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Item ~ 6 <br /> <br />MEMORANDUM <br /> <br />TO: <br /> <br />FROM: <br />DATE: <br /> <br />Housing and Redevelopment Authority <br />Mayor & City Council <br /> <br />Catherine Mehelich, Director of Economic Developmen~L~ <br />July 29, 2002 <br /> <br />SUBJECT: Affordable Housing Update <br /> <br />Attached Related Information · "Homefront" - Central MN Housing Partnership 2002 Summer Newsletter. <br /> · "Richfield Rediscovered" ne~v home construction program <br /> · "Cities demand new vision of housing" - The Business Journal. June 21, 2002. <br /> <br />At the June 24, 2002 joint meeting of the HRA and City Council, staff reported that the city <br />had received a request for an apartment project, which was willing to consider affordable <br />units contingent on financing assistance from the city. The HRA and Council indicated <br />interest in looking at options for affordable housing with this project and directed staff to <br />provide information on financing options. Since that time the developer has withdrawn <br />from the proposed project. <br /> <br />Staff met with the city's financial advisors, Ehlers & Associates, to learn about various <br />financing options for the development of affordable housing. Ehlers & Associates indicated <br />that financing for multi-family housing developments is extremely complex and requires <br />staff to admimster the annual reporting requirements of tenant income and rents. It was <br />suggested that providing financing assistance for affordable single-family development might <br />be a more workable alternative. <br /> <br />Ehlers & Associates suggested a project similar to the attached "Richfield Rediscovered" <br />program, which provides sites for new homes by removing substandard structures on lots <br />throughout Richfield. Properties are purchased by the Richfield HRA through voluntary <br />sale. Sites are cleared of the original structure and sold for redevelopment of new homes. <br />Any such project would ,require additional staff time to administer unless the services are <br />contracted. <br /> <br />In follow up to the Central MN Housing Partnership study, staff will be conducting a <br />detailed analysis of the housing stock with GIS (geographic information system) to clarify <br />the extent of housing needs in the city based age of the home and market value. <br /> <br /> <br />