Uptown business owners are opposing a proposed temporary medical shelter to be built at 918 W. Lake St., saying they want the area’s homeless to receive help, but not at the expense of their stores.
Lakeshore Care Inc. has applied to the city for a conditional use permit to operate a shelter in an area designated as a “community mixed-use district.” Applicant Tim McLaughlin of Grootwassink Real Estate did not respond to an interview request, but his application states that the center aims to provide clients with a smooth recovery process in a facility supervised 24/7 by trained staff and state-of-the-art medical practitioners.
However, nearby business owners worry that the “perception” of crime that a homeless shelter brings to their midst will keep customers away.
“My staff doesn’t feel safe right now, especially in the winter when it gets dark, and you’re tripping over needles,” Stephanie Swanson, a State Farm agent at Lake and Hennepin, told the Planning Commission on Monday. “The idea that it’s going to be even more populated with people who are homeless in that area is going to make the perception of safety even harder for everybody. And I say perception because I really don’t believe that these people are going to do anything that’s going to put us in danger.”
Beautician Matisse Johnson, who owns the #FACE spa right across the street from the proposed shelter, said she has to lock her doors because homeless people often try to get in.
“I dread the thought of my clients sitting in these beautiful $500 swings, which sometimes they’re afraid to sit in,” Johnson said. “I just don’t want them to have to sit there and see what may or may not happen in this building.”
The Planning Commission also received dozens of emails opposing the project from business owners and neighbors, most of them copies of a letter from the group Vibrant Lyndale, which primarily advocates for preserving on-street parking along Lyndale.
City staff recommended approval of Lakeshore Care’s conditional use permit. The Planning Commission’s public hearing was continued until Aug. 12.
The Uptown commercial district has struggled with ongoing protests after law enforcement killed Winston Smith in one of its parking lanes in 2021. Drag racing, street reconstruction and a homeless encampment near the Walker Library have presented challenges for businesses. The Vibrant Lyndale letter signatories include those who have called for more resources for people struggling with addiction and homelessness in the encampment.
Medical care facilities for the homeless in Minneapolis include Catholic Charities’ Exodus and Endeavors shelters, Our Savior’s Community Services, and the Salvation Army’s Harbor Light Center.
