About

The Eva Sophia Project was inspired by two young adult women - Eva and Sophia - who met in the fifth grade and have grown closer every year since, sharing their mutual love for hiking, kayaking, photography, Special Olympics, and being their best selves together. They also share a developmental disability and a desire to live in a safe, supportive neighborhood they can call their own with other adults with and without developmental disabilities.

We invite you to learn more about The Coves, our mixed-use planned residential community for adults like Eva and Sophia in Waconia, Minnesota. 

The market need that the Eva Sophia Project and its community is addressing is substantial and increasing. There are far more adult residents of Minnesota with IDD than there are safe, supportive, and affordable residential settings designed to accommodate their needs and wants through their lifespans. 

There were 132,216 people with IDD in the State of Minnesota, according to the Long-Term Supports and Services for Individuals with Intellectual or Developmental Disabilities: Status and Trends Through Fiscal Year 2019 report published December 2022 by the Residential Information Systems Project (RISP) of the University of Minnesota. Of that total, 34,262 were 18 years of age or older. Sixty-four percent live with a family caregiver. Only 10.3% live in a home of their own.

A concerning 24 percent of adults with IDD in Minnesota are being supported by caregivers age 60 and older as of fiscal year 2019, according to the State of the States in Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities report produced by the Kansas University Center on Developmental Disabilities. This particular demographic can be considered at-risk due to the fact the caregivers may soon need caregiving for themselves.