Note: This article was featured in the FY23 Impact Report, which reports on NMF’s activities between July 1, 2022, and June 30, 2023. To read the report in full, click HERE
As the Northwest Minnesota Foundation (NMF) rolled out its current strategic framework in 2018, it included a goal to lead regional efforts and community solutions focused on housing.
The intention was to provide a mix of lending and grants to assist housing development throughout the region, specifically addressing workforce, affordable, and transitional housing needs.
In the years since, we’ve learned a lot. Most notably, what we’ve learned is that our neighbors throughout Northwest Minnesota are simply unable to afford the homes at the costs developers have to sell them at.
Housing costs are outpacing the rise in wages. The Federal Finance Housing Agency reports that home prices rose 74 percent from 2010 to 2022. The typical starter home can cost upwards of $300,000.
With the intention of addressing housing needs, the NMF Board of Directors earlier this year established North Star Neighbors, a community land trust that will provide affordable home ownership opportunities for low- to moderate-income households, while addressing disparities in homeownership for underrepresented households.
A community land trust (CLT) creates quality affordable homeownership opportunities by retaining ownership of the land on which the house is located and preserving the affordability of the home for generations. The CLT can accomplish this goal through new construction, acquisition and rehab of existing homes, or homebuyer-initiated purchase programs.
North Star Neighbors has applied for funding through Minnesota Housing and, pending financial allocations, our work will begin in phases. ***UPDATE to this story: North Star Neighbors was awarded nearly $3 million in funding: Read more here!)
This first phase will include:
- 4 new construction homes in Thief River Falls
- 2 new construction homes in Red Lake Falls
- 6 homes sold on the open market to qualifying homebuyers throughout the region. These sales will be homebuyer-initiated.
We expect construction to start in spring, and the application process for homebuyers to launch soon.
