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Home for the Holidays
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The Wellstone opened in December,
offering 49 affordable homes | Star Tribune - December 20, 2008
By Lynn Underwood
Danielle Cyrus was thankful for many things in her new apartment -- including a shiny new dishwasher.
"This is the first time I've had one," she said with a smile. Cyrus and her 4-year-old daughter, Jaielle, were unpacking boxes after moving into the Wellstone apartments in south Minneapolis this month.
The new 49-unit building is the third phase of the $50 million Franklin-Portland Gateway development aimed at transforming a once blighted intersection at E. Franklin and Portland Av. S. into an appealing place to live and work.
Aeon, a nonprofit provider of affordable Twin Cities apartments and townhouses, is the residential/commercial project's developer.
Cyrus heard about the Wellstone from St. Stephen's Human Services family worker Margaret Jones, who knew it would be ideal because it's close to Jaielle's preschool and to Cyrus' job as a service clerk at a Walgreens store.
"She worked hard and did all the paperwork," said Jones. "She really wanted to have a nice place for her and her daughter."
Cyrus had just moved from an older northeast Minneapolis duplex that needed repairs. She was ready for a home where everything was brand new.
"I really like the loft-style layout," she said of the $760-a-month, two-bedroom corner apartment with a view of downtown skyscrapers. Jaielle likes the balcony off the living room best.
Cyrus and other residents have to qualify for units designated for low-income renters. She also receives rent assistance of $500 a month from the Strengthening Our New Generation program, one of many social services provided by Reuben Lindh Family Services and other partner organizations.
With financial help and a stable place to live, Cyrus is planning to go back to Rasmussen College and study to be a health information technician.
"It's really been hard the last couple of years. At one point I was living at a woman's shelter," she said. "This apartment has been a real blessing for me."
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