Affordable senior housing lands in Phillips

Projects taking root around Minneapolis
As subsidized housing developments go, the American Indian Community Development Corp.’s $8 million senior housing project in Minneapolis’ Phillips neighborhood came together in surprisingly quick fashion.
The mostly HUD-financed project, which broke ground last month near 24^th Street and Bloomington Avenue, advanced from concept to construction in less than two years, said Michael Goze, chief executive officer of the nonprofit American Indian Community Development Corp. (AICDC).
“It was one of those things that was meant to be,” Goze said.
When it opens next fall, the Bii Di Gain Dash Anwebi (“come and rest,” in Ojibwe) development will bring 47 affordable senior housing units to the neighborhood, which has a large Indian population.
Goze said he did not know of any existing affordable housing exclusively for seniors in the neighborhood.
It’s one of a handful of affordable senior housing projects under construction or in the pipeline in Minneapolis.
Others include a proposed 60-unit project near a light rail transit station in the Seward neighborhood, scheduled to start in spring 2013, and the 42-unit Riverview Apartments project at 54^th Street and Riverside Avenue, scheduled to start early next year.
Tom Streitz, director of housing for the city of Minneapolis, says he sees strong demand for affordable senior housing in Minneapolis.
With relatively few options in the city, Minneapolis’ senior population has tended to move to places like Richfield and Bloomington, which built a lot of senior housing in the 1970s, ’80s and ’90s, he noted.
“We see this as a segment of the population that is underserved” in Minneapolis, he said.
Serving the affordable senior market is easier said than done.
Developers typically rely on financing from U.S. Housing and Urban Development (HUD) for such projects, but the wait times can be long and the HUD 202 program faces an uncertain future, “so that is a concern on the horizon,” Streitz said.
Even so, AICDC was successful in getting HUD financing lined up quickly, which is unusual, he said.
“I think everything came together at the right time for them. Sometimes you develop a project and everything goes wrong, and sometimes everything goes right. This is one — it seems like everything fell into place,” he said.
Some projects have been in the works for years. Planning for the 42-unit Riverview Apartments project, for example, dates to at least June 2007. Paperwork delays and other complications have slowed progress on the development.
The plan now is to break ground on Riverview early next year, said Jen Oscarson, project manager for CommonBond Communities, which is co-developing the project with the Plymouth Church Neighborhood Foundation.
CommonBond is also working with the AICDC on the Bloomington Avenue project.
The AICDC had been looking to do some senior housing on the site, and “they reached out to CommonBond,” which has more than 30 HUD 202 projects under its belt, Oscarson said.
“The idea is this will allow people to age within their community,” Oscarson said.
The AICDC purchased the site from a developer who wanted to build condominiums there before the economy made that project unfeasible, Goze said.
Goze said his project was more doable for a number of reasons, including an established need for affordable senior housing in the neighborhood and a strong belief in the project.
A market study showed a need for 600 affordable senior units in the neighborhood, he said.
Another factor: The AICDC had control of the property, which is a key to getting the all-important funding from HUD. HUD 202 grants account for about $6 million of the $8 million development cost.
Other funding sources include the Minnesota Housing Finance Agency, the Midtown Phillips Neighborhood Association, the city of Minneapolis and the Federal Home Loan Bank of Des Moines, Goze said.
“It was one of those things where the stars aligned,” Goze said. “The project was so embraced by the neighborhood and the city saw that. The city actually made it a priority in helping us get to where we needed to be.”
The Waite Park-based Sand Cos. is the general contractor, and Minneapolis-based DJR Architects is designing the project, which will include 47 one-bedroom units on two parcels of land: one on the east side of Bloomington Avenue near 24^th Street and another on the west side.
Plans call for a community room with computers, and services such as independent living skills, wellness workshops, health promotion activities and “discussion circles.”
The apartments will be available to people 62 and older who are at or below 50 percent of the median area income.
Pat McCullough, president of Edina-based Health Planning & Management Resources, said there is “huge demand” for HUD 202 financing for projects like these.
“Financing allows for modest but very comfortable one-bedroom apartments as well as community space,” she said. “With a good developer-manager, these projects are wonderful communities.”
Goze said rent will be 30 percent of the resident’s monthly income.

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