urbanMSP

Rep. Ellison is proposing legislation to help give residents in mobile home parks help against the land underneath them being sold off.

http://www.startribune.com/rep-keith-el ... 435734343/

Advocated say affordable is vanishing and could “go extinct” in six years.

[Paywalled] https://finance-commerce.com/2018/03/pa ... in-cities/

Edina is seeking an Affordable Housing Development Manager:

https://www.governmentjobs.com/careers/ ... nitiesJobs

Renters displaced from affordable apartments in Richfield now being forced out again in Bloomington.

http://www.startribune.com/once-displac ... 482953701/

Came here to post that myself. It's a good example of why just building luxury apartments and letting other apartments become affordable due to age/quality doesn't work, because those apartments will just end up getting upgraded or replaced.

It's almost as if their isn't much housing variety in Richfield and Bloomington in general.

An update on Minneapolis’ program of enrolling landlords into giving property tax breaks in exchange for holding rents as affordable.

http://www.startribune.com/minneapolis- ... 493517921/

St. Paul positively lauded for coming up with a local response to affordable housing shortages.

https://www.frontporchrepublic.com/2018 ... t-locally/

The entire short post comes at this from advocating preferences of local particular solutions to distantly decided Federal answers.

In Rochester, Freddie Mac is trying a new template for financing affordable housing construction that does not use low-income housing tax credits (LIHTC):

https://finance-commerce.com/2019/01/ro ... ding-tool/

Hennepin county revealed their plan to house its poorest residents. [unlocked]

https://finance-commerce.com/2019/05/he ... ouseholds/

$375M
Over 10 years
For 1000 units

I guess it’s ambitious compared to our history. But taking 10 years to make 1000 units for this population feels . I wish the well-housed policy makers could feel the urgency that this disadvantaged group lives.

Employers who think they are getting free lunch by pinching pennies on pay will no doubt complain loudly about the additional tax burden.

Man, at $375,000 per unit of affordable housing built, it sure seems like we could just buy up a bunch of NOAH and hold prices at an affordable level.

That comes with ongoing maintenance and replacement costs, though. And to me there's a moral question as to whether publicly-owned housing can appropriately be kept substandard (which is why some of that NOAH is affordable).

That comes with ongoing maintenance and replacement costs, though. And to me there's a moral question as to whether publicly-owned housing can appropriately be kept substandard (which is why some of that NOAH is affordable).

That's true. I wasn't factoring in some of those costs over 10 years.

Certainly some NOAH is affordable because it's substandard. But plenty of it is just...older. That's entirely part of the YIMBY filtering argument. But even when it's substandard, I wonder if it's actually any more expensive to buy and then renovate. It's not necessarily going to work for the most vulnerable populations who need ongoing service, but there's probably a spot for targeted purchases of multifamily buildings to ensure they remain affordable to their residents.

Then you have to think about how it would happen. A landlord that's happy with what he's making isn't going to sell, so you're either condemning problem properties (back to substandard) or you've got a landlord who wants to sell and you may be competing against redevelopment that will be more profitable.

Interesting to think about though.

It's obviously not a simple solution where you can just throw money at NOAH and problem solved. Public housing is absolutely part of the solution, and I hope Hennepin County will contribute more.

On the topic of substandard NOAH: I have to imagine that there's a way to pencil out buying properties that need some love and fixing them up that's cheaper than acquiring properties, bulldozing them, and rebuilding something in its place. (It might not if it costs less to build housing for people who don't need ongoing services in the first place but rather just need a home).

Man, at $375,000 per unit of affordable housing built, it sure seems like we could just buy up a bunch of NOAH and hold prices at an affordable level.

CommonBond (a nonprofit focused on affordable housing) bought an apartment complex in Apple Valley for $16M three years ago. At 112 units, it came to $142,857 per unit. I know real estate is a bit more expensive now, and it is cheaper to do this in Dakota County compared to Hennepin, but that's still a huge difference. And this was a complex built in 2000, with 1-3 bedrooms, so this wasn't particularly old and the units weren't small, either.

4d initiative has some success.

https://finance-commerce.com/2019/06/mi ... incentive/

Biz Journals on Minnesota development happening in designated opportunity zones.

https://www.bizjournals.com/twincities/ ... -twin.html

Interview with a retired building.

https://finance-commerce.com/2019/07/qa ... challenge/