Minneapolis, MN
Upper Harbor affordable housing plans on north Minneapolis riverfront hit funding snag
An affordable housing project planned for the ambitious Upper Harbor development along the north Minneapolis riverfront has been delayed — and may need to be reimagined — after the project’s applications for critical state subsidies were rejected two years in a row.
The setback comes as other parts of the 48-acre redevelopment are moving forward. Streets have been constructed and utilities installed. Developer United Properties reports the centerpiece First Avenue amphitheater is on track for completion by next year’s concert season, plans are forming around a health and wellness hub proposed to be run by InnerCity Tennis, and the Park Board has broken ground on a 20-acre park that will reconnect north Minneapolis with the Mississippi River.
The first phase of construction, which started this spring, was also supposed to include a mixed-use affordable housing building with 170 rentals — two-thirds of them at 30-50% area median income — and 17 perpetually affordable townhomes. But the financing uncertainty has delayed construction to next spring at the earliest, with the possibility that its deep affordability levels may have to be re-evaluated.
Bill English, a past president of the Minneapolis Urban League who has been beating the drum for living wage jobs and affordable housing at Upper Harbor since he served on the project’s collaborative planning committee five years ago, has been urging Northsiders to pay attention to what’s going on. He said he’s worried about gentrification if affordable housing isn’t part of the project.
“This year the state gave more money to affordable housing than has ever been done in the history of the state,” he said. “Yet where’s that money going?”
Northside developer Devean George, whom United Properties tapped to lead the construction of over 500 units of affordable housing at Upper Harbor, said the project team may have to “tweak” the affordability levels, but promised that the building will not become luxury apartments.
“It’s still going to be an affordable project. It just may be a few extra things that add benefits may have to be taken out, that we just couldn’t afford,” George said. “Right now we have a deep mixed-income that’s really inclusive of everybody… We’re going to try to keep the project as consistent as we’ve been talking about, but we may shrink down the number [of units] or cut it in half.”
Public subsidies that the building has already received include $5 million in affordable housing trust funds from the city of Minneapolis, $2 million in Livable Communities Demonstration Account funds from the Metropolitan Council, and $1 million in affordable housing incentive funds from Hennepin County.
George’s company Building Blocks applied for $12 million more in deferred loans from Minnesota Housing, the state housing finance agency, in 2022 and 2023. The applications were both rejected despite leaping from a score of 76 to 130 from one year to the next. Last year, successful metro-area projects competing for funding in the “workforce housing” category scored between 133 and 145 points.
“We kind of retooled the project to be more competitive and really had hope that this summer we would be closing all of our financing and starting construction,” said Tom Strohm of United Properties. “It probably impacts the subsequent, second phase of affordable housing right? So that’s one of the questions that we’ve had to ask ourselves. We can’t start applying for the second phase of affordable housing before we get the first phase secured.”
The second phase of affordable housing construction, originally scheduled to begin next year, includes two more mixed-use housing developments.
Minnesota Housing scores multifamily projects higher when they include deeply affordable units, when they’re employing innovations, cost-efficiency and community involvement, and when they’re led by developers of color and women. The agency selected 28 projects out of 97 multifamily applications received last year, including in Minneapolis a new senior complex at 3246 Nicollet Ave., new permanent supportive housing by Aeon and preservation funds for buildings owned by Little Earth of United Tribes, RS Eden and Simpson Housing.
The Upper Harbor project scored higher than a few others that were chosen. Minnesota Housing Commissioner Jennifer Ho said hard decisions have to be made depending on how much money is left in the pot after the highest-scoring, most competitive projects are selected first. Upper Harbor’s $12 million ask was steeper than most, which presents a challenge for getting picked up, she said.
“Sometimes projects have been partially funded by others and they’ve got more leverage, they’re more ready to go,” Ho said. “It also depends on the size of the project — preservation per door tends to be less than a new construction deal… The Upper Harbor Terminal project is great, and it’s also a big project.”
George said he understands Northsiders are going to be disheartened about the prolonged wait for affordable housing at Upper Harbor, but that the development team is working on a yet more competitive application for state funds this year.
“This has taken some time,” he said. “The main thing would be to keep hope and understand that we’re still working to make this right.”
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Minneapolis, MN
Minneapolis police officer injured when stolen Kia driver hits parked squad
![Minneapolis police officer injured when stolen Kia driver hits parked squad](https://images.foxtv.com/static.fox9.com/www.fox9.com/content/uploads/2022/06/1280/720/minneapolis-police-generic.jpg?ve=1&tl=1)
MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) – A Minneapolis police officer was injured when the driver of a stolen Kia hit their parked squad car, the Minneapolis Police Department said.
According to a police press release, an officer with the Minneapolis Police Department’s 4th Precinct responded to a report of an abandoned, stolen Kia Sol near 29th Avenue North and Emerson Avenue North around 6 p.m. on Sunday. However, when the officer arrived, the Kia was no longer in the area.
The officer was in their parked squad car on 29th Avenue North facing Emerson Avenue North, when the driver of the stolen Kia returned to the area and then “collided with an occupied white SUV and then careened into” the officer’s squad car, police said.
The officer was taken to the hospital for evaluation and treatment. Police did not share the extent of the officer’s injuries. The driver and passenger in the white SUV were not hurt, authorities said.
After the crash, four to five “young males” ran from the Kia, police said. Three people were arrested: an 11-year-old boy, a 15-year-old boy and a 22-year-old man, with police noting “at least one of the males who fled” the scene was not found.
Teens hurt, stolen Kias left wrecked in chaotic Minneapolis shooting
One of the juveniles was taken to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries and will be booked into the Hennepin County Juvenile Detention Center for felony auto theft. The other juvenile was also booked into the Hennepin County Juvenile Center for felony auto theft.
The 22-year-old man had a gun, police said. He was booked into the Hennepin County Jail for felony auto theft and a weapons charge.
Police said the Kia had a “stripped steering column and a USB in the ignition.”
The crash is under investigation, police said. The officer involved has not yet been identified.
Dashcam video catches shocking theft of Kia stolen in under 60 seconds
In less than a minute, a group of individuals in Minneapolis broke into a Kia and stole it. The entire theft was captured on video by a Tesla vehicle parked beside it.
Minneapolis, MN
Twin Cities Pride Parade draws thousands to Minneapolis
![Twin Cities Pride Parade draws thousands to Minneapolis](https://www.twincities.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/STP-L-PRIDEPARADE-0701-01.jpg?w=1024&h=683)
The 2024 Twin Cities Pride Festival was held in Minneapolis’ Loring Park on the last weekend in June, with a parade on Sunday winding down Hennepin from 3rd Avenue to Spruce. With 134 participants, floats represented groups from the local sports teams and Roller Derby to the Queer Caucus of the Minnesota Legislature and large local employers like U.S. Bank. The Twin Cities Pride organization, which coordinates the event, has summer camps and further pride events in other cities planned this summer. For more information, visit tcpride.org.
Minneapolis, MN
July 4th Firework Shows Threatened By Storms: MN Weather
![July 4th Firework Shows Threatened By Storms: MN Weather](https://patch.com/img/cdn20/users/22887410/20240630/094619/styles/patch_image/public/032024-pcs-rain-water-lissner-1___30214600873.jpg)
MINNEAPOLIS — Fourth of July firework enthusiasts may need to rethink their holiday plans. Showers and thunderstorms are set to blanket much of Minnesota, including the Twin Cities metro area, on Thursday and Thursday night.
“Multiple chances for showers and storms this week, starting with late Monday into Tuesday and another round arriving Thursday,” the National Weather Service said.
The rest of the Fourth of July weekend will feature additional chances for showers and thunderstorms.
Here’s the full NWS forecast from the Minneapolis-St. Paul Airport:
Monday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 76. Breezy, with a south southeast wind 10 to 20 mph, with gusts as high as 30 mph.
Monday Night: Showers and thunderstorms likely, then showers and possibly a thunderstorm after 10pm. Low around 61. South southeast wind around 15 mph, with gusts as high as 30 mph. Chance of precipitation is 100%. New rainfall amounts between a half and three quarters of an inch possible.
Tuesday: A 50 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 81. South wind 10 to 15 mph becoming west southwest in the afternoon. New rainfall amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms.
Tuesday Night: A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms before 1am. Mostly cloudy, then gradually becoming clear, with a low around 64. West southwest wind 5 to 10 mph.
Wednesday: Sunny, with a high near 82. West wind 10 to 15 mph.
Wednesday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 65. West wind 5 to 10 mph becoming south southwest after midnight.
July 4th: A chance of showers and thunderstorms, then showers likely and possibly a thunderstorm after 1pm. Partly sunny, with a high near 79. South southeast wind 5 to 10 mph. Chance of precipitation is 60%.
Thursday Night: Showers and thunderstorms likely, mainly before 1am. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 63. Southeast wind 5 to 10 mph becoming west after midnight. Chance of precipitation is 60%.
Friday: A chance of showers and thunderstorms, then showers likely and possibly a thunderstorm after 1pm. Partly sunny, with a high near 75. Northwest wind 10 to 15 mph. Chance of precipitation is 60%.
Friday Night: A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly cloudy, with a low around 61. North northwest wind 5 to 10 mph.
Saturday: A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly sunny, with a high near 79. West wind 5 to 10 mph.
Saturday Night: A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly cloudy, with a low around 64. South southwest wind 5 to 10 mph.
Sunday: A 50 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly sunny, with a high near 80. Southwest wind 5 to 10 mph.
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