by Erin Johnson
Thisweek Newspapers

It has been almost four years since Eagan approved Gift of Mary Children's Home, a 200-bed orphanage proposed by Mary Jo Copeland, yet not so much as a building permit has been completed.

Copeland already owns the land, about 37 acres between Highway 55 and Lone Oak Road near the Inver Grove Heights border, and she has the city's approval.

What she doesn't have is enough money to fund the project.

Copeland said she is still having trouble raising money for the facility, which is estimated to cost around $35 million.

"I have $10 million, and I need another $25 million,î she said, which is the same amount she needed to raise a year ago.

Copeland will also need to continue to generate funding to operate the facility.

Gift of Mary Children's Home is planned as a privately-run group home, set up as 20 individual townhomes. Each townhome will accommodate up to 10 children, a married teaching couple and a family assistant to live with the children around the clock.

Plans also include a community center that would house a K-12 private school, a teen center, recreational facilities, a chapel and a gymnasium.

The next 18 months are important ones for the controversial project, which was rejected by several cities before being approved by Eagan in 2002.

A $5 million pledge offered by Best Buy founder Richard Schulze could expire at the end of the year if Copeland can't raise $2.5 million in matching grants.

And next year, the city could have the opportunity to reverse its approval of the project if construction has not begun.

According to the city, preliminary planned developments are valid for five years from the time they are approved.

Gift of Mary's preliminary planned development is set to expire in June 2007, at which point the city can take action to terminate its approval of the project.

If the city does not choose to terminate the project, it can still go forward.

Although other projects in the city have expired, Eagan Senior Planner Mike Ridley said he could not recall the city ever actually terminating one.

But the makeup of the City Council will be different in 2007, and the proposed orphanage has stirred controversy from the start.

Copeland has found support for the project from some political heavy-hitters, including Gov. Tim Pawlenty, while many child advocate groups have spoken out against it.

Groups such as the North American Council on Adoptable Children, based in St.?Paul, and the National Coalition for Child Protection Reform claim that institutionalizing children has proven detrimental in the long run.

But Copeland disagrees.

"It's a needed thing. The children need to have a place,î she said. "But it's not up to me, it's up to God. The need is certainly out there.î

Copeland had hoped to open the doors to Gift of Mary in 2004, but said she is still hopeful that she will raise the money and the project will go forward.

"I'm just going to wait and pray that God wants it, too,î she said. "His time is not always our time.î
The city of Eagan, meanwhile, has completed utility and frontage road improvements to the project area, which the Copelands petitioned for. The City Council postponed the completion of a water main extension in 2004 in light of Copeland's funding troubles.

Erin Johnson is at eagan.thisweek@ecm-inc.com.

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