Livable Communities FAQ

Find answers to general LCA program questions on this page. Program-specific questions are answered on the individual project pages:

Participating cities, counties, or development organizations like a Housing and Redevelopment Authority (HRA) or Economic Development Authority (EDA). Applications must come from the government partner. If you have a question about eligibility or are interested in becoming an LCA participant city or township please contact [email protected]

The applicant is the government organization (participating city, county, or development organization) that submits the application. Because all LCA grants go to a government organization instead of the developer, the grantee is the same organization that submits the application. When we talk about the project team we mean everyone else involved in the application like the developer or consultants.

In LHIA, developers can apply directly, but if awarded the government partner must agree to accept the grant and& then sub-allocate it to the developer. For all other programs, applications need to come from the government partner. Developers and the rest of the project team are encouraged to actively participate in filling out the application and talking with LCA staff about any questions.

To be eligible to apply to LCA programs, the city where the project is located needs to participate in the Local Housing Incentives program and adopt affordable and lifecycle housing goals.

Your city council will need to adopt affordable and lifecycle housing goals. Reach out to Hilary Lovelace at [email protected] with any questions about this process.

Applications for all programs except LHIA are submitted through WebGrants, an online grant portal. See the section on WebGrants on the Apply for LCA Grants tab for more information on registering and applying through WebGrants. LHIA applications go through Minnesota Housing’s Consolidated Request for Proposals.

Applications are entered by the city; if you are a developer, make sure your city staff LCA representative adds you to the application process.

Yes, many projects get funding from multiple LCA grant programs. The only exception is LCDA and TOD; applicants should choose either LCDA OR TOD in a single grant cycle. Talk with a program officer if you are interested in applying to multiple LCA grants.

  • Applicants can re-submit projects that have already been awarded funding, but projects that have never been awarded funding will be prioritized in that round. If you have already been awarded, you must have either spent down your awarded funds or have gone past your grant term and any possible extensions.
  • Separate phases of a project with different outcomes (housing units, jobs, etc.) are new projects and will not be considered a re-application.
  • If you project has changed significantly since the last time you were awarded funding, we will talk with you about whether or not it will be considered a re-application or a new project.

Housing is counted as affordable if it is at 60% AMI and has restrictions in place to keep the units affordable for at least 15 years. Affordability limits can be found here.

Each program is managed by a program officer. Reach out to the program officer for the program you are interested in to ask any questions. If you are not sure which program is the best fit or if you have a general question, any of the program officers can help get you to the right contact.

Yes! The LCA resource library has links to a list of resources that can help your project team include LCA and Thrive goals in your project.

The LCA grants administrator will get in touch with you shortly after awards are finalized to create a grant agreement. This agreement will outline our requested activities and timelines for requesting funds. LCA grants are reimbursements, so the applicant (government organization) will get reimbursed after the activity is completed and a disbursement request has been submitted. If you have more questions about this process, reach out to Samuel Johnson at [email protected]. More information about grants administration is available on the Grants Administration page.

Because the grant application must come from the government partner, the funds are awarded directly to the government organization. The government partner staff will work with the development team on how to disburse the funds.