Move will fund 199 units of affordable housing in Minneapolis
Steve Brandt, Star Tribune
March 26, 2002
Four million dollars in Minneapolis city money is headed toward seven projects to create or renovate 199 units of affordable housing.
The long-stalled spending won approval Monday from the governing board of the Minneapolis Neighborhood Revitalization Program (NRP).
The money will leverage $33 million in other government, nonprofit and private money for the projects. The projects also will add 100 units of market-rate housing.
Some NRP board members questioned the per-unit subsidy costs. NRP Director Robert Miller said construction and land costs and the costs of providing deep subsidies to some units drove up costs.
The NRP board released the request for proposals more than one year ago, and proposals were submitted last summer. But the board froze the spending because of tax-law changes that undercut the NRP's funding source, saying it wouldn't release them until the city addressed the program's budget needs. That happened late last fall.
The $4 million is the first of $16 million to be set aside to subsidize housing affordable to low-income people under a revamped Neighborhood Revitalization Program. The subsidized units were required to be affordable to people earning 50 percent or less of the area's median income. That is $38,350 a year for a family of four. Priority was given to proposals for units aimed at people with even lower incomes.
The successful proposals were $1 million to a project by the Jeremiah Program at 1510 Laurel Av.; $624,000 to Volunteers of America for senior housing at 1900 Central Av. SE; $555,000 to the Community Housing Development Corp. for renovation of its Olson Town Home project, 501 Girard Terrace; $515,000 to Sherman Associates for a project at E. 29th St. and Bloornington Av. S.; $490,000 to the Brighton Development Corp. for a project at E. 18th St. and 3rd Av. S.; $400,000 to Central Community Housing Trust for a project at 706 1st Av. N., and $360,000 to the Powderhorn Residents Group for a project at E. 24th St. and Bloornington Av. S.
Steve Brandt can be contacted at
sbrandt@startribune.com or 612-673-4438.
http://www.startribune.com
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