 | East Village
East Village, a $29.5 million housing development, transformed a once neglected section of the Elliot Park neighborhood into an affordable, thriving place to live.
Aeon was honored for the success of East Village with the 2001 CUE (Committee on Urban Environment) Award from the City of Minneapolis, the 2001 "Most Innovative Housing Project" award from the Minneapolis Neighborhood Revitalization Program, and more recently, the 2003 Smart Growth Design Award for a Mixed-Use Development from 1000 Friends of Minnesota.
East Village provides a mix of 180 affordable and market-rate rental housing units, including studio, one, two, three, and four-bedroom apartments and townhomes. East Village is the first "market-rate" housing built in more than 70 years in Elliot Park, one of the city's oldest neighborhoods.
East Village fills a gap in the short supply of affordable rental property while also enhancing the neighborhood with much-needed amenities. Prior to East Village, the 2.9-acre site on the corner of 11th Avenue South and South 8th Street contained several deteriorated rental homes, old commercial buildings, and blighted surface parking lots.
East Village now offers community green space, pedestrian paths, and neighborhood businesses. The use of brick, bay windows and French balconies complements the architecture of many historic buildings in the neighborhood.
The East Village buildings were designed to place "eyes on the street" for public safety and encourage a sense of ownership by residents. Buildings surround a greenway that leads to Elliot Park, a city park with year-round activities and a community center. All buildings have multiple entrances, to provide tenant ownership of the spaces in and around them and encourage neighbor interaction.
East Village includes 350 underground parking spaces to meet parking needs while freeing up space for landscaped areas.
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