by Logan Gruber
A set of six buildings, home to 36 St. Joseph families and formerly known as Cloverdale Townhomes, is currently being renovated at the corner of E. Baker Street and Ninth Avenue SE. Central Minnesota Housing Partnership purchased the property on June 19, renamed the property to Carlson Crossing and began renovations in August.
Deanna Hemmesch, executive director of CMHP, said in an exclusive St. Joseph Newsleader interview that the buildings each take one to one-and-a-half months to renovate, so all six buildings should be renovated by January or February.
Cloverdale was originally built in 1982, according to documents prepared for CMHA by Woods Consulting Group. No renovations have been made since then.
“Many residents are happy for the renovation, but we are moving them and that is tough,” Hemmesch said.
Due to the severity of some of the parts being renovated, residents are moved out of each building when renovations begin and moved into similar housing at St. Joseph Student Housing on First Avenue NE.
Most of the units are filled with families and have two or three bedrooms, Hemmesch said. The project currently serves households of low, very low and extremely low income levels.
CMHP took out a new mortgage on the property and plans for the renovations to last at least the length of the mortgage. The proposed renovation will include both interior and exterior improvements. Work includes new siding, roof work, new windows, attic insulation, work on the furnaces, new kitchens, new vanities and toilets and some new flooring and paint. Residents will be moved out and back in to the same unit unless otherwise requested. The total cost of renovation is forecast to range from $1.44-$1.62 million, or $40,000-$45,000 per unit, according to Blumentals/Architecture, the architecture firm out of Minneapolis hired by CMHP.
Actual management of the property is handled by Brutger Equities in St. Cloud.