By Rich Larson
The Northfield Union of Youth has purchased the former Northfield Pharmacy building at the corner of 6th and Water streets, a move Executive Director Kelli Podracky said will allow the organization to expand services for young people while keeping its longtime center, The Key, intact.
Podracky announced last week that NUY closed on the property Tuesday after working with longtime owner Rob Anderson, whom she described as generous and “such a joy” to work with. The building, immediately next door to The Key, will become a youth resource center serving people ages 12 to 24.
Plans for the building are already in place. Podracky said Northfield architect Nathan Knutson designed the space and Ironmark will handle construction. The NUY hopes to open the center by May 1.
The new resource center is expected to include a HIPAA-compliant therapy room, allowing the NUY to offer licensed mental health support on site through Rebecca Krug, a licensed marriage and family therapist. It will also include a learning lab for after-school homework help, quiet study space and workforce development programming.
Other features are aimed at meeting basic needs. Podracky said the building will house clothing and hygiene supplies, a stackable washer and dryer, and an ADA-compliant shower — a feature youth leaders especially pushed for because it offers privacy and dignity for young people who need it.
The purchase grew out of a youth-led planning process. Podracky said NUY’s youth board helped write a $160,000 Ideas grant through the St. Paul & Minnesota Foundation. Initially, she said, there was not a lot of enthusiasm among the youth members to write the grant, however one voice among them said there was a responsibility to future members of the NUY to make this happen.
“Aiden Gursky, who is just a phenomenal, incredible human being and youth leader, and man, know that kid’s name for sure,” said Podracky, “talked to the youth board, and he’s like, ‘When we were over on Water Street near Froggy Bottoms, people had the thought to move over, to do better for the next generation, generations to come. This is our opportunity to do the same, not think just about us, but to think about generations to come.’”
The students, then, helped shape the proposal, which first envisioned building upward at The Key. But after leaders determined that adding a second story would be costly and would require tearing down the existing center, they shifted to expanding outward when the pharmacy building became available.
“We joke now that it’s not ‘put a hat on The Key,’ it’s ‘put a coat on The Key,’” Podracky said.
NUY is also inviting community support for the project through donations, volunteer help and “adopting” rooms during the build-out. Podracky said the expansion reflects both youth leadership and Northfield’s ongoing commitment to supporting young people.
Rich Larson is the owner and General manager of KYMN Radio. Contact him at rich@kymnradio.net
