Hennepin County Awards Funding to 20 Housing and Development Projects
Tuesday, May 14, 2019 at 3:40PM
Via a May 14 e-newsletter from Hennepin County
The county is designating more than $6.35 million to help fund 20 housing, development and infrastructure projects throughout the county, including along major transit corridors.
Acting as the Housing and Redevelopment Authority Tuesday, the county board awarded $3.5 million from the Affordable Housing Incentive Fund (AHIF), and $2.85 million from the Transit Oriented Development (TOD) program.
Together, these awards will fund the creation or preservation of 733 new affordable units of housing.
AHIF — $3.5 million for 10 affordable housing projects
A total of 438 units of affordable housing will be supported through AHIF in 2019, including:
- 79 units for people experiencing homelessness
- 71 units set aside for households with income less than 30% of the Area Median Income (AMI)
- 246 units with rental assistance, making rents affordable to households below 30% AMI
- 38 units for people with a disability
- 53 units for large families
- 15 units for extended foster care youth
- 31 units for county Health and Human Services clients
The Affordable Housing Incentive Fund is a program unique to Hennepin County that supports the development and preservation of long-term affordable housing for low- and very-low income households. The program is funded through a countywide property tax levy.
Since 2000, about $66 million has been committed to affordable housing projects through AHIF, supporting 8,300 units of affordable housing.
Read more about 2019 AHIF projects and awards.
TOD — $2.85 million for 10 transit oriented development projects
A total of 501 housing units, 295 of which are affordable, and 200,000 square feet of commercial space will be supported through the TOD program in 2019, including:
- Four housing and mixed-use projects
- Two commercial projects
- Four infrastructure projects
Together, TOD funded projects will contribute to:
- 187 new or retained jobs
- $148 million in leveraged private and public funding
- Improved connections to transit
The Transit Oriented Development program supports redevelopment projects that increase housing choices and jobs accessible by transit to grow a more sustainable and economically competitive region.
Since 2003, the TOD program has generated more than 7,000 new or retained housing units, including 3,300 affordable units, more than 2,500 jobs, and more than 2 million square feet of commercial and office space.
