I don’t fall in love with buildings, I fall in love with solutions. The solution for a vacant county jail is hard to see: the tiny cells are the actual structural system, the building is full of lead paint, and there’s no obvious reuse for an obsolete jail – but the historic building overlooks Lake Superior in a neighborhood that needs workforce housing. In 14 months, I worked with my partner Jon Commers, to close a $4 million gap, re-engineer the housing design solution to work for the building and the budget, gather public funding support, and close on 12 different funding sources. Leijona now provides 33 units of mixed-income housing in Downtown Duluth.