Author: students coop webmaster

Schedule Adjustments

The Transitional Board, General Contractor, NASCO and everyone have been busy working on the reopening of the Students’ Co-op. Due to construction delays, we have changed the move-in date from August 31st to October 1st.

President Hannah met with a city representative to do a security review, one of several planned meetings in preparation for reopening. Important deliveries have been scheduled throughout the month, including the Co-op’s new appliances. We’ve already received our shipment of new Co-op mattresses! This weekend, important concrete work will occur in the basement, bringing us closer to finishing construction. 

But the Students’ Co-op’s reopening is just the beginning, of course. After opening, we have orientation meetings, activities and elections to get the house running again. Stay tuned!

Membership Application Reminder

Are you a student interested in direct participation in running your own home? Consider applying online to join the Co-op!

Finances & Support

We have received new financial support from donors, other cooperatives, and local businesses. Our community’s financial support and encouragement are what give us renewed hope and energy every day to keep up the hard work.

In response to community feedback and the events of last Spring, in order to increase accountability, transparency, and management of the Students Cooperative, we are taking additional actions.

Property Management

We’ve been in conversation about our unique situation as a congregate living institution with Property Management companies. We think we have come to a really good balance between maintaining co-operative egalitarian values and helping individual residents stay fiscally responsible with our selected company. They will also maintain a snazzy online portal for our work orders and payments.

Owner’s Representative

We have also hired an Owner’s Representative, who will represent the interests of the Co-op in all our dealings with contractors — keeping all of us honest!

Permits Approved

Our building permits have been approved by the City of Minneapolis, and the renovations are underway. The Coop has completed the hiring of an Owners Representative to help facilitate communication and collaboration between the contractors, architect, and the board as we move into this next busy phase.

Dedicated Recruitment Staff

We are also thrilled to announce the Co-op has hired a dedicated Recruitment Contractor to work over the Summer and through Autumn to recruit new co-opers for the big reopening.

Hey! If you know any students looking for Fall housing, they can contact us at studentscoopinc.recruit@gmail.com or head right over to our brand new …

Membership Application

That’s right!

We are officially ready to receive applications! Right here on the site. Spread the word. The more recruits we get the merrier!

A General Contractor!

With immense gratitude, the board is pleased to announce we have achieved the next critical stage of re-opening: a general contractor (GC) has been selected to complete renovation efforts! We have found a committed partner in Primo, a company that passionately believes in rehabilitation and will begin work in the next several weeks. With the instrumental support we have received from Co-op alumni and NASCO, we have successfully refinanced and closed the UMFREA account that was used to finance the stucco in 2018. Both of these steps represent major progress in the revitalization of the Students’ Co-operative!

Current Updates to the House

In the 2010s era, external updates were done on the windows, extension and stucco. The current renovation focuses on the internal structure, including: repairing critical joists in the first floor, updating the rooms and halls for a seamless aesthetic, improving fire responsiveness, repairing damage to windows, redoing plumbing, repairing the roof, refinishing floors to retain their lived-in appearance, widening the doors for maximum accessibility, and providing several new rooms for the next generations of co-opers.

Financing Challenges

During summer and fall 2022, the alumni board evaluated several GCs with the guidance of NASCO’s Development Consultant and secured loans through Kagawa and Shared Capital. We undertook a community effort to raise the funds needed to secure the GC chosen by the board, and exceeded our fundraising goal of approximately $16,000. Since this fundraising effort, several large expenses have compromised our ability to move forward, including a large utility bill related to an emergency boiler repair, as well as unforeseen legal fees needed to close the UMFREA loan. We are now $20,000 short of the liquidity we need to bridge the funding gap until construction loan disbursement, slated for mid-February.

Current Need for Emergency Donations

We have several options available if you are able to support further with funding donations, including a tax deductible option supported by GiveMN. If you are open to this form of support, please let us know!

Upcoming Work Weekends

If you are available for a work weekend or two to paint rooms etc., please let us know! Thank you all once again for all you have been doing to revitalize the Co-op. We could never have gotten to this exciting milestone without each and every co-oper, and our friends. We are on track to reopen later this year, with fresh updates to the building and a bold vision for equitable governance and membership criteria.

In order to re-open the building in time for the Autumn influx of students at the U of MN campus, we need to secure funding to pay our Architect (alumni of the Co-op!) and General Contractor. Please see our home page for ways you can help.

Our Statement About Recent Incidents at Our Co-op

[We hope that you had a chance to read our apology about recent events.]

For more than 80 years, the Students’ Co-op at 1721 University Ave has been a stable and positive fixture of the Dinkytown community, providing affordable on-campus housing to the student community. Independently owned and operated by its residents, our cooperative has been a much-loved home to hundreds of students across decades.

The COVID-19 pandemic and the societal turbulence of 2020 hit hard for all of us, and resulted in unprecedented instability in the Students’ Co-op. In October 2021, our alumni network was contacted by a concerned cooperative member—we learned then that the Students’ Co-op was nearly empty, and the few remaining residents lacked the institutional knowledge to keep the Cooperative running. The occupants at this time faced a history of housing insecurity, marginalized by interlocking systems of systemic racism and economic inequality. Our alumni group committed to supporting the occupants of the house and reviving the cooperative structure. However, at this time, alumni did not have any legal authority within the co-op.  

As concerned community members and alumni, we began meeting regularly with occupants and making repairs to the building. We also began working in partnership with the Minneapolis Health Department and NASCO, a national alliance of student housing cooperatives. When it became apparent that the occupants needed more support than we could provide, we collaborated with case-workers and social service nonprofits to connect the occupants to more supportive housing and resources.

We formed an alumni board in late March, 2022 through consultations with attorneys, NASCO, and the remaining occupants. While we were able to successfully re-house most occupants to safe, stable and more secure housing, several people still remained at 1721. The last of the occupants refused to leave by April 7th and we began preparing for an eviction process the next day. At this point, we also reached out to UMPD and MPD to help address the situation. 

From the time we took legal action until the time the eviction was finalized, a nearly two month process, we could not access the building due to concerns for our safety and due to legal restrictions imposed on property owners which could have impeded the eviction process. Knowing eviction was imminent, the occupants had no interest in stopping any parties from occurring or preventing property damage and/or violence to occur. 

Since the evictions were completed on June 4th, there have been zero incidents of violence or property damage, and our alumni network has come together to clean the inside and outside of the building. We have a monitored security system installed and conduct routine walk-throughs of the property. We are working with an architect, contractors, and the Health Department to make this historic property both a livable and beautiful space again. 

The Students’ Co-operative is built on the values of social responsibility and cultures of care, and these acts of violence were in direct violation of our values as a cooperative community. Our hearts go out to all those affected:  the former occupants caught in cycles of instability and violence, their guests at the house, our fraternity neighbors, the student community, and the broader community. We believe that community is created and sustained through collaboration, shared goals, and a willingness to grow; we make the road by walking.

Now, as we embark on a journey towards community healing and trust building after these traumatic events, we hope to work in collaboration to find effective and creative solutions. We are grateful for the outpouring of support we have received, and we sincerely hope that you will continue to engage in these conversations with us. Please continue to check our website for updates, or reach out to us with any questions at studentscoopinc@gmail.com. 

Sincerely,
The Students’ Co-operative Board
August 19, 2022

To our community:

Over the past year, numerous traumatic events have occurred at the Students’ Co-operative. The ambiguity created by our lack of communication during these crises led to feelings of distress and engendered an atmosphere of distrust. When it mattered most, we did not do the work we needed to do to maintain trust and ensure that community member concerns were being heard. We did not reassure those in the community of the steps being taken, and we did not fulfill the need for timely and transparent communications. Many are understandably confused and uncertain about what the future may hold, what will be done to ensure that these events will not happen again, and who, if anyone, is acting to reconcile and redress these concerns.

Our first priority is the student community, specifically those living on the 1700 block of University Ave–to whom we apologize. We apologize not only for the impact this has had on you but also for the heavy burden many community members now carry. And we apologize to the broader community for our lack of transparency throughout this process and for our silence in the public forum. 

We promise to be better, more communicative neighbors and are dedicated to remaining in the community, and at 1721 University Ave. We are confident that with new board leadership, the structural changes that we are implementing, and our unyielding commitment to community safety and restorative practices, that we can work in collaboration to forge a path of healing, begin to rebuild the trust that has been broken, and create a safer neighborhood together.

We will provide greater transparency by posting progress updates on our website, as well as updates directly to our neighbors. When we begin recruitment for new members, we will prioritize University of Minnesota students who are committed to the values and principles of cooperation. Additionally, we are amending the Co-op’s bylaws to grant alumni a continued role in the Co-op Board, and to give the Board more accountability going forward. 

We thank you for your patience and support as we continue to rebuild and we hope you will join us in this next chapter. We look forward to continuing these conversations, this work, and our 80+ year legacy of cooperation at 1721 University Ave. Please continue to check our website studentscoop.org for updates, a timeline, and steps we have already taken. You can also reach out with any questions by emailing us at studentscoopinc@gmail.com.

The Students’ Cooperative Board

Early this morning someone attempted to get into the building. Thankfully our monitored security and surveillance system alerted us immediately and police were dispatched. A member of the board met with both the UMPD and MPD officers at the Co-op. There was no damage or burglary of the property and no one was injured; the building is secure and the board continues to do daily walk-throughs of the property. Thank you for your concern!

The Students’ Co-operative Board

Hello, we are a group of four alumni from 2017 and earlier, who make up the current Board of the Students’ Co-operative. We are part of a larger network of past Co-op residents who, like you, have been horrified by the violence that has taken place in and around the Students’ Co-operative.

The people involved with the recent violence and disruption to the neighborhood are not affiliated with the Student’s Co-op. We learned last fall that the house’s cooperative governance collapsed during the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, and continued to deteriorate as member residents moved out of the Co-op. Soon, only squatters, and not Co-op members, remained at the property. As concerned alumni, we organized to get the house back on track. By March, we had formed a new board and acted quickly to remove the people who refused to leave. 

With great relief, we finalized the eviction process and regained possession of the Students’ Co-operative property on June 4th, 2022. We are now securing the property, assessing damage to the house, and working with local authorities to determine next steps. 

We are grateful to all those who have helped support and guide us through this difficult process—our hearts go out to those who have been affected by these tragic events.

Sincerely,
The Students’ Co-op Board

We share deep concern about the recent incidents of crime and violence at the Students’ Co-op. We have filed evictions for everyone in the building — The court hearing is scheduled for June 1, 2022.

Our long-term goal is to rehabilitate the building so that the Students’ Co-op can provide student-centered, cooperative housing.

If you have information or documentation of incidents involving the Students’ Co-op, please email studentscoopinc@gmail.com