Neighborhood, residents upset with crime around Kimball Court

 

 

Kimball Court has become a flashpoint for the myriad of problems along North Snelling Avenue, a stretch of street where open-air drug dealing and use, loitering, theft, panhandling and other problems are all too frequent. Neighbors are deeply concerned about upcoming plans to expand and renovate the supportive housing facility at 545 N. Snelling Ave. They question whether owner-operator Beacon Interfaith Housing Collaborative and its security and supportive services contractors have the capacity to better manage its building and serve residents at a time when the neighborhood is beset with problems.

 More than 30 people attended an Aug. 28 meeting at Mosaic Community Church to discuss issues at Kimball Court and learn about its plans. The meeting was organized by Hamline Midway Coalition (HMC).

Person after person had a story to tell. Homes and yards are broken into. Neighbors pick up trash constantly, including used needles and drug paraphernalia. One local landlord described how her efforts to rent to people in recovery and help them succeed were thwarted by drug dealers tempting tenants back into addiction.

“I don’t know what to do anymore,” one neighbor said, noting his gate was broken and yard entered just before the meeting.

Businesses have had to step up security. Midway Books now has to buzz customers in. The longtime Holcomb-Henry-Boom-Purcell Funeral Home is up for sale. Other storefronts are vacant. The shuttered CVS, which is a short walk from Kimball Court, is blamed for many problems.

Built as a hotel more than century ago, Kimball Court was a boarding house before it became supportive housing. Beacon took over Kimball Court in 2010. That year there were nine police calls.

In 2022, trespassers all but took the property over, with 425 calls made to police. Beacon went through four security firms that year. The facility logged 113 police calls in 2023.

As of early August, there were already more than 110 police calls for 2024. 

HMC representatives and neighbors said they want Beacon and Kimball Court to succeed and to provide quality housing and services for those who need shelter the most. They support efforts to help coming out of long-term homelessness, which beacon and its partners provide.

But they are beyond weary of the current situation.

Neighbors want people to be housed, said HMC Board president Cole Hanson. “But we must, as the coalition and community, insist that it be done right.”

Hanson was blunt in saying that if the promised improvements don’t materialize, “it’s not going to work.”

Neighbors were frustrated with some of Beacon’s responses, especially when told that some policies and practices are still a work in progress. When Babette Jamison-Varner, Beacon’s vice president for supportive housing, said that neighborhood churches are part of Beacon, she was pressed for specifics. 

As it turns out, no Hamline-Midway churches partner with the agency. The closest church partner is House of Hope Presbyterian Church on Summit Avenue.

Jamison-Varner and representative of social services provider Avivo and Property Solutions and Services, explained what they have been doing to improve conditions at Kimball Court. The work of a new security firm was described, with one guard on duty 24/7 and others on call. Neighbors said more security is needed.

One point emphasized is that residents at Kimball Court also want improved safety and security. The average length of tenancy is 4.3 years. One resident has lived there since 1996.

A major concern is the facility’s upcoming expansion. Kimball Court has 76 single-room occupancy units, with about 60 units occupied at this time. Expansion would provide 98 housing units, a few of which would be efficiency apartments. 

In 2020, Beacon obtained a new conditional use permit to expand with a four-story addition. Delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic, the expansion work should start in earnest in December with demolition of the former Star Market. A key point is the addition of a new, more secure entrance.

More cameras will be added, along with community space and other amenities for residents and the social service staff who help them. The community room, computer room and exercise room will be welcomed by residents who hang out on Kimball Court’s stoop because they have no place to go.

The plus-$13 million project is to be completed in 2025 after 15 months of work.

Expansion will not only make the facility better and safer, it also allows Beacon to tap into additional operating resources. Kevin Walker, Beacon’s vice president of housing development, described the upcoming addition as “transformational.” He and others cited other low-income housing facilities that have seen conditions improve after physical changes were made.

Neighbors said the expansion shouldn’t be allowed unless conditions at Kimball Court improve. One frustration is that neighbors cannot weigh in on the expansion due to recent zoning code changes on supportive housing. One criticism raised is that past city conditional use permit processes have failed to add adequate operating conditions.

But the way city supportive housing regulations are now, neighbors cannot weigh in unless they appeal the site plan for the expansion.

The number to call if neighbors see problems at Kimball Court is 651-323-4414.