The shelter would offer medical care to the homeless. Business owners and local residents plan to oppose it at a Planning Commission meeting on Aug. 12.
MINNEAPOLIS — For the past four years, Mattisse Johnson has operated #FACE, her Uptown day spa, with the doors locked.
“Because all day long we have people off the street trying to come in,” he said. “We have people we let in, thinking they’re here for a good reason, and they steal from us. In the middle of the day.”
Mattisse said he wants his business to remain at the corner of West Lake Street and Colfax, because he believes in Uptown — and its recovery.
“I love Uptown because growing up in Minneapolis, this was my dream,” he said.
However, a proposed homeless shelter across the street has business owners united in opposition.
“I think another location would be better. I just don’t feel like this is a good fit for a business corridor,” Johnson said.
“It’s one more thing that’s going to hamper the recovery of the northern region,” said State Farm insurance agent Lawrence Thomas.
Thomas, whose office is right next door, felt the same way Matisse did — that homeless services were needed but the location was not right.
“And I feel like this conversation, if it’s uncomfortable, I understand. But it needs to be had,” Thomas said.
The proposal before the Minneapolis Panning Commission comes from Lakeshore Care Inc., a company formed in March.
The project description states that they plan to “offer temporary supportive care to individuals recovering from illness or medical procedures.”
Lakeshore Care told KARE 11 News they have a medical team with decades of experience offering respite care.
They want a specific location that is close to health care providers, easily accessible, and integrated with the community.
And they plan to address safety concerns in part with security patrols and not allowing clients to “loiter or wander aimlessly.”
At this week’s meeting, several people spoke up. Local business owner Andrea Corbin of the Uptown Association and Lynnlake Association said residents also had their say.
“Everyone who lives and works in this area,” Corbin said.
The next step in the process is for the Minneapolis Planning Commission to hold a hearing on August 12.
