On the heels of finishing its $100 million Dorothy Day Place renovation and expansion of homeless shelter, apartments, meals and social services in St. Paul, Catholic Charities is expanding housing for the homeless in Minneapolis.

In a $65 million plan announced Dec. 2, Catholic Charities of St. Paul and Minneapolis will acquire and renovate Augustana Health Care Center, a nursing home near downtown Minneapolis. Catholic Charities will reopen the building sometime in 2021, when its nearby Exodus Residence closes. Dubbed Exodus 2.0, the new project will provide housing and support services for 203 people, 108 more than Exodus Residence.

Efforts to help the homeless have increased in recent years as more than 10,000 people in Minnesota — a record number for the state —  search for a permanent place to live. Those efforts include Dorothy Day Place, which fully opened in late October. 

“Exodus 2.0 comes at a critical time as Minnesota faces a housing and homelessness crisis,” Tim Marx, president and CEO of Catholic Charities, said in a statement. “A crisis this complex demands broad, diverse partnerships and innovative solutions. The Exodus 2.0 project is a perfect example of public, private, new and old partnerships in pursuit of one common goal: to better the lives of the most vulnerable.” 

Catholic Charities is buying the nursing home from Cassia, formerly Augustana Care and Elim Care, where Catholic Charities has provided case management assistance to low-income older adults for the last 10 years. About 80% of the project will be publicly funded, with help from Hennepin County, the Minnesota Housing Finance Agency and the city of Minneapolis. Catholic Charities will contribute about $12.5 million, including $3.5 million from the Richard M. Schulze Family Foundation. 

Early buy-in from Hennepin County helped Catholic Charities secure city and state funding, the nonprofit organization said. 

“Housing is the most basic need,” Hennepin County Commissioner Mike Opat said in a statement. “I am proud that we committed to this project early and will maximize the impact we have in the lives of our most vulnerable residents.”

Exodus 2.0 will serve single adults, veterans and people with complex medical conditions, Catholic Charities officials said. It will include a medical respite program for the homeless and a storefront clinic for the broader community operated by Hennepin County’s Healthcare for the Homeless.

Veterans will have priority for 154 apartments, and 19 more homes will be guaranteed for veterans, supporting the state’s goal of ending veteran homelessness, Catholic Charities said.

Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey expressed his support for the project, including its many partners and the effort to help a wide range of people, from seniors to veterans.

“Addressing the affordable housing and homelessness crisis is an all-hands-on-deck effort that demands collaboration,” the mayor said in a statement. “The Exodus project is built on collaboration.”