Former Vikings star working to create more affordable housing in north Minneapolis

A former Minnesota Vikings legend wants to help create more affordable housing in north Minneapolis.

Carl Eller, along with Wellington Management, wants to turn the Old Warden refinery site into a mixed-income apartment complex.

"People often complain that there isn’t enough affordable housing, and so we wanted to include that and make sure their voices were heard. So, we’re going to have some affordable housing here," said Eller.

Eller is not only an investor in the project but also plans to stay on as an advisor.

"He clearly has a vision for the site and I think we would really like the project to be for his legacy, that’s huge in this community," said David Wellington, Wellington Management’s executive vice president.

The location is less than a third of a mile from the planned Bassett Creek Valley light rail station and will take some work to be ready for construction.

"There is a bunch of contamination that’s been in the ground for generations of industrial land uses and we see the Brownfield redevelopment as a really good opportunity for us to get that contamination out of the ground, and there’s very clearly a significant demand for affordable housing," said Wellington.

The project will provide homes for households at 30% to 80% of area median income, with about 187 units planned.

It’ll have up to 40 project-based vouchers for large-family housing and people with disabilities, and include five units for long-term homeless individuals.

"You can probably see the background of Minneapolis is right there, the Twins stadium is right there, and of course the other stadium for the Vikings is not far away," said Eller. "I’ve lived here and have great love for the area, for the city of Minneapolis."

Wellington will seek help from the city and county to fund the cleanup.