Latest news with #HousingFirstMinnesota
CBS News
18 hours ago
- General
- CBS News
Construction begins on $5.5 million veteran housing project in Eagan
With a ceremonial turn of soil on Wednesday, construction of Veteran Village in Eagan, Minnesota, is officially underway. The $5.5 million project, made possible by the Minnesota Assistance Council for Veterans (MACV), Housing First Minnesota, Lennar Homes and several other contributors, will bring 22 homes to house 36 veterans and their families. "These homes are more than just a roof with four walls," Sofia Humphries, Senior Director of Community Impact for Housing First Minnesota, said. "They represent safety, support and a new beginning." The first-of-its-kind project aims to support and honor our nation's heroes by taking care of the most essential of needs. "You need to know where you are going to lay your head at night, rest and recover to be able to take on the day," Humphries said. MACV's Chief Operating Officer Jon Lovald says in order for veterans to address other life challenges, they need to have the security that a home provides. "Your ability to work on anything else that's going on in your life revolves around having a roof over your head," Lovald said. On average, around 600 veterans enter homelessness each year in Minnesota, making projects like this even more crucial. "Twenty-two units coming online in the year is going to make a huge dent in our ability to continue outpacing veterans who enter homelessness," Lovald said. Construction on the final unit is expected to wrap up in November. For those involved in the build, the homes represent something much bigger. "We're celebrating a shared belief that every veteran in our state deserves safety, dignity, and a place to call home," Lovald said. It's a new community, driven by a mission to serve those who once served us.
Yahoo
26-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
MN cities lobby against restrictions aimed at lowering cost of homes
The Brief Bipartisan lawmakers have proposed several bills to ease Minnesota's housing shortage – more than 100,000 too few for the current population – but leaders in most cities are lobbying against any changes that take away their control. Some bills would limit zoning, so cities must allow multifamily and mixed-use housing, and couldn't limit development based on a lack of parking. City leaders say they've already started addressing the problems on their own terms. ST. PAUL, Minn. (FOX 9) - Minnesota has a bad housing shortage, but if the road to fixing it starts in St. Paul is a matter of some serious disagreement. Left alone A bipartisan group of lawmakers is pushing several housing bills, but cities are lobbying to be left alone. They succeeded last year, but since then the state's housing shortage has gotten worse and more legislators are eager to take action, even though the cities in their districts may not like what they're seeing. If you ask the leaders of cities across Minnesota, they'll acknowledge the state is in the thralls of a housing crisis. But almost all of them say they're already fixing it. And they don't need St. Paul to send solutions. "These changes came about because local decision makers were diligent in collecting data, making educated decisions, listening to the community and providing local solutions to local problems," said Evan Vogel of the City of Cambridge. Status report Whatever cities are doing hasn't worked very well statewide. The state's housing shortage is now more than 100,000 and it's doubled in just a few years, which means prices are going up and it's harder to buy. Developers say cities are part of the problem. "Our biggest problem is that instead of readily providing the required density and market rate realities of our housing market, planning and zoning must be purchased from cities through the form of a variance to the planned unit development," said Nick Erickson of Housing First Minnesota. Cities don't like it The "Yes to Homes" package of bills includes limits on city zoning, so multifamily homes can go up more easily and smaller single-family homes can be built on smaller lots. They'd also keep cities from requiring a certain number of parking spaces for new construction. Meanwhile, Democrats also want the state to borrow $400 million for housing infrastructure. "By investing in this tool now, we can help address our massive housing shortage that we've talked about all session long," said Rep. Michael Howard, (DFL-Richfield).But Republicans are skeptical of more borrowing. "Certainly it's a serious issue, but it's a very large number that I'm struggling to wrap my arms around," said Rep. Jim Nash, (R-Waconia). There is bipartisan support for a lot of the housing bills, so they could pass in some form, even with cities generally opposed.
