. Some of the signatories to Vibrant Lindale's letter called for more support for people experiencing addiction and homelessness at the encampment.
Medical respite facilities for homeless people in Minneapolis include Catholic Charities' Exodus and Endeavors Residences, Our Saviors Community Services, and the Salvation Army's Harbor Light Center.
