Minneapolis residents form cooperative to buy 6 historic Victorian houses
Residents of Nicollet Island in Minneapolis have formed a cooperative to collectively purchase six historic Victorian houses currently listed for sale by a nonprofit. The residents are seeking to preserve their homes and maintain affordable housing units in the area.
Why it matters
This highlights the use of cooperative ownership models as a strategy for residents to combat displacement in gentrifying urban areas.
Families on Nicollet Island have called the houses they have been living in homes for years. While some work as artists, others as healers and social workers. But recently, they got to know that their homes may have been listed for sale by property managers Twin Cities Housing Development Corporation, a nonprofit based in St. Paul, back in April 2026.Residents have received a letter from the property manager reading that it was "beginning to explore the potential sale of the Nicollet Island Historic Homes buildings." TCHDC manages six historic Victorian houses on Nicollet Island. Divided into a mix of duplexes and fourplexes, there are 22 rental units total, five of which are for low-income households.
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