Bill would be the largest non-federal grant to Minneapolis public housing
SAINT PAUL, MN – On Wednesday, Senator Omar Fateh (DFL-Minneapolis) announced the introduction of a bill to send Minneapolis Public Housing Authority (MPHA) a one-time cash grant of $45 million to repair more than 700 deeply affordable family homes. This legislation (SF 1899) would be the largest non-federal funding ever delivered to MPHA and would permanently and dramatically alter the future of MPHA’s deeply affordable family housing portfolio. This investment would benefit both the 3,100 residents living in these homes today as well as the estimated 3,800 families who would live in these homes over the next 30 years.
“Investing in local affordable housing is a top priority of the DFL majorities in the Legislature, and this legislation is a perfect example of how we can follow through on that promise,” said Senator Fateh (DFL-Minneapolis). “Keeping people in their homes provides the security they need to thrive on their own, and extending this housing honors a commitment to create a livable city. These people are our neighbors, and their stability and success is a critical part of building a better Minneapolis.”
“This funding would stabilize the lives of hundreds of families currently living in MPHA’s deeply affordable family housing while also ensuring an estimated 3,800 families can access the life-altering force of stable, deeply affordable housing for decades to come,” said Abdi Warsame, Executive Director/CEO of the Minneapolis Public Housing Authority. “Thank you to Senator Fateh for championing this historic investment in MPHA. It cannot be overstated how transformational this investment would be for the future of deeply affordable family housing in Minneapolis for generations to come.”
Through the agency’s wholly controlled non-profit, Community Housing Resources (CHR), the agency owns and operates more than 700 deeply affordable single-family, duplex and fourplex homes spread across every legislative district in the city, serving more than 3,100 people. The homes are often referred to as MPHA’s “scattered site” housing. These homes account for more than 80 percent of the MPHA housing available for families with children. Of the residents who call scattered site properties home, 87 percent are black, 85 percent are female-led, and two-thirds are households of five or more—families with children.
These scattered site homes are a critical piece of city infrastructure, as they are a proven tool to provide families a solid foundation for upward mobility. Of the current scattered site heads of household, 19 percent were employed when entering their new home. On average, these residents earned $20,722 a year in income. Today, 67 percent of these residents are employed, earning an average of $36,639 a year, with more than 60 percent of these residents’ earned income increasing while in these homes. Better yet, between 2020 and 2022, an estimated 17 percent of all families leaving scattered site homes have gone on to purchase their own homes.
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