Dominium’s Charitable Giving Efforts: Pro Bono Work
Engagement with the communities we serve is core to Dominium’s values and practice and has been since the company’s inception. From hands-on employee volunteer initiatives such as our work with Habitat for Humanity and other nonprofits chosen by employees, to financial investments like our pro bono developments working with local organizations to provide much-needed housing for those greatest in need, our company prides itself on improving lives through Dominium Gives, each and every day.
As a Vice President and Project Partner, I lead much of Dominium’s pro bono development efforts across the country. My job consists of developing needed affordable housing in communities throughout the country by providing development expertise to non-profit partners. Currently, we have 13 different pro bono projects, with a few more in the pipeline. These projects are located in Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Minnesota, and Washington State.
Dorothy Day Place, located in St. Paul, is Dominium’s first completed charitable development project. The project, developed in partnership with Catholic Charities of St. Paul and Minneapolis, closed in 2017 and we celebrated its grand opening at the end of 2019. Dorothy Day Place provides 177 units of supportive housing and a 62,000-square-foot Opportunity Center, which provides meals and services to those most in need. Dorothy Day Place is an important project as it serves tenants who were homeless individuals within the Twin Cities – the average income at Dorothy Day is under $5,000 a year.
A second Twin Cities pro bono project, which we just closed in December 2020, is Exodus 2.0, valued at $70 million. This property was also developed in partnership with Catholic Charities of St. Paul and Minneapolis and will provide 203 units of housing to individuals experiencing homelessness. The property will feature a walk-in medical clinic and 26,000 sq. ft. of office space that will act as Catholic Charities’ headquarters in the Twin Cities. Exodus 2.0 has received record funding commitments from Minnesota Housing Finance Agency, Hennepin County, the City of Minneapolis, and others. The project uses a complicated financing structure with both 4% Low Income Housing Tax Credits and New Markets Tax Credits.
Dominium’s partnership with Catholic Charities of St. Paul and Minneapolis started through a conversation between Managing Partner Paul Sween, our longtime partner U.S. Bank and Minnesota Housing. Catholic Charities excels at matching corporate and private donors with its development projects, most of which include critical social services for tenants. This partnership continues to be one that I really enjoy because they’ve done a wonderful job of encouraging our community to participate in creating housing for our most vulnerable citizens.
So, what can the communities we serve expect from Dominium and its pro bono work in the future? The pipeline is expected to be very full and each project has a story behind it. There are over 1,800 pro bono units in the pipeline, partnering with 10 nonprofit groups. Our goal is that Dominium develops as much affordable housing as possible, providing critical know how for nonprofit groups that have capacity and a project with site control.
Through our pro bono work, we are fulfilling our vision of helping organizations build financial capacity. Working shoulder to shoulder with these organizations helps us to create long lasting relationships, while helping to fill some of the affordable housing needs in communities. The pro bono projects closed and in the pipeline total over 2,000 units and approximately one third of these units are set aside for families and individuals experiencing homelessness. Stay tuned for more updates on Dominium’s charitable giving efforts, and visit DominiumApartments.com/Gives to learn more.
