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~~-~.~st l~i•ings city affor~abie i~ousi~~~ anc~ ~ ~vlloie ]ot galore Continued.... Plans call for 200 to 300 rental units and a Children's Village Center. In cooperation with the Bridge for Runaway Youth,-the trust has the Archdale Apartment for Homeless Youth at 1600 1St Av. S., opened a few years ago to provide decent housing for youths off the streets. The trust has been improving life in the city -not only for lower-income tenants but for their neighbors. One building had been cited for more than 400 code violations before the trust stepped in. Now, the trust will be expanding into two or three adjacent neighborhoods, according to a new strategic plan adopted by its board. CCHT, which employs staff of 22 and has its own office building on Park Avenue neaz Interstate Hwy. 94, has demonstrated its community worth. Its presence should be welcomed by the next mayor to help address affordable housing issues. East Village has involved government and private help, including $600,000 in Neighborhood Revitalization Program (NRP) aid channeled through the Elliot Pazk Neighborhood organization. The CCHT buildings, though mainly in the Elliot Park neighborhood, are also in the Phillips and Stevens Squaze neighborhoods, as well as downtown. The investment to date totals $70 million. East Village's funding partners included the Family Housing Fund, Greater Minneapolis Metropolitan Housing Corp., the Metropolitan Council, Minneapolis Community Development Agency, Minneapolis Foundation, and other local and state bodies. The names of 1,000 people who helped East Village in some way will be posted there. Designed my the Miller Hanson Partners architectural and planning firm, East Village embodies, an announcement says, "new urbanism": human scale, pedestrian orientation, green spaces, community access, public safety and a sense of resident-ownership. Once the site held deteriorated housing, commercial buildings and parking lots. Looking ahead, CCHT has created a fund advisory board. It includes former St. Paul Mayor George Latimer and Emily Ann (Staples) Tuttle, former Hennepin County Board member. So in this, a month when Minneapolis celebrates East Village, let's also celebrate Central Community Housing Trust for making a difference in inner-city neighborhoods and in the lives of many city residents. 9