Star Tribune
Hennepin County recently helped fund its 10,000th affordable housing unit
Hennepin County hit a historical landmark this spring in its two-decade campaign to help pay for a diverse stock of affordable housing.
The county has now helped fund more than 10,000 affordable rental and ownership housing units since 2000, spending $78 million during that time. The county’s aid also allowed it to leverage another $1.9 billion from other sources to complete the projects.
It would be hard to find a place in the county without an affordable housing complex the county has played a role in developing. The most recent project, the Amber Apartments on Hiawatha Avenue in south Minneapolis, opened in September. RS Eden was awarded $300,000 for the 81-unit project designated for people earning less than 30% to 50% of the area median income.
When the county started its Affordable Housing Incentive Fund (AHIF) two decades ago, it consisted of $2 million and leaned hard on matching grants from foundations and other groups. Many of the projects built from Rogers to Edina to Minneapolis include units set aside for people experiencing long-term homelessness.
“The fund gives the county a specific voice on what affordable housing will look like,” said Julia Welle Ayres, the county’s director of housing development and finance. “The fund has been like the little train that could and keeps chugging along.”
The incentive fund provides financial assistance to municipalities, private and nonprofit housing developers typically in the form of a deferred low-interest loan. Projects include rental, new construction and transitional housing serving families, individuals, seniors and the special needs population, she said.
One of the first developments funded by the county was The Lindquist Apartments, a 24-unit complex in north Minneapolis that provides housing and services for youth between 16 and 24 who are experiencing homelessness. In 2014, the 50-unit Bottineau Ridge Apartments was constructed in Maple Grove with a $265,000 county award. Project For Pride in Living received $700,000 to develop Maya Commons in southeast Minneapolis, which incorporated a historic grain elevator as the building lobby.
“When we started the fund, there was definitely a shortage of affordable housing for people receiving public assistance,” Welle Ayres said. “While most of the projects are in the core cities because of more available financing, we are always looking to fund developments in the suburbs.”
When approving a project, the county looks beyond just affordability. County officials consider its proximity to transit and jobs, the community’s livability and if the project will contribute to neighborhood development, she said.
CommonBond Communities worked with the county on a five-story, 120-unit redevelopment project on the former Prince of Peace Lutheran Church site in St. Louis Park. Called Rise on 7, the complex will also have a 6,600-square-foot day care. Besides nearly $1 million from the incentive fund, the county is adding another $1.7 million to ensure that 19 units have rents affordable to households that earn less than 30% of the area median income for 15 years.
“We loved working with Hennepin County,” said Cecile Bedor, executive vice president of real estate for CommonBond Communities. “They’re pretty innovative on how they deploy funds and flexible on project needs. The staff is professional, very supportive and really engaged. If they think a project won’t work, they tell you and give clear reasons why.”
The incentive fund was originally conceived as a public-private partnership to demonstrate if would work.
“And the answer is yes, yes and yes,” said Anne Mavity, executive director of the Minnesota Housing Partnership, which advocates for affordable housing. “The impact is notable. Their ability to be on the front end of funding these projects gives them a role of influence and can be responsive to local needs.”
Counties need investments to solve the housing challenges because a place to live is fundamental to a whole community’s health, Mavity said. The housing crisis during the pandemic illuminated the continuing issue, she said.
Hennepin County has helped subsidize 280 “deeply affordable units” in Minneapolis developed by Alliance Housing Inc., including a $16.3 million project at 3301 Nicollet Av. in Minneapolis that will open next month. It will include 50 studio and 14 single-bedroom apartments, and the property rent levels will provide a housing option for workers earning $10-$15 an hour.
“Local funding like Hennepin County’s AHIF program is so important in leveraging other funding sources like Minnesota Housing,” said Jessie Hendel, executive director of Alliance Housing Inc. “Hennepin County’s willingness to commit AHIF funds early in a project’s development demonstrates local support, which is an important step in securing other funding sources.”
The incentive funds are flexible and can be used for construction and related costs, with fewer restrictions than come with some other funding sources, Hendel said. The organization received $700,000 of incentive money for the Nicollet project.
Star Tribune
Eagan parents of college runner who died by suicide settles suit with her coach and school
The Eagan parents of a college runner who died by suicide has settled their lawsuit that alleged their daughter’s cross-country coach at the time tormented her with demeaning comments in emails and texts about her weight and learning challenges.
The lawsuit was filed in U.S. District Court in Florida in June 2023 by Ray and Lynne Pernsteiner, the parents of Julia Pernsteiner, 23, who died in her Jacksonville University dorm room on Nov. 8, 2021. Her death came two months after the coach kicked her off the team, the suit contended.
The lawsuit named as defendants the university and former cross-country coach Ronald E. Grigg Jr., who coached women’s track and cross-country at the Division I school from 1998 until his sudden resignation in July.
The family’s attorney, Robert Spohrer, said that the case went to mediation, and there was “an amicable resolution of all issues” that led to the suit’s dismissal.
Spohrer said a strict confidentiality agreement among the parties prevented him from disclosing terms of the settlement.
Attorneys for Grigg and the university did not respond to messages left by the Star Tribune.
Messages were left Thursday with the law firms representing the school and Grigg. The defendants have yet to file any response in federal court to the allegations. The university said in a statement that it does not comment on pending litigation.
The suit contended that Pernsteiner’s constitutional rights were violated under the Americans with Disabilities Act and under Title IX because of discriminatory acts based on her gender.
The state Republican Party and conservative legal groups filed a petition with the Minnesota Supreme Court on Wednesday claiming that Hennepin County did not appoint partisan election judges in the right way.
The party and two conservative groups, the Upper Midwest Law Center and the Minnesota Voters Alliance, want to know how Hennepin County appointed election judges to its absentee ballot board this year. The board’s work includes making sure signatures on absentee ballots match signatures on voter registration cards and deciding if a ballot is spoiled or not.
The central question of the lawsuit, according to Andy Cilek, executive director of the Minnesota Voters Alliance, is whether county elections officials have to exhaust lists of potential election judges provided by the political parties before selecting others for the absentee ballot boards, which are required to have a balance of Republican and Democratic election judges.
“We want to understand how this occurred,” said Minnesota Republican Party Chair David Hann.
The suit alleges no one from a list of 1,500 Republicans supplied by the state Republican party to the Secretary of State’s office were selected by Hennepin County. Hann said he did not know if any Republicans were selected to serve.
Ryan Wilson of the Upper Midwest Law Center said the group has not scrutinized lists of election judges in other counties to make sure they included names provided by the state Republican Party. Wilson said his group is focusing on Hennepin County because it has the most voters, and the most potential to have an impact, he said.
In a statement, Daniel Rogan, Hennepin County auditor, said absentee ballot board members were appointed in compliance with state law and guidance from the Secretary of State.
Funeral services for Alexander “Xander” Steven Mick will take place Monday at Discovery Church in Sauk Rapids beginning at 2 p.m.
The boy was injured Saturday after being run over by a wagon pulled by a tractor at the haunted hayride Harvest of Horror.
Xander was a unique child who loved Jesus with all his heart, said his mother, Teri Dahlberg Mick, in a statement.
“He was full of life, a junior black belt in taekwondo, played drums for worship team; he was in band, sang in choir, in robotics and soccer, and almost was an Eagle Scout,” she said.
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