Avivo Villages

The convergence of the COVID-19 pandemic and the civil unrest during the summer of 2020 exacerbated homelessness in the Twin Cities, creating a public health emergency. This crisis demanded an innovative response, leading to the creation of Avivo Village.

Avivo Village is a trauma-informed, low-barrier shelter offering short to medium-term stays with 24-hour access. It goes beyond basic shelter by providing on-site housing, harm reduction, mental health, and chemical dependency services. Notably, this innovative project was developed within an existing underutilized commercial space.

This unique shelter bridges the gap between low-income housing and traditional shelter models. Its creation pushed boundaries, requiring a zoning text amendment, multiple code alternate requests, and an emergency declaration from the Mayor of Minneapolis. Despite facing numerous bureaucratic hurdles, the project team successfully transformed a windowless warehouse into a safe and supportive housing environment for 100 people in just four months, and at a fraction of the cost of a high-end single-family home. This remarkable achievement was made possible through close collaboration between Avivo, The White Earth Nation, Greiner Construction, Sustology, and many others.

The success of Avivo Village is largely due to Adam Fairbanks and Michael Gordon's ability to collaborate with local government and adjacent communities. Their early involvement and expertise, coupled with strong partnerships with key decision-makers, led to the development of a service-rich shelter model that successfully brought 100 people indoors from encampments. Tony Ghilani’s, of Greiner Construction, excellent project management efforts resulted in the project meeting a demanding schedule and budget during challenging times.