Belfry Apartments and Mixed Use in Minneapolis Wins the 2025 Affordable Housing Design Award
By the ENTER team | October 16, 2025
Belfry Apartments and Mixed Use combines three components: the renovation of the Calvary Lutheran Church sanctuary, the conversion of the church’s education and administrative wing into deeply affordable housing units, and a new residential building (left foreground). Photo by Farm Kid Studios.
SPOTLIGHT
The latest recipient of the Affordable Housing Design Award is greater than the sum of its parts—and those parts are impressive on their own.
Designed by UrbanWorks Architecture for Trellis, Belfry Apartments and Mixed Use is the reimagining of the historic Calvary Lutheran Church site in Minneapolis as a community for residents earning at or below 30 percent of annual median income (AMI). The project combines three components: restoration of the church’s sanctuary, adaptive reuse of the church’s education and office wing into 21 deeply affordable apartments, and construction of a new 20-unit residential building. Fifteen of the 41 units are reserved for residents exiting homelessness or living with disabilities.
Images 1–2: The new residential building—the Elliot—has a friendly presence on East 39th Street. 3: The 1930 church remains the heart of the site. 4–7: The renovation of the sanctuary leveled the floor, restored the ceiling, added millwork, and created a lounge and a discreet kitchen and eating area. 8: Apartments in the church wing embrace original features like fireplaces and gym equipment. 9: Comfortable furnishings invite reading and conversation. 10: First-level floor plans. Photos 1–3 by Farm Kid Studios. Photos 4–7 and 9 by Peter VonDeLinde.
Apartment sizes range from 360-square-foot studios to a more than 1,200-square-foot four bedroom. All units were leased within 16 days of opening in 2024. The renewed sanctuary now serves both the Calvary Lutheran congregation and resident activities.
The new multifamily building was designed to be modest in form and expression, respecting the church’s prominence and the scale of nearby single-family homes. Exterior finishes and accent materials were carefully selected to complement the church’s colors, textures, and detailing, creating visual harmony between the historic and the new while distinguishing one from the other.
“Adaptive reuse is one of the most sustainable ways to protect what matters and provide space for what’s needed,” says UrbanWorks Architecture partner David Miller, AIA. “The client, community, and many partners were essential in shaping Belfry into a mixed-use campus—strengthening daily life for residents and establishing a lasting resource for the future.”
Funding for the $22 million project came from multiple sources, including the Hennepin County Housing and Redevelopment Authority, Minneapolis Affordable Housing Trust Fund, American Rescue Plan Act, Low-Income Housing Tax Credit, and Minneapolis Public Housing Authority. Ongoing resident support is provided by the Hennepin County Housing Support Program and Simpson Housing Services.
The Affordable Housing Design Award was established by the American Institute of Architects Minnesota (the publisher of ENTER) and the McKnight Foundation in 2012 to recognize innovative, high-quality design for affordable housing. The 2025 jury included Catherine Baker, FAIA (Nowhere Collaborative, Chicago), Fiona Mathew, AIA (Shapiro & Company Architects, Dallas), and Wendi Shafran, AIA (FXCollaborative, New York). The jurors traveled to Minneapolis to evaluate the entries and announce their selection at an award celebration at the The Depot Minneapolis.
Belfry Apartments and Mixed Use also received a 2025 Minneapolis Preservation Award for the renovation of Calvary Lutheran Church and a 2025 AIA Minneapolis Merit Award.
The Belfry project team included Trellis, UrbanWorks Architecture, Frana Companies, BKBM Engineers, Design Tree, Damon Farber Landscape Architects, and Hess Roise.
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