Somali Community Resettlement Services bought the Gale Mansion for $2.6 million in 2022, but a lender has scheduled a December sheriff’s sale.
MINNEAPOLIS, MN — A historic Minneapolis mansion purchased for $2.6 million by Somali Community Resettlement Services four years ago is headed toward foreclosure, according to a mortgage foreclosure notice that also covers a second property owned by the nonprofit in New Hope.
Stearns Bank National Association says Somali Community Resettlement Services of Olmsted County defaulted on a mortgage dated March 29, 2024. The mortgage covers the Gale Mansion at 2115 Stevens Ave. in Minneapolis and a commercial property at 7300 42nd Ave. N. in New Hope. The foreclosure notice schedules both properties for a sheriff’s sale at 11 a.m. Dec. 18 at the Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office in Minneapolis.
The foreclosure threatens the nonprofit’s ownership of one of Minneapolis’ distinctive historic properties. Somali Community Resettlement Services bought the 24,245-square-foot Gale Mansion in October 2022 for a reported $2.6 million. Before the sale, the American Association of University Women had owned the building for 75 years and operated it as an event venue. The organization had purchased the property in 1947 for $50,000.
The mansion stands in the Washburn-Fair Oaks Historic District, an area south of downtown known for large homes built during Minneapolis’ late 19th- and early 20th-century expansion. The district was locally designated in 1976, and a portion was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1977. The nonprofit has listed the Gale Mansion as its main Minneapolis office.
The pending foreclosure comes after a sharp change in the nonprofit’s finances during the past several years. Records from the Minnesota attorney general’s charity database show the organization reported $668,953 in revenue for 2025, including $668,927 in government grants. It reported $634,575 in expenses, nearly $3 million in assets and about $2.69 million in liabilities at the end of that year. The attorney general’s database continues to list the organization as an active charity.
Those figures are substantially different from the nonprofit’s financial picture around the time it bought the mansion. Somali Community Resettlement Services reported nearly $3 million in revenue for 2022, including about $2.2 million in government grants. Earlier records cited by the Minnesota Reformer show revenue had climbed from less than $500,000 in 2019 to about $1.2 million in 2020 and $4.1 million in 2021.
Somali Community Resettlement Services says it was created to help Somali refugees and other immigrants establish themselves in Minnesota. Its website lists programs involving employment, health, refugee resettlement, food distribution, translation and other services. The organization says its mission is to help immigrants and refugees become economically independent and integrate into the broader community.
The second property covered by the foreclosure is a former funeral home in New Hope. A 2025 economic development report from the city says Somali Community Resettlement Services bought the building in March 2024 with plans to convert it into a grocery store, deli and adult day care. The New Hope City Council approved a site plan and conditional-use permit connected with the project.
The organization also came under scrutiny in 2024 because of its role as a sponsor of food distribution sites connected to the Feeding Our Future investigation. Federal prosecutors presented evidence that Somali Community Resettlement Services sponsored sites that received millions of dollars in federal child nutrition reimbursements. The Minnesota Reformer reported that prosecutors said the nonprofit retained nearly $1.1 million after paying operators of the sites. Somali Community Resettlement Services and its leaders were not charged with a crime in connection with that evidence.
That scrutiny also reached the Minnesota Legislature. In April 2024, then-Rep. Hodan Hassan withdrew legislation that could have directed millions of dollars in state grants to Somali Community Resettlement Services. One proposal sought $5 million for a mixed-use housing and commercial development in Minneapolis. The withdrawal came as evidence related to the nonprofit’s food distribution sites emerged during the Feeding Our Future prosecution.
The foreclosure notice itself does not accuse the nonprofit of fraud or connect the mortgage default to the Feeding Our Future case. It states that a default occurred under the mortgage and that the lender has met the legal requirements to proceed with a foreclosure sale. The publicly available copy of the notice reviewed for this report did not display the amount currently due on the mortgage.
Under the notice, the Gale Mansion and New Hope property are scheduled to be sold together through the foreclosure process on Dec. 18 unless the mortgage is reinstated or the sale is otherwise stopped. The notice provides a six-month redemption period after the sale. If the properties are sold and not redeemed, the stated deadline to vacate is June 18, 2027.
Author note: Last updated November 5, 2026.