Today’s article on affordable housing in the Star-Tribune chronicles a competition between two of the Twin Cities more expensive locales over who gets credit for building affordable housing.
Deephaven, one of the communities in question, is in a four-way tie for last place with Minnetonka Beach, Woodland, and Pine Springs, according to the housing performance scores published by the Metropolitan Council, whose business it is to measure such things as sustainability, affordability, and “Life Cycle Housing.” It seems that affordable housing is not all that high on Deephaven’s list of priorities, yet they may actually get some credit for providing it. Minnetonka has a problem with this, apparently.
From the article:
“In fact, it was Minnetonka that insisted that the developer offer five units that may be priced as low as $120,000. Now, in an irony dictated by the project’s layout, four of the units will be located in Deephaven. And in what would be an unusual move, Minnetonka may ask government officials to count the units toward its efforts on affordability, and not Deephaven’s”
Why would Minnetonka care about who gets the credit so much, one wonders? Maybe because they have a financial stake in it?
Another snippet:
“The Met Council rankings released earlier this fall are used to award government money under the agency’s Livable Communities Act. “
Another interesting fact that the article doesn’t mention, is that the non-profit organization who will probably buy the five units designated affordable (and will be coming up with the difference between the actual price of about $400,000 and the “affordable” price of around $120,000) has received donations (click here, scroll down for complete list) from the city of Minnetonka and the Met Council to the tune of $400,000 and $150,000 respectively. Could this be why Minnetonka has more than just a passing interest in who gets credit here?
In the end this all seems like much ado about nothing. Deephaven has never bothered to compete for the publicly awarded affordable housing dollar, and the Met Council has yet to bring any pressure to bear on them because they are a community that has little growth potential and spans all of 2.3 square miles. They have bigger fish to fry apparently.
Want to live in Deephaven?
You can have this house for $879,000.
Or, if you prefer a more contemporary look and lake views grab this one for a cool 2.4 Million.
On a budget? Try this 1500 square foot gem just listed at $254,000.
Want a shot at one of the affordable units? Try these guys.
Related links:
- Metropolitan Council
- West Hennepin Affordable Housing Land Trust
- List of other affordable housing non-profits in Minnesota
Related posts:
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