Heading into 2019, MHP said farewell to three board members and welcomed four. Outgoing board members include Paul Sween, Dominium; Carliee Witta Warner, Neighborworks America; and Joe Wheeler, Southeastern Minnesota Multi-County Housing and Redevelopment Authority (SEMMCHRA). New board members include Andrea Brennan, City of Minneapolis; Harry Melander, Minnesota Building and Construction Trades Council; Buffy Beranek, SEMMCHRA; and Mark Moorhouse, Dominium.

Photo: (From left) Outgoing board members Paul Sween, Carilee Witta Warner, and Joe Wheeler

Outgoing board members’ service to MHP — and their deep commitment to affordable housing — will have ripple effects beyond the organization and their term of service.

“We’re grateful to Paul, Carilee, and Joe for their many years of dedicated leadership on MHP’s board, and I feel privileged to have had the opportunity to learn from each of them,” MHP Executive Director Anne Mavity said. “These leaders have committed their careers to advancing affordable housing and community development. Their insights and expertise will have lasting impact on MHP and communities in Minnesota and beyond.”

Sween, outgoing Board Chair, served on the MHP board for nine years. “I’m honored to have had the opportunity to serve with MHP,” Sween said. “MHP staff is engaged, talented, and committed, and they have done excellent work to build capacity and spread the message that affordable housing is key to the success of our communities. That work has had an impact. More and more, local units of government are stepping up and recognizing the importance of investing in affordable housing.”

Looking ahead, new board members will play a key role in challenging MHP to meet the ambitious goals of the recently-adopted 2019-2021 Strategic Plan. “I can’t wait to dig in together to continue to grow MHP’s impact,” Mavity said. “I’m excited to welcome Buffy, Andrea, Harry, and Mark to the MHP board. Their deep experience and expertise will power us forward as we work hard to achieve our goals.”

Three of MHP’s four new board members (from left) Andrea Brennan, Harry Melander, and Mark Moorhouse

Buffy Beranek

New board member Buffy Beranek is the recently-appointed Executive Director at SEMMCHRA, providing planning, direction, and legislative input. For the past 13 years, she has served as Deputy and Finance Director at SEMMCHRA. Previously, she successfully led and managed daily operations of a $600 million contract portfolio at Mayo Clinic, one of the nation’s premier healthcare organizations.

During Beranek’s career and personal experiences she has fought for access and funding for basic social needs – health, education and now housing. Her focus and purpose for serving on boards is to bring new ideas forward, work collaboratively across the State of Minnesota and fight to reduce unnecessary regulations while promoting locally-driven housing initiatives.

Andrea Brennan

New board member Andrea Brennan serves as Housing Policy & Development Director for the City of Minneapolis where she works to improve access to quality, affordable housing through policy and by financing and redeveloping single and multifamily residential real estate. “I’m excited to join a board with broad experience and representation from public and private sectors, across the state and along the housing continuum,” Brennan said.

Previously, Brennan served as the Director of Community and Economic Development for the Dakota County Community Development Agency and Deputy Executive Director for the Washington County Housing and Redevelopment Authority. She has a Master’s Degree in Public Affairs from the University of Minnesota, and serves as a board member of the Family Housing Fund and the Land Bank Twin Cities, Inc. Brennan is also a member of the Executive Committee of Heading Home Hennepin.

Harry Melander

New board member Harry Melander has 25 years of experience representing unions in the construction industry. Since 2009, Melander has served as president of the Minnesota State Building & Construction Trades Council, and he is employed by Dougherty Funding, LLC, a financer and lender for commercial real estate. Melander has also served an 8 year term as a Metropolitan Council Member appointed by Governor Dayton; the Metropolitan Council has a significant role in regional housing policy and planning

Melander is committed to advancing affordable housing in Minnesota. “Housing should not be a privilege but a right for all Minnesotans,” Melander said. “I’m excited to be a part of an organization that supports this belief and will move it forward during the 2019 legislative session.”

Mark Moorhouse

As Partner and Senior Vice President of Dominium, new board member Mark Moorhouse is responsible for the day-to-day business operations for the growing group of nearly 70 professionals in the Development and Acquisitions department who focus on affordable housing.

“I am excited to join the MHP Board,” Moorhouse said. “I look forward to offering my expertise in the affordable real estate industry and will continue to do my part in advocating for improving conditions of home and community.”

Moorhouse has extensive experience with various federal, state and local housing programs. Since joining Dominium in 1996, he has worked on several significant portfolio acquisitions, new project developments, and the acquisition of existing apartment projects. He has played an integral role in helping the company grow from managing 6,400 units in 1996 to more than 26,000 units in 23 states today.

In late 2018, four communities in three states celebrated funding awards from Federal Home Loan Bank of Des Moines (FHLB) Affordable Housing Program (AHP) totaling more than $1.6 million in critical funds to construct, rehabilitate, or acquire affordable housing.

MHP’s Community Development Team helped make these awards happen, supporting community members in Yankton, South Dakota; Miller, South Dakota; Spokane, Washington; and Winona, Minnesota as they worked to submit competitive applications. The funding secured will provide 70 affordable and safe rental homes for working people, preserve affordable rental homes for seniors, and rehabilitate tribal rental homes and owner occupied homes.

In Winona (pictured right), FHLB funds will support the Ability Home Rehabilitation Program. Community Development Specialist Nick Larson said the program will “empower Winona homeowners to make the necessary repairs and investments to remain in their homes and age in place, while protecting their home values for future generations.”

Merchants Bank partnered with the City of Winona and MHP to submit a successful application.

Learn how you can receive technical assistance from MHP’s Community Development team! 

Miller Plaza, located in Miller South Dakota, is a United States Department of Agriculture Rural Development Section 515 property that provides 26 affordable homes to seniors and people with disabilities. FHLB funds will help preserve the property by addressing priority health and safety items, including an elevator upgrade.

Jerry Peterka, President at Quoin Financial Bank, led the application process for FHLB funding to renovate Miller Plaza. “These funds are key to ensuring that community members can continue to access quality, affordable homes at Miller Plaza,” Peterka said.

In 2018, FHLB Des Moines awarded more than $52 million through AHP, facilitating the creation or preservation of more than 3,800 units of affordable housing.

We are searching for a Membership and Development Officer to lead donor outreach, recruitment, and stewardship to increase the financial resources and stakeholder engagement for MHP’s key programs.

The Membership and Development Officer is part of MHP’s fund development team. The primary focus of this position is the Investors Council, which represents industry leaders in affordable housing and community development. Key responsibilities include cultivating industry organizations as institutional donors, leading event planning, and working with MHP leaders to grow Investors Council membership. This position will also assist with cultivating new partnerships, engagement, and fundraising opportunities.

Minnesota Housing Partnership (MHP) convenes, guides, and supports a diversity of partners working to improve conditions of home and community. Building on decades of experience, we strengthen development capacity and promote policies that expand opportunity, especially for people at the lowest income levels.

The ideal candidate will have a can-do attitude and a positive approach to problem-solving. We’re looking for an enthusiastic self-starter to work collaboratively with staff, board leaders, and community members.

Job Description/Responsibilities

• Ensure that MHP reaches funding and membership goals.
• Identify and steward new donor, stakeholder, and partner relationships that advance MHP’s mission, focused on MHP’s Investors Council membership.
• Work with MHP staff to create and implement Investors Council membership recruitment and renewal campaigns.
• Lead the planning, coordination, logistics, marketing, registration, speaker arrangements, etc. for all Investors Council events (approximately 4 per year).
• Maintain contact record (CRM) database to track and build relationships with Investors Council members and other stakeholders (MHP uses local CRM provider theDatabank).
• Engage, staff, and lead the work of MHP board committees to increase Investors Council membership and leverage additional fundraising opportunities.
• Cultivate, steward and increase new and current member/stakeholder engagement with MHP programs, including policy programs and external events.
• Work with MHP staff to identify opportunities to increase financial resources, external visibility and stakeholder engagement in their programs.
• Promote MHP as an organization and promote Investors Council membership and engagement at relevant events.
• Assist in the creation of communications materials, content and promotion.

Requirements/Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in marketing, business, communications or related field or equivalent professional experience.
• Minimum two years of demonstrated success in donor development and fundraising.
• Minimum two years in promoting membership and/or resource development.
• Experience working collaboratively with multiple staff and key organizational stakeholders.
• Professional interpersonal skills. Excellent written and oral communication skills.
• Efficient multi-tasker with the ability to adapt to short deadlines and a fast-paced environment.
• Self-starter with enthusiasm for networking and relationship building.
• Experience building partnerships and collaborations with private sector, public sector, and nonprofit partners, preferably in housing and community development.
• Commitment to values of collaboration and equity.
• Proficient in basic office computer software systems (e.g. Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Office 365 and SharePoint, Google Docs, CRM databases – theDataBank).

Reporting Relationships

Reports to – Director of Fund Development

Direct reports – none

Pay/Benefits

The salary range for this position is $55-65K/annually. MHP offers a robust benefits package and flexible work schedule, including the ability to occasionally work remotely.

Application Details

Please email resume and cover letter, with “Membership and Development Officer” in the subject line, to [email protected].

Minnesota Housing Partnership is committed to social, racial, gender and economic justice. We strongly encourage persons of color, LGBT individuals, women, veterans and persons with disabilities to apply.

We are searching for a Part-Time IT/Helpdesk Support Professional to assist end users with first-level incident analysis and resolution and accurate logging of the incident in the ticket management system. This position will track the incident until it is satisfactorily resolved and provide follow-up contact to the reporting end user.

The ideal candidate will be a good listener and problem solver with a positive attitude. We are looking for someone who is upbeat and enthusiastic, with a strong work ethic. The IT/Helpdesk Professional works 16-20 hours per week with a flexible schedule.

Minnesota Housing Partnership (MHP) convenes, guides, and supports a diversity of partners working to improve conditions of home and community. Building on decades of experience, we strengthen development capacity and promote policies that expand opportunity, especially for people at the lowest income levels.

Job Description/Responsibilities

• Helps to answer, evaluate, and prioritize incoming telephone, voicemail, email, and in-person requests for assistance from users experiencing problems with hardware, software, networking, and other computer-related technologies.
• Provides first-level incident determination using documented procedures as an incident determination tool, soliciting assistance/training as needed from third party consulting IT specialist.
• Provides first level support for all LAN based PC’s and Macs on both the operating system and the applications levels.
• Helps troubleshoot and support end user and device network connectivity, including but not limited to cabling, routing, switching, wireless, and VPN.
• Monitors and updates incidents logged in the ticket management system.
• Maintains relationships with internal and external IT customers, measuring client satisfaction and recommending appropriate steps to enhance IT customer satisfaction.
• Assists in writing and/or revising user training manuals, procedures, knowledgebase articles, self-support articles and tech tips.
• Assists with project tasks as assigned.

Requirements/Qualifications

• Associate’s or Bachelor’s degree in IT or a related field or working toward degree. Current students preferred.
• Must have excellent communication skills and be a proactive problem solver.
• Must be able to multi-task and prioritize situations in a calm and professional manner.
• Previous experience in the following a plus:

• VMware
• Windows Server administration,
• Office 365 administration,
• Microsoft Office Products,
• Windows and Mac operating systems

Pay

The wage for this position is $20/hour.

Application Details

Please email resume and cover letter, with “IT/Helpdesk Support Professional” in the subject line, to [email protected].

Minnesota Housing Partnership is committed to social, racial, gender and economic justice. We strongly encourage persons of color, LGBT individuals, women, veterans and persons with disabilities to apply.

A place to raise the neighborhood

When Shirley owned a home in Baxter with Harlen, her husband of 61 years, it was more than a place for the couple to share a life together. For 17 years, Shirley provided daycare out of her home. Gramma’s Daycare — named by one of Shirley’s charges — was a key asset to the neighborhood and the community. She was a talented daycare provider with fair prices — and her services were in high demand.

“Women who had used my daycare used to plan their pregnancies around my openings so they could bring their children there,” Shirley said. “I had a lower rate because these were all young kids who were just starting out, and I just felt that I should help them a little bit. I made friends for life with all of them.”

The home Shirley and Harlen made together created a safe, safe, happy place for neighborhood kids to grow up and find success as adults. “All the practice we did printing — they called it playing school — I got four teachers, a pharmacist, and an engineer out of my daycare!” she said.

Photo: Shirley and Harlan in 1998 on their 47th anniversary trip to Hawaii. They were married 61 years.

A place to stay independent

Harlen — known as ‘Grandpa’ to the daycare kids — worked on the railroad for 34 years. When he got sick, it became difficult for Shirley and Harlen to maintain their home. They bought a mobile home in Cross Lake, thinking the small yard of a mobile home would be more manageable, but after six and a half years, they’d had enough. It was time to downsize.

“It’s hard to find places for people who are handicapped,” Shirley said. “We had to give up a beautiful apartment across from [Central Lakes] college because Harlen couldn’t get up the stairs. Anything that’s made for seniors should be laid out like my apartment.”

Harlen passed away several years ago. For almost five years now, Shirley has lived at Grand Oaks Court Townhomes in Baxter. She’s got good neighbors and a place to show off her green thumb.

“I’ve enjoyed living here, Shirley said. “The neighbors aren’t so nosy, and the layout is ideal for privacy. Your living and dining area is the back of the apartment toward the patio, and I can have my plants in the summertime.”

Shirley’s affordable home at Grand Oaks Court Townhomes in Baxter is more than just a roof over her head.

“It gives me money left over so I can go in my car and take care of myself,” Shirley explained. “I don’t have to have anybody driving me to the doctor or taking me to the library or the grocery store. It makes me very independent, which I like. I’ve always been that way.”

Managed by Central Minnesota Housing Partnership, there are 24 two- and three-bedroom townhomes at Grand Oaks Court. Two-bedrooms rent at $680 per month and three-bedrooms at $775. The property accepts Section 8 vouchers and provides four units designated for people experiencing long-term homelessness.

The community is ideal for Shirley. Grand Oaks Court is centrally located, with walking trails, a Cub Foods, Kohls, Fleet Farm, and Menards nearby. “I like the idea that it’s so close to everything,” Shirley said. “If you want to go over to the college and go to a play, that’s not far away. I like the location of this apartment better than any other place I’ve lived since I’ve been married.”

Shirley is proud of her home. “When I moved in here, I felt like I should take care of this home as if it was my own. I have a fellow come in here every two years, and he shampoos my carpets. I appreciate being able to live here.”

Shirley sees the connection between a stable, affordable home and her community, and feels it’s important to invest to make that happen. “We need affordable, ground floor housing,” she said. Shirley wants to see more homes that offer easy access to transportation and are designed to ensure people can age in place.

In January 2019, Minnesota Housing will move forward with an income averaging option in the Housing Tax Credit (HTC) program. Income averaging allows Low Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) owners to elect to serve households with incomes of up to 80% of area median income (AMI) and have these household qualify as LIHTC units, so long as the average income/rent limit in the project remains at 60% or less of AMI. 

Depending on project details, income averaging will be available for tax credit developments. Income averaging will also be incorporated into the 2019 Round 2 HTC process and the 2019/2020 HTC Request for Proposal (RFP) process.  

Novogradac graphic visualizing income averaging

Owners who elect income averaging must also commit to at least 40% of the units in the project have an average income level of no more than 60% of AMI and the rents for these units must be equal to 30% of the qualifying income level. 

Minnesota Housing will issue guidance around eligibility, process, and the information you will need to submit to take advantage of income averaging. Sign up for Minnesota Housing’s eNews to ensure you receive that update. 

For more resources on income averaging, including answers to frequently asked questions, check out information from the National Council of State Housing Agencies as well as Novogradac and the National Housing Law Project.

The sale of Crossroads at Penn in Richfield impacted 700 households, capturing the attention of policymakers and the public, and motivating communities to find solutions to preserve naturally occurring affordable housing (NOAH). However, a new report by Minnesota Housing Partnership reveals that the geography and make-up of NOAH properties is not uniform. Sales of large buildings like Crossroads have a major impact. And as policymakers develop solutions, it’s important they’re aware that smaller properties comprise a significant portion of NOAH in the Twin Cities region – and that different properties impact different populations.

Across the Twin Cities, the growing ranks of renter households are facing an increasingly challenging housing market with rising rents and declining vacancy rates. While developers are leveraging public and private resources to create new affordable units, current owners of unsubsidized rental properties have few tools to preserve and improve aging properties to maintain homes for current and future tenants. 

In March of 2018, Minnesota Housing Partnership launched a new research series tracking key trends in the unsubsidized multifamily rental markets across the 7-County Metro. “Market Watch: Twin Cities,” published in November 2018, analyzes data from 210,915 unsubsidized rental units in properties with four or more units in the 7-county metro from the CoStar database. 

Download the full report.

Key findings include:

• Preserving NOAH impacts communities of color. While 43% of White renter households are cost burdened, 57% and 62% of Native and Black renters are forced to pay more than they can afford for housing. Families served by NOAH are particularly impacted by cost burden.
• Small NOAH buildings are concentrated in Minneapolis and St. Paul with 91% of properties located in Hennepin and Ramsey counties. For Hennepin and Ramsey, small NOAH comprises a sizable portion of all NOAH buildings at 45% and 43%, respectively.
• Medium NOAH buildings are prevalent in the core cities and the first ring suburbs. Anoka and Scott counties see the largest percentage of their NOAH properties in medium buildings at 38% and 43%, respectively.
• Large NOAH buildings are more widely distributed with more concentration in the suburbs. While large NOAH comprise the smallest percentage of NOAH properties in Hennepin and Ramsey counties they make up 60% of NOAH buildings in Dakota County and nearly half (46%) in Scott County.
• Small and Medium NOAH buildings are concentrated in lower income and communities of color. The majority of small and medium NOAH buildings are in cities with more than 30% people of color. Of the 79 cities in the seven-county metro area, 11 have more than 34% people of color, including Brooklyn Center, Brooklyn Park, Saint Paul, Minneapolis, Richfield, and Hopkins.
• Property transactions are most prevalent in smaller properties. Of the total 1,576 sales transactions in Class C properties, 74% were small buildings, with just 10% occurring in large buildings with more than 50 units. Not surprisingly, however, of the total 44,305 units impacted by property sales in Class C buildings, 58% of units were sold in large buildings, followed by 25% (11,115) in small buildings.

Download the full report.

Data analysis, writing and mapping for this report was conducted by Gabriela Norton, Research Officer at Minnesota Housing Partnership, with editing and design by Carolyn Szczepanski, MHP Director of Research and Communications.

Questions about data? Contact Gabriela Norton at gabriela.norton(at)mhponline.org or 651-925-5557.

Media inquiries? Contact Anne Mavity at anne.mavity(at)mhponline.org or 651-925-5547.