The Williams Exterior
Saint Paul, Minnesota

The Williams

Reactivating a challenging urban site with a model for equitable community development 

The Williams is a new multi-family development that combines 60 units of affordable housing with vital community-serving amenities. It advances Project for Pride in Living’s (PPL) mission to build hope, assets, and self-reliance for individuals and families with lower incomes by providing stability, opportunity, and community for its residents.

The design elevates affordable housing by making it aesthetically and functionally indistinguishable from contemporary market-rate developments—incorporating features such as in-unit laundry, multiple community rooms, a dedicated study space, a fitness center, and landscaped play areas. 

With unit sizes ranging up to five bedrooms, the project is intentionally designed to support multigenerational living, accommodate large family gatherings, and provide each resident with the dignity of personal space and self-expression.

  • Client: Project for Pride in Living

  • Size: 176,500 Square Feet

  • Scope:

    New Construction

  • Services:

    Architecture
    Master Planning

  • Key Project Contacts:

    Natina James

The Williams Amenity Space

 

 

Density and Dignity

Positioned at a transitional edge between a bustling commercial corridor and a quiet single-family neighborhood, PPL envisioned The Williams as a development that could balance density with dignity while also supporting revitalization and community growth. The resulting design concept achieves this balance by creating a form that responds to both commercial and residential contexts. Massing is concentrated along the East 7th Street corridor, while landscaped buffers soften the transition to adjacent single-family homes, creating both a strong urban presence and a welcoming neighborhood edge.

The Williams Mural
The building is named in honor of Paul Williams, the former CEO of PPL, and the Williams Family, whose legacy of service and leadership has had a profound impact on Saint Paul, and specifically the city’s East Side neighborhood.
The Williams Amenity Space
Through collaborative design workshops and visioning sessions, Cuningham and PPL defined what transformative housing meant for the project’s unique East Side St. Paul context: spaces that nurture identity, create social connection, and foster a sense of ownership.

Sustainable Transformation

Formerly an industrial site contaminated with petroleum and other materials, the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development awarded the City of Saint Paul cleanup funding to remediate the 2.2-acre parcel, enabling its transformation. Cuningham’s design further advances this spirit of sustainability through durable, low-maintenance materials and efficient systems that conserve resources and reduce long-term operating costs—including rainwater retention for the 98th percentile storm and reductions in water (35%) and energy (20%) usage. As a result, The Williams is on track to achieve LEED Gold certification.