Sponsor: Community & Economic Development
Title
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Obligation of Local Affordable Housing Aid for 2025 Housing Development Projects
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Recommendation
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1. Approve recommended projects and funding amounts up to $11,900,000 for the acquisition, stabilization and preservation of existing affordable housing.
2. Authorize the County Manager to enter into the necessary loan or other agreements and execute amendments to loan or other agreements, in a form approved by the County Attorney’s Office.
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Background and Rationale
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Ramsey County has an urgent and evident need for affordable housing, especially for individuals and families with household incomes less than 30% of the area median income (AMI). According to Ramsey County’s Economic Competitiveness and Inclusion (ECI) Plan, the county has a deficit of 15,000 units affordable to those at 30% AMI or below. The lack of affordable housing supply leads to greater housing instability for residents and exacerbates the county’s ongoing homelessness crisis.
To obligate Local Affordable Housing Aid (LAHA) funds for this use, private, non-profit and governmental developers were encouraged to apply to the competitive 2025 Housing Development Solicitation which was published on April 25, 2025, and responses were due on May 29, 2025. The 2025 Housing Development Solicitation was modeled after Ramsey County’s previous solicitations and the existing process for obligating funding from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). Ramsey County marketed the solicitation on the Ramsey County website, through the Community & Economic Development (CED) newsletter, an in-person community meeting, and direct outreach to partner organizations and municipalities.
A total of 47 eligible applications were received, staff reviewed and scored each application. 17 projects are recommended for awards and will be funded with $11,900,000 of 2025 LAHA funds.
All projects will be funded in a manner consistent with federal and local regulations and requirements in a form approved by Finance and the County Attorney’s Office. A declaration will be recorded against each property’s title that requires rental affordability for 30 years. Affordability will be monitored through an annual compliance review to ensure that property owners are maintaining rental limits.
The following projects are recommended for LAHA funds funding:
Summary of Proposed Distribution of LAHA Funds for 2025 Housing Development Projects
|
Bellaire Apartments Acquisition-Rehab, 612 651 Properties (White Bear Lake) |
$785,000 |
|
Selby Grotto Apartments Preservation, Premier Housing (St. Paul) |
$700,000 |
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McCarron’s View Apartments Preservation, Summit Acquisitions (Roseville) |
$850,000 |
|
232 Aurora Acquisition-Rehab, Thurmond Holdings (St. Paul) |
$340,000 |
|
Magnolia Duplex Rehab, Movement Property (St. Paul) |
$75,000 |
|
Mt. Airy Hi-Rise Rehabilitation, St. Paul Public Housing Agency (St. Paul) |
$1,573,000 |
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Payne Ave Acquisition-Rehab, Bungalow Boss (St. Paul) |
$427,000 |
|
Minnesota Park Rehabilitation, Sand Companies (St. Paul) |
$900,000 |
|
1380 Hewitt Rehabilitation, Shakir Holdings (St. Paul) |
$540,000 |
|
Prosperity Heights Acquisition-Rehab, Goshen LLC (St. Paul) |
$1,200,000 |
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Shields Acquisition-Rehab, New Verticals LLC (St. Paul) |
$700,000 |
|
Torre De San Miguel Preservation, Commonbond (St. Paul) |
$400,000 |
|
434 Lafond Acquisition-Rehab, YO Companies (St. Paul) |
$700,000 |
|
Douglas Street Acquisition-Rehab, Aventus Holdings (St. Paul) |
$700,000 |
|
University Dale Preservation, Premier Housing (St. Paul) |
$700,000 |
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Ramsey Hill Preservation, Trellis (St. Paul) |
$660,000 |
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Presshouse Apartments Preservation, Real Estate Equities (St. Paul) |
$650,000 |
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Total Uses: |
$11,900,000 |
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Sources of Funds |
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2025 LAHA Funds |
$11,900,000 |
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Total Sources: |
$11,900,000 |
Additional information on each project that is recommended for funding from the 2025 Housing Development Solicitation can be found in the attachment titled “Narrative Project Descriptions.
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County Goals (Check those advanced by Action)
☒ Well-being ☒ Prosperity ☒ Opportunity ☒ Accountability
Racial Equity Impact
Ramsey County has large racial disparities between residents of color and white residents in the housing sector. These disparities include a disproportionate number of African American and American Indian residents experiencing homelessness compared to white residents as described in Heading Home Ramsey’s 2024 Needs Assessment. Generally, residents of color are more likely to rent than own their own home and be cost-burdened by housing costs compared to white residents. This includes a 47-percentage point gap between the white homeownership rate and African American homeownership rate. To undo these historical and lasting inequities, investment is needed in communities where disparities exist and in existing rental housing units.
LAHA funds will be used to implement eligible strategies from the ECI Plan by investing in projects and programs that specifically aim to reduce racial disparities in housing. These strategies include increasing the supply of deeply affordable rental units and the preservation of naturally occurring affordable housing. Each applicant to the 2025 Housing Development Solicitation had to respond to the Equitable Development and Livability Questions within the application and their answers were scored for alignment with the ECI Plan, the Equitable Development Framework and the Deeply Affordable Housing Initiative’s Engagement Summary Report. High scoring applications were able to connect their project with these documents that center racial and health equity. High scoring applications in the preservation and rehabilitation categories were able to describe the existing community’s population, the assets of the community and how their project would improve the lives of diverse communities and existing residents.
Community Participation Level and Impact
CED implemented a robust community engagement process in the creation of the ECI Plan. This included engagement with residents, businesses, community organizations, other governmental agencies, elected officials, and local municipalities. Community was informed about the competitive solicitation, one step towards the implementation of the community driven ECI Plan. Additional engagement with housing organizations that directly serve residents facing housing instability and homelessness occurred during the planning stage of the Deeply Affordable Housing Initiative. A community meeting was also hosted at Maplewood Community Library to provide information on the 2025 Housing Development Solicitation.
Specifically in planning out the use of LAHA funds, Ramsey County consulted affordable housing providers and supportive service providers to learn about the issues that they are facing in the operations of supportive and affordable housing. This led to the creation of the Support and Stabilize Solicitation which allocated 2024 LAHA funds to distressed residential properties and the continued use of 2025 LAHA funds for the preservation and rehabilitation of existing affordable housing buildings.
☒ Inform ☐ Consult ☐ Involve ☐ Collaborate ☐ Empower
Fiscal Impact
The 17 recommended projects from the 2025 Housing Development Solicitation have a total funding amount of $11,900,000 from 2025 LAHA designated for the acquisition, preservation and stabilization of affordable housing. 2025 LAHA funding will arrive in two payments from the State of Minnesota’s Department of Revenue. The first payment will be received on July 20, 2025 and the second on December 20, 2025.
Last Previous Action
On March 18, 2025, the Ramsey County Board of Commissioners approved recommended LAHA awards for the support and stabilization of existing affordable housing projects (Resolution B2025-058).
On March 11, 2025, the Ramsey County Board of Commissioners hosted a board workshop to discuss the planning and implementation of LAHA funds across the housing continuum.
On August 6, 2024, the Ramsey County Board of Commissioners hosted a board workshop to discuss recommended uses of LAHA funds.
Attachments
1. Narrative Project Descriptions