This is Councilmember Ron Case cutting the ribbon at the dedication ceremony for the City’s new Housing & Human Services Office at the Eden Prairie Center. The new office is located on the “boutique level” at the Eden Prairie Center, next to the offices of General Growth (the owners and managers of the Eden Prairie Center) and the public meeting rooms. It’s the bottom floor, at the base of the stairs near the new Ben & Jerry’s spot.
Also in the photo are representatives from the City’s Office of Housing & Human Services, the Eden Prairie School District, Eden Prairie Police, and the Eden Prairie Center. It took a group effort to get this project done. All these parties played a part in it.
The redevelopment of the Eden Prairie Center allowed the City to gain access to a substantial amount of square footage within the Center, to be used in a way that would benefit the citizens and businesses in this community. Staff researched several options to best utilize the space and a decision was made in 2003 to create the Office of Housing and Human Services.
The space was designed to accommodate offices, a resource room, and a large open space and a conference room. A separate police office is also attached.
The office will be managed by Molly Koivumaki, Manager of Housing and Human Services, and additionally staffed by Mary Keating, Program Coordinator and Khadra Duale of the Housing, Opportunities, Partnerships, Employment (HOPE) program. Other human service providers will have weekly offices hours as well in the new space.
Located on the bus route and within walking distance from housing complexes, we believe this location is an ideal spot for human services agencies to provide the support and programming for these important community services.
Funding for the office was provided in part through a Community Development Block Grant from the office of Housing and Urban Development. The lion’s share of the remodeling costs were actually paid out of the tenant’s allowance the City received from General Growth as part of our lease for moving into the space.
The office will host a variety of activities such as community meetings and civic events, and staff training and workshops. The City Council will host it’s regular August 3, 2004 meeting in the space, starting at 8:00 p.m. We are looking forward to a busy schedule for this space in 2005.
