In July, the final phase of construction began on a project to renovate and remodel the final four units in an apartment building in North Minneapolis. This latest endeavor is the latest and final chapter in the renovation of the entire 100-year-old building.

The project, a coordination between the Housing First Minnesota Foundation and AVIVO, will be home to women who are in the AVIVO addiction recovery program. AVIVO is a local non-profit that works to help individuals achieve recovery from substance addiction by providing safe housing, education resources, and other means of support.

The homes will allow these women to get the help they need, while being able to live with their children and families.

This latest phase of unit renovations is being completed with build partner Nor-Son Custom Builders. Since the start of this project in 2020, five builders—Mega Remodel, Cardinal Remodeling, Plekkenpol Builders, John Kraemer & Sons and The Kingdom Builders—have renovated units in the building.

During the remodel, these spaces are completely gutted and rebuilt.

“It is a whole other feeling to live in a new, remodeled apartment,” says Tesha, an AVIVO family treatment program graduate, “It makes you feel deserving. As moms living with addiction, we don’t feel like we deserve things… when you move into something new, it changes you. It makes you keep going.”

The expected project completion date is the end of 2023. After completion, four AVIVO families will call these spaces home for, on average, 12-18 months. One remodeled unit can serve at least 64 mothers and their children over the next 20 years.