A total of 254 new affordable rental and ownership housing units will be built, and 48 existing units will be rehabilitated and preserved with the support of $2.5 million in grants from the Metropolitan Council.
In December, the Council awarded Livable Communities funding to preserve and expand the supply of affordable housing in the seven-county Twin Cities area. The housing units will be affordable to households earning 80% or less of area median income (currently $75,500 for a family of four).
The Council grants are part of a multi-agency allocation of funding for affordable housing. The awarded projects will also receive about $33.1 million in other public investment and $34.1 million in private investment.
“Safe, sanitary housing is the foundation of stable, vibrant communities, and this region has a critical shortage of housing affordable to working families with lower incomes,” said Molly Cummings, interim Council chair. “Our partnership with Minnesota Housing Finance Agency, the Greater Minnesota Housing Fund, local governments, and other funders is making a real, positive difference for families and for the prosperity of the region.”
The Met Council’s most recent report on affordable housing production (PDF) in the region found that from 2011 to 2017, about 9,000 new affordable units were added to the region’s housing stock. That is far below the estimated 52,570 new affordable units needed between 2011 and 2020 to keep pace with household growth.
Projects awarded funding in December 2019 are summarized below.
Multifamily rental units serve people experiencing homelessness, people with disabilities
Bloom Lake Flats, Minneapolis: $350,000 towards construction of a 42-unit supportive housing development for people living with HIV/AIDS, with 21 of the units targeted for homeless adults. Twenty-eight units are for households earning 30% of area median income or less and 14 units for households earning less than 50% of area median income.
American House Recapitalization, Saint Paul: $335,000 towards rehabilitation and preservation of 69 single-room-occupancy units. The units provide housing for homes people and people with disabilities earning 30% of area median income or less.
4100 Apartments, Edina: $500,000 for construction of 70 new mixed-income units for people experiencing homelessness and for people with disabilities. All units will be affordable for households earning 60% of area median income or less.
Element, Plymouth: $500,000 toward construction of 58 new mixed-income units to serve single people, families, people with disabilities, and people experiencing homelessness. All units will be affordable to households earning 60% of area median income or less.
Prairie Estates, Inver Grove Heights: $350,000 for renovation and preservation of 100% project-based Section 8 development at risk of less due to market conversion. The 40 units — which include 14 two-bedroom units, 22 three-bedroom units, and 4 four-bedroom units — are rented to households that earn 80% of area median income or less.
Single-family units expand land trust holdings and long-term affordability
Build Wealth MN, Near North, Minneapolis: $20,000 toward the redevelopment of two city-owned vacant lots for ownership housing for large families. The funding will help provide down-payment assistance to immigrant communities that need to have non-interest-bearing financing products.
Carver County Community Land Trust Expansion focused on Chaska, Watertown, and Waconia: $20,000 to assist in the acquisition, rehabilitation, and resale of eight single-family, detached homes to increase the affordable housing stock available through the land trust. The homes will be affordable to households earning 80% of area median income.
Two Rivers Community Land Trust, Own Sweet Home, focused on Forest Lake, Cottage Grove, Woodbury, and Oakdale: $20,000 to help acquire, rehabilitate, and resell four single-family homes in Washington County to increase the affordable housing stock through the land trust. The homes will be affordable to households earning 65% of area median income.
Oakdale Avenue Project Phase 2, Saint Paul: $120,000 towards construction of six new three-bedroom townhomes affordable to households earning 80% of area median income.
Shoreview/Rondo Community Land Trust Townhomes, Shoreview: $55,000 to help fund seven new three-bedroom townhome units available through the land trust. The units will be affordable to households earning 51% to 115% of area median income.
Homes Within Reach, Minnetonka: $120,000 to assist the West Hennepin Affordable Land Trust to acquire, rehabilitate, and resell 10 single-family townhomes in western suburban Hennepin County. All units will be affordable to households earning 80% of area median income.
More about Livable Communities affordable housing grants