Photos by Brandon Stengel, Farm Kid Studios.

MINNEAPOLIS, October 1, 2025—The Belfry Apartments and Mixed Use in Minneapolis, designed by UrbanWorks Architecture, LLC for Trellis Company, is the 2025 recipient of the Affordable Housing Design Award.

Established by the American Institute of Architects Minnesota and the McKnight Foundation, the award was established is to recognize and encourage innovative, high-quality design for affordable housing.

The UrbanWorks project team included Devon Lundy, AIA, Mary Barnett, David Miller, AIA, interior designers Sarah Doherty and Sarah Davis, David Haaland, AIA, and Rick Wessling, AIA. Project consultants include Hess Roise, historic preservation; Frana Companies, general contractor; BKBM Engineers, civil and structural engineering; Damon Farber Landscape Architects; and Design Tree, MEP engineering.

Belfry Apartments and Mixed Use delivers 41 deeply affordable homes for households earning at or below 30% area median income just one block from George Floyd Square in South Minneapolis. The project combines housing, community, and worship functions across three components: a restored church sanctuary for community gatherings and religious services, a rehabilitated office and education wing that was transformed into housing units, and a new residential building. In partnership with Simpson Housing Services and the Minneapolis Public Housing Authority, all units remain deeply affordable, including 15 reserved for residents exiting homelessness or living with disabilities.

The jurors noted that the project represents a significant neighborhood reinvestment, as well as both preservation and reinvigoration of an important community asset. They noted the high-quality design of deeply affordable housing that blends seamlessly into the context and welcomes community into its space. 

Jurors were instructed to evaluate award submissions using the following criteria:

  • How creatively and successfully has the project responded to the needs of the client and the population served? How responsive is the project to demographic shifts and regional housing needs for affordable housing?
  • Community connection. Was the project developed through a strong, collaborative project team? Did it show participation from the larger public, including neighbors, future users of the building, or citizens at large?
  • Long-term asset. Did the project provide a long-term asset to the client, occupants, and the community? How did design contribute to the project’s long-term financial and social viability? Did design choices support community interaction and enhance community networks?
  • Excellent design quality. Did the project demonstrate exceptional design quality—responsive to physical and social contexts as well as to any constraints imposed by funding and regulatory agencies?

Jurors gave extra consideration to projects with deep affordability, and to those that demonstrated high performance in the AIA Framework for Design Excellence principles.

The 2025 Affordable Housing Design Awards jury included Catherine Baker, FAIA, nowhere collaborative, Chicago; Fiona Mathew, AIA, Shapiro & Company Architects, Dallas; and Wendi Shafran, AIA, FX Collaborative, New York. 

Award recipients will be featured throughout the year and be recognized at the annual 2025 AIA Minnesota Awards Celebration on November 3.

Learn more about the Affordable Housing Design Award »

The American Institute of Architects Minnesota, founded in 1892, is dedicated to advancing a vital profession, vibrant communities, and architecture that endures. For more information on the organization and Minnesota architectural firms, visit our website and subscribe to ENTER, our digital monthly newsletter that explores the people and ideas shaping a better built environment for Minnesota.