Aeon Receives National Terwilliger Center Award

MINNEAPOLIS (October 26, 2022) – Aeon, a nonprofit developer, owner and manager of affordable homes, is pleased to announce their receipt of the inaugural Terwilliger Center Award for Innovation in Attainable Housing, presented by the Urban Land Institute.

The award, for Aeon’s work at their Blooming Meadows North and Blooming Meadows South properties, recognizes unique yet replicable developments that create or preserve deeper affordability.

After acquiring Blooming Meadows South in 2019, Aeon worked to preserve the existing 306 apartments, which serve mixed-income residents. The construction of Blooming Meadows North on the adjacent land resulted in an additional 172 new apartments, including three- and four-bedroom apartments to serve larger families.

As recipient of the Terwilliger Center’s first Innovation in Attainable Housing award, Aeon is “…Leading the charge in addressing the growing home attainability challenges plaguing cities and households nationwide,” said Christopher Ptomey, Executive Director of the ULI Terwilliger Center for Housing.

Aeon President & CEO, Dr. Eric Anthony Johnson, was an integral part of this project from the very beginning. Before joining Aeon in February 2022, he supported Aeon’s acquisition of Blooming Meadows South while serving as Community Development Director at the City of Bloomington. Dr. Johnson led the creation of the City’s opportunity housing ordinance and a $15 million affordable housing trust fund. The fund’s first investment was in Blooming Meadows South.

Aeon has also received recognition for its innovations in sustainable construction and historic preservation. In 2016 they received the Jack Kemp Excellence in Affordable and Workforce Housing Award for their South Quarter IV development. They are honored to have received both these awards from the Urban Land Institute.