An Eagan neighborhood aimed at combating homelessness within Minnesota’s veteran community has officially welcomed its first residents as key organizers announced the completion of the $6 million enclave last week.
Veteran Village includes 22 homes for up to 36 veterans and their families who are experiencing homelessness. The homes sit on about 6 acres on the 3900 block of Rahn Road. It’s the latest effort to help veterans needing assistance securing permanent housing, led by local partners Housing First Minnesota Foundation, Lennar and the Lennar Foundation, Minnesota Assistance Council for Veterans and Mount Calvary Lutheran Church.
“When our nation called, they were the ones who answered,” said Doug Hurd, a member of the Mount Calvary Lutheran Church Council, at Wednesday’s opening celebration.
Now is the time for the community to answer the call, Hurd said.
“When our pastor approached the congregation about this opportunity, I told the other members immediately that I wanted to be involved,” said Hurd, himself a 22-year veteran of the U.S. Army. “I feel very passionate about veterans’ issues.”
The Veteran Village in Eagan is the only multi-unit housing community built specifically to support veterans experiencing or at risk of homelessness in Minnesota. Pictured are the hundreds of partners who contributed to the effort, which officially opened Wednesday, Dec. 3, 2025. (Elliot Mann / Special to the Pioneer Press)
The Veteran Village includes a mix of one-bedroom units, one-bedroom units with a garage and three-bedroom units for families spread across six buildings.
Opening the Village caps off a more than two-year effort, including purchasing land from Mount Calvary Lutheran Church, receiving approvals from the city of Eagan and developing blueprints for the eventual neighborhood. Housing First and the Minnesota Assistance Council for Veterans began partnering in 2017 with the construction of their first single-family home for members who had served in the Armed Forces.
The Veteran Village is the only multi-unit housing community explicitly built to support veterans experiencing or at risk of homelessness in Minnesota.
Talking to the assembled crowd on Wednesday morning, shivering in 15 degree temperatures, Minnesota Assistance Council for Veterans President Neal Loidolt thanked those in attendance. He also reminded the group that many local veterans would not have a warm place to go that night.
There are currently 196 veterans in Minnesota without a place to stay, according to the state’s Homeless Veteran Registry Dashboard.
Thanks to the Veteran Village, several families will have shelter, Loidolt said.
The Veteran Village in Eagan includes 22 townhomes, a mix of one-bedroom units, one-bedroom units with a garage, and three-bedroom units for families, spread across six buildings. It opened Wednesday, Dec. 3, 2025 to provide stable housing for up to 36 veterans and their families. (Elliot Mann / Special to the Pioneer Press)
While the need will always exist, much like the emergency department in a hospital, Loidolt said, the key is to outpace the rate of names being added to that dashboard. The neighborhood not only provides housing, but also connections to case management, creating a vital component in the work against homelessness.
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Housing First Minnesota Foundation Executive Director Sofia Humphries credited the other partners in their shared vision in bringing the project forward.
“What makes this project so powerful is its impact and the collaboration behind it,” Humphries said. “Builders, trades, suppliers, nonprofit partners, funders and volunteers all worked side by side to bring this vision to life. No one group could have accomplished this alone. But together, we created something transformative, something generational, changing lives for years to come.”
Since 2017, the partnership between Housing First Minnesota Foundation, Lennar and MACV has led to nearly 44,000 square feet of veteran-focused housing across Minnesota.
If you are a veteran in need of assistance, call MACV toll-free at 833-222-6228.
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