In September, Alliance was thrilled to have its first Title Sponsor for the annual MPLS Homes breakfast, and even more excited that a partner as steadfast and dedicated as Flannery Construction was willing to fill this role.
We sat down with Jamey Flannery, the President and second-generation owner of Flannery Construction, to learn more about their work and why they choose to support Alliance.
A woman owned and led business Flannery focuses on multifamily and commercial projects with complex funding sources – exactly the kind of projects Alliance develops. Flannery recently completed work as the general contractor at our newest building, Kyle Garden Square in the Elliot Park Neighborhood.
Jamey Flannery describes the company’s work as values driven, both in the projects they choose to take on and who they hire and partner with (45% of their office and 25% of the entire staff are women and/or people of color). Flannery prefers challenging projects both from a construction and financing perspective. They love working through the “alphabet soup of people involved” and persevering through complexity to get to the point where “construction is the easy part.” All of this meant that Kyle Garden Square was right up their alley. Flannery is thrilled to have repurposed the century-old commercial building in downtown Minneapolis into housing.
Flannery is especially drawn to projects like Kyle Garden Square because the housing is for neighbors who might be dealing with “mental health issues, addiction, long-term homelessness and a smattering of other complexities and challenges.” Jamey says, “home is what makes it all possible. Having a consistent, stable, safe place to lay your head at night and get that sleep…that’s your launching point. To be able to move from survival mode to potentially having some capacity for curiosity. Capacity for growth…I feel proud to be able to contribute to that.” Flannery is currently building another similar complex housing development for an Alliance partner organization.
This pride in being able to “contribute to a greater community good” also drives Flannery to support Alliance outside construction as well. When asked why Flannery is such a steady, long-time supporter, Jamey says it’s because “Alliance chooses to say ‘yes’ when many others say ‘no’.” She goes on to explain this choice to say ‘yes’ goes for renting to residents with difficult rental histories and backgrounds as well as taking on complex projects that require more effort or face community pushback. These facts mean “it feels easy to say ‘yes’ to supporting Alliance.”
We at Alliance are equally proud to partner with a company like Flannery Construction and to have earned their ongoing support. We hope to continue working together to say ‘yes’ for many years to come!
