Even before its early September opening, potential tenants were showing interest in a co-living building in St. Paul inspired by Catholic social teaching principles.
The duplex in St. Paul’s West Seventh neighborhood, just a couple blocks away from Shepard Road and the Mississippi River, is called the Little Mod. It includes 12 bedroom and bathroom suites (six per duplex unit) plus common areas, such as a shared kitchen, breakout spaces and outdoor space.
The company behind the project is GRO Development, founded in 2022 by cousins Alex Zikmund, 32, and a parishioner of Holy Cross in Northeast Minneapolis, and Jacob Zikmund, 36, and a parishioner of St. Joseph in West St. Paul. Together, the two lead and oversee design, construction, leasing and property management through the private, for-profit company.
“We wanted to build our own projects,” Alex said. “Basically, we wanted to be the owner and the client and design and build and manage them.” To them, the company represents “community, affordability and sustainable quality,” Alex said.
The Little Mod is the first project in GRO Development’s portfolio. “We have designed, owned and operated residential properties before, but this is the first project that we have self-developed to then design, build, own and operate,” Alex said.
“What we’re trying to do is different because we’re intentionally building co-living from the ground up … intentionally building these spaces to handle the people that are actually sharing them, and doing that from the beginning,” Alex said.
A sustainable design
Construction on the Little Mod began in the summer of 2024. Alex said more than 100 people and roughly 50 suppliers and contractors, most of them locally based, were involved in the Little Mod project.
The duplex is on a 40-by-150-foot plot of land that has 20 feet of grade change in two directions, Jacob explained.
“We had to get a (building permit) variance because it was deemed an unbuildable lot because it was in the Mississippi River Corridor district,” a protected area along the Mississippi River, Jacob said. They had to design a building with minimal environmental impact. As an example, for proper drainage to avoid potential erosion from unintended water runoff, they designed an integrated gutter that collects water, then sheds it into two rain gardens on site.
Jacob’s Finnish background helped to inspire the building’s Nordic aesthetics — prioritizing simplicity, utility and natural materials. Large windows were installed for expansive views; the exterior features wood siding and corrugated metal and the interior features wood floors and accents; a neutral color palette is used throughout.
Only a few interior and exterior materials were used, Jacob said, which “actually helps us, too, with our budget.”
The duplex is also an exercise in sustainability; its south-facing orientation allows natural light to filter in and creates passive solar heating. Solar panels have also been installed on the roof. Seeking a Zero Energy certification, Jacob said decisions were made to construct a building that produces more energy annually than it consumes.
“This building will make more energy than it uses,” Jacob said. “It’s all electric, there’s no gas. We’re really trying to make a living, breathing thing that will last for a very long time and provide value to the community.”
The tenants of each duplex unit have unique code access via a keypad to their front door. Each tenant has unique access via a keypad to their individual suite.
Each suite consists of a partially furnished bedroom, bathroom and walk-in closet. That individual space is 200 square feet, Alex said. Then, there is roughly 1,000 square feet of partially furnished common space in each duplex unit. Currently, rent is $850 per month; this is the flat cost regardless of occupancy rates, Alex said. “So, you’re now getting (roughly) 1,300 square feet for $850,” Alex said. For comparison, Alex said, “an average studio around here (in St. Paul) is like 430 square feet, and that’s anywhere from $1,300 to $1,800.”
A lease term is 12 months. Leases are available for those making a maximum of $55,620 per year. A fixed $75 utility charge for each tenant covers electricity, heat, air conditioning, water, sewer, garbage, recycling and internet costs as well as a shared Netflix subscription for the shared TV in each duplex unit’s living room. A shared washer and dryer set is in each duplex unit.
Five exterior cameras are on site for additional security and there are parking spots for two HOURCAR vehicles, which tenants and neighbors can rent, Alex said.
LITTLE MOD DEVELOPMENT
Cousins Alex Zikmund and Jacob Zikmund started planning the Little Mod in 2022; the concept went through two years of development.
Alex and Jacob said they received support from both St. Paul and Ramsey County officials after sharing their vision for GRO Development and the Little Mod project. The Ramsey County Community and Economic Development office, “and in particular their housing team … has been really good to work with,” Alex said.
Seeking to address a need for affordable housing and to help bolster a housing supply, Ramsey County launched its Emerging and Diverse Developers (EDD) program in 2023.
Though the county has since updated its definition of an emerging developer, in the program’s inaugural year, an emerging developer was defined as “an individual or entity that has owned and/or developed no more than five housing properties, including mixed-use (housing with commercial space) in Minnesota in the last 10 years as a sole proprietor or under other business entities.”
Alex said the EDD program is “encouraging;” that “not only does it open the door to new projects, new ways of thinking, new developments, but new developers themselves.”
Alex and Jacob applied to the program and were among 10 developers awarded funding for their projects. The funding the Little Mod project received through Ramsey County Housing and Redevelopment Authority (HRA) levy funding and State Affordable Housing Aid totaled roughly $433,600.
Then in 2024, the Little Mod was awarded $480,000 in funding through Ramsey County’s 2024 Housing Development Solicitation.
“Ramsey County has been a great partner, they’ve really gotten behind both us and the concept of co-living,” Alex said.
Having units available at a certain percentage of the average median income (AMI) as well as maintaining rental affordability for a certain number of years are among the primary requirements the Little Mod follows as part of this funding. For example, all 12 Little Mod duplex units are to be affordable to those making below 60% AMI; two are to be affordable to those making below 30% AMI.
“We do target three times (the cost of) rent for (a tenant’s monthly) income,” Alex explained, adding that “most rental assistance programs will be accepted” at the Little Mod.
More information about the Little Mod can be found online
Those who are interested in the application process can find information online
Living in community
“Who we envisioned” as a tenant for the Little Mod, Alex said, “was a 22- to 32-year-old. These are single people. There’s one person (who) would be on the lease. … (Y)ou’re looking for maybe your own spot, but you’re used to coming from a high social environment, whether that’s school, or at home, or living in community.”
As people began requesting tours, Alex said there was interest from “people (who) aren’t from that demographic but want it (a co-living environment) for the same reasons.”
“(W)hat we’re finding (is) a lot of people aren’t wanting to live in isolation and want to share that (space) with other people,” Alex said.
By mid-October, seven of the 12 suites were being rented. The broad age range of tenants, Alex said, was between 20 and 40 years old. Tenants come from “a variety of educational backgrounds, a variety of work backgrounds,” Alex said, “and that’s been fun to see.”
“Our very first resident (who) moved in was a gentleman, and he had the place to himself,” Alex recalled. “His comment to me as he was moving in was, ‘I feel like a millionaire.'”
In terms of whether the duplex units would be co-ed, Alex said “with (the) Fair Housing (Act), we can’t discriminate based on gender” — “there’s nothing stopping a man or a woman living in whatever side (of the duplex they) pick.”
Alex said, “Our intention, and hope, is to have, with it being a duplex, the men’s side and the women’s side.” Currently, “that’s matched the intention of the residents as well,” Alex said, with four women living in one side of the duplex and three men living in the other.
“We also run a robust background check on all applicants and have a high screening bar given the shared spaces,” Alex said.
Alex and Jacob are also conscious of conflict resolution.
“I think a big part of it is … how do you set people up for success?” Alex said. “That’s designing for an immediate space … for privacy when you want it.
“We also have community guidelines … tenets of ‘be respectful, clean up after yourself,’ just basic expectations that everyone can have going in,” he went on to say.
As the Little Mod nears full occupancy, Alex said the intention will be to gather residents for a meeting that the community manager will facilitate. That meeting will consist of addressing any concerns and ensuring guidelines are being followed, with the potential for meetings to continue, “just to get that community going,” Alex said.
A local investment
Undergirding Alex’s and Jacob’s work are elements of Catholic social teaching, Alex said, including the concepts of subsidiarity, distributism or localism, and care for the environment.
“An overarching goal of GRO is to leave our residents better off than when they came,” Alex said.
A main way to accomplish this, Alex suggested, “is through affordable rents — allowing residents to save up for a down payment, pay off student loans, or maybe just build up a financial cushion.”
Alex and Jacob want to focus on “both beautiful and highly functional” living spaces that “the residents can be proud of,” Alex said.
“This quality not only allows for better living, but for a resilient, long-lasting building … a building that will outlast us and provide a great home for generations,” he said.
Alex and Jacob both live in St. Paul with their families and want to build within their immediate community.
“Jake and I both live in St. Paul, we develop in St. Paul, we’re building in St. Paul,” Alex said. “We want to be involved in every part of the project and maintain the project once it’s complete.”
“I think it matters,” Jacob said about living near the Little Mod site and potential future projects. “Working here, getting to know everyone within (the) West Seventh (neighborhood), seeing the same people, it’s important.”
Having neighbor support is also important to their process. For example, Jacob mentioned the Little Mod’s neighbors have lived in their homes for most of their lives, having purchased the homes from their parents. “Respecting that and working with them on this project has been a really important piece to our success and I hope that kind of carries all of our projects,” Jacob said.
“Our intent is to build one project per year,” Alex said. The reason for this, he said, is rooted in Catholic social teaching principles — “providing a reasonable rate of return to our investors, which is providing a local investment opportunity and a so-called flywheel effect by a local investment producing a local return that hopefully will result in further local investments.”
In terms of what’s ahead, both have their sights set on their next project in the West Seventh neighborhood, a co-living concept containing 36 suites roughly a third of a mile from the Little Mod.
“I’m really excited for the challenge,” Jacob said.
To Alex, it presents an opportunity to “further our goals of affordability, community and sustainability, and continue to bring density to the neighborhood that allows for a more walkable, vibrant, social community at large.”
Alex said there is a hope that ultimately, there will be some shared amenities among GRO Development’s projects and thus, an increase in interactions among members of the different communities.
“I would love to see those layers,” Alex said.
ENTREPRENEURIAL SPIRIT
An entrepreneurial spirit was instilled in cousins Alex Zikmund and Jacob Zikmund as they grew up in North Dakota as part of what Jacob called “a big Catholic family” with agricultural backgrounds.
Jacob recalled helping his mother — a second-generation American after her father came to the United States from Finland — with the nursery greenhouse on the family’s farmland in Minto. His passion for design grew and he attended North Dakota State University (NDSU) in Fargo, ultimately obtaining a master’s degree in architecture. He moved around, to Colorado and back to the Midwest before meeting his now-wife in Duluth; the two settled in St. Paul.
Alex, meanwhile, grew up in Fargo before his family moved to Aberdeen, South Dakota. He returned to attend NDSU; he obtained a civil engineering degree and a master’s degree in business. “(A)fter I graduated with my MBA, I kind of transitioned from civil engineering to more of a real estate field, (and) worked for a family office in La Crosse, Wisconsin, managing a real estate portfolio.” Alex’s wife is a doctor, which meant the couple initially moved around for her residency program. One location was Miami, where Alex said they lived in a co-living building.
When the residency program drew the couple to Minneapolis, Alex and Jacob began talking about their plans for an architecture firm. In 2019, they founded BLOK Studio (formerly Double Jack Design) with a third founder. Three years later, Alex and Jacob co-founded GRO Development.
“I’ve always wanted to work for an architecture company that just didn’t settle for good enough,” Jacob said. “I wanted to do something that could embody just constantly pushing the boundaries to be better.”
