Three members of the Minneapolis City Council are proposing a $1.5 million rehabilitation grant for Agate Housing and Services to prevent the permanent closure of its transitional housing and shelter facility in Elliot Park.

Agate announced in mid-August that it’s shuttering its facility at 510 S. 8th St. because it was unable to scrape together $3 million needed for repairs on the 100-year-old building. More than 80 residents and 23 employees will be affected by the planned Oct. 9 closure.

The grant proposed by Councilmembers Jason Chavez (Ward 9) and Jamal Osman (Ward 6) and Council President Elliott Payne (Ward 1) would be contingent upon Agate’s ability to secure at least $1.5 million in additional funds for the building’s rehabilitation by the end of 2025, according to a Friday announcement from Agate.

A spokesperson told Downtown Voices that Agate is already meeting with prospective funders to come up with the other half of the amount needed for repairs.

“We hope that other governmental partners step up, join the Minneapolis City Council, and prevent the permanent closure of these needed services,” Chavez said in a statement. “As encampments continue to be shuffled around our city, we cannot afford to lose critical transitional housing and shelter services. We need to do everything in our power to create more capacity, not less.” Chavez is chair of the Public Health and Safety Committee.

Even with a $1.5 million grant from the City, the facility will close as planned on Oct. 9 since building repairs are expected to take six to 12 months, but Agate hopes to reopen as soon as the project is complete.

“This grant gives us hope that we can reopen the 510 quickly and continue to offer a safe and stable environment for future residents,” Agate Executive Director Kyle Hanson said in a statement.

Agate is working with local partners to ensure every current resident of its 42-bed shelter and 95-bed low-income housing facility is placed in another safe facility in the next month.

“Despite ongoing discussions about encampment removals, the City has not provided adequate housing solutions for our unhoused neighbors,” said Osman, chair of the Business, Housing, and Zoning committee and representative for Elliot Park. “Residents of Ward 6 and surrounding wards cannot afford to lose critical resources like Agate,” especially as winter approaches.

The proposed grant is slated to go before the Minneapolis Budget Committee during its Sept. 16 meeting.