11-26-2003 Council Agenda - Laserfiche WebLink

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Page 2 October 28, 2003 In addition to specific loan programs created in individual cities, we also administer a number of Minnesota Housing Finance Agency (MHFA) products induding the Minnesota Fix Up Fund, the MHFA Rehabilitation Program and the MHFA Rental Rehabilitation Program. To date we have closed 37 Fix Up Fund loans for approximately $566,000 in the NorthMetro service area. We have also created programs that specifically address the needs of the dties or counties that we serve. For example, the city of Roseville was concerned about the increasing senior population and the schools were concemed about reduced school enrollment. As a result, we created the Senior Housing Regeneration Program (SHRP) to serve the I -35W Corridor Communities and brought $400,000 in grant funds to assist in the program. Under the SHRP Program, funded by the Metropolitan Council, MHFA and the Family Housing Fund, GMHC purchases homes from seniors looking for alternative housing rather than staying in their single family homes — townhomes, co -ops, apartments, assisted living, etc. — rehabilitates the homes and sells them to first time home buyers with incomes at or below 80% of median. This program provides seniors with an easy transition and also moves families back into the neighborhoods. To date we have purchased and rehabbed 7 homes and have numerous requests from seniors to participate in the program. Ramsey County recently approved $307,730 in funds to assist with the acquisition of homes from seniors throughout suburban Ramsey County. In partnership with Roseville we purchased a substandard home and replaced it with a new affordable four bedroom home. We are currently working with Roseville to build five new affordable homes in conjunction with the development of the Applewood Point project. In partnership with the dty of North St. Paul we are planning to build four new homes and the first one is under construction. The current staffing of the NorthMetro HRC is necessary to meet the volume of clients. While the director of the four HousingResource Centers is located at the NorthMetro office, only one quarter of her time is allocated to the budget. A small amount of the president's time is allocated to each Center as well as accounting staff, as all checks are prepared through the accounting department at the downtown office. Through our HousingResource Centers TM", GMHC is able to provide a number of different services for the cities in your community. We look forward to a continued relationship with Ramsey County and the possibility of serving all of the cities. If you have any questions about our services please give me a call at 612/339/8703. Sincerely, Carolyn E. Olson President 5