Minneapolis Public Housing Authority

Yesterday, the Minneapolis Regional Chamber announced MPHA’s Planning and Development team as a winner of Regional Leaders and Innovators Award! The Planning and Development team has accomplished several milestone projects in recent years, including the agency’s largest new-unit development in more than two decades, the Family Housing Expansion Project (FHEP): bit.ly/CelebrateFHEP

MPHA and Volunteers of America Minnesota and Wisconsin are hosting flu vaccine clinics throughout the agency’s high-rises to help residents prepare for flu season. Thank you to our vaccine clinic partners: M Health Fairview, Neighborhood HealthSource, Cub, and Community-University Health Care Center (UMN) !

Today, U.S. Senator Tina Smith, City of Minneapolis’ Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, Hennepin County’s Board Chair Irene Fernando, State Representative Sydney Jordan, Councilmember Michael Rainville, and U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Assistant Deputy Secretary Peter Hunter gathered in Northeast Minneapolis to unveil MPHA’s next major high-rise redevelopment project, the largest in the city’s history. The estimated $65 million project will preserve 221 units across two neighboring buildings, investing more than $35 million in capital improvements, while also constructing a new four-story building that will create 15 new deeply affordable and disability accessible units (Nine one-bedroom and six two-bedroom units). The full scope of renovation work between the two buildings (809 and 828 Spring Street Northeast) includes replacing and/or enhancing aging building systems (plumbing, electrical, HVAC), complete unit renovations (kitchens, bathrooms, appliances, finishes), installing in-unit fresh air ventilation systems, adding new accessibility upgrades to some existing units, along with repairing exterior enveloping (replacing windows and roofing, repairing cladding). The agency is also updating and expanding resident community spaces, including adding new seating, tables, plantings, and adding covered areas to the outdoor space. In the new four-story addition to 828 Spring, the agency will create nearly 4,200 square feet of new ground-level resident community space that will include office space, an internet lounge, fitness room, indoor bike storage, and a large community gathering space. Read more: bit.ly/65MSprings

Today, MPHA staff joined Hennepin County, Office of Governor Tim Walz & Lt. Governor Peggy Flanagan, U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar and Tina Smith, and Minnesota Department of Veterans Affairs (MDVA) to announce that Hennepin County has effectively ended homelessness among veterans. The “functional zero” designation comes from the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness (USICH), U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, and U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and means that in Hennepin County, veterans’ homelessness is considered rare, brief, and non-reoccurring.    Through the years, MPHA has provided hundreds of Hennepin County veterans and their families rental assistance through HUD’s Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing Voucher (HUD-VASH). Nationwide, the number of veterans experiencing homelessness has fallen by more than 52% since 2010, in part due to the success of the HUD-VASH program. Now, in Hennepin County, the program has helped eliminate veterans homeless entirely. Key to that success is MPHA, which administers 347 HUD-VASH vouchers, more than every other jurisdiction in Hennepin County combined.    Read more: bit.ly/HennCoVASH

Tomorrow, MPHA will be opening its family housing waitlist for the first time in 3 years. This is an opportunity MPHA staff want to be sure you and your network are aware of as the agency’s deeply affordable family housing is the most sought-after type of housing and is a proven tool to provide families upward economic mobility. MPHA will be accepting applications for three-, four-, and five-bedroom units, adding an estimated 1,500 individuals to its waitlist.     To apply to be added to MPHA’s family housing waitlist, qualified applicants must apply between 8am on Thursday, October 10, 2024 and 12pm (noon) on Tuesday, October 15, 2024. Applications will only be accepted through MPHA’s online portal at portal.mphaonline.org.     Applicants may complete the application from any computer or device with internet access anytime during the open period. MPHA also has kiosks and staff to help at 1001 Washington Ave N. during regular business hours (Monday through Friday, 8:30am – 4:30pm).     Following the open period for new applications, MPHA staff will conduct a lottery-style selection process in October to add ~1,500 individuals to the agency’s family housing waiting list. It is important to note that applying to the agency’s family housing waiting list during the open period does not guarantee the applicant a spot. Rather, it enters their application into a lottery for a chance to be added to the waiting list. There is no advantage to applying early.    Applicants needing assistance completing the application or applicants who need a reasonable accommodation, free language assistance, or who require the information in an alternative format, are encouraged to submit a request in advance of the waitlist opening via email at [email protected] or call 612-342-1438. Any requests for special accommodation must be received by no later than 12pm (noon) on Tuesday, October 15, 2024.    Learn more about MPHA’s most sought-after type of housing and how to apply: https://lnkd.in/gKhSdzjV

Last week, MPHA’s team was recognized with numerous awards during the National Association of Housing and Redevelopment Officials (NAHRO)’s 2024 National Conference in Orlando. The agency’s Family Housing Expansion Project (FHEP) earned an Award of Merit and MPHA ED/CEO Abdi Warsame was named NAHRO’s Outstanding Professional of the Year. These awards are just the latest in a series of honors and recognition the agency has received this year for its incredible work: bit.ly/AgencyAwards2024

Last week, MPHA Deputy ED Dominic Mitchell joined Woda Cooper Companies, Inc., Project for Pride in Living (PPL), City of Minneapolis, Hennepin County, Minnesota Housing, and others in celebrating the grand opening of Shelby Commons. The 46-unit affordable housing development will serve households earning 30-80% of the area median income (AMI), with 12 of the units being supported by MPHA’s project-based vouchers.     Since 2019, MPHA project-based vouchers have accounted for more than half of all deeply affordable housing built in Minneapolis. MPHA is committed to this important work, with the goal of helping produce at least 150 new deeply affordable homes in Minneapolis a year. 

At 8am on Thursday, October 10, MPHA will be opening its family housing waitlist for three-, four-, and five-bedroom units, looking to add an estimated 1,500 families to its waitlist. This is the first time in 3 years MPHA has opened this waiting list. The agency’s deeply affordable family housing is the most sought-after type of housing and is a proven tool to provide families upward economic mobility. To apply to be added to MPHA’s family housing waitlist, qualified applicants apply between 8am on Thursday, October 10, 2024 and 12pm (noon) on Tuesday, October 15, 2024. Applications will only be accepted through MPHA’s online portal at portal.mphaonline.org. Applicants may complete the application from any computer or device with internet access anytime during the open period. MPHA also has kiosks and staff to help at 1001 Washington Ave N. during regular business hours (Monday through Friday, 8:30am – 4:30pm). It is important to note that applying to the agency’s family housing waiting list during the open period does not guarantee the applicant a spot. Rather, it enters their application into a lottery for a chance to be added to the waiting list. There is no advantage to applying early. Learn more about MPHA’s most sought-after type of housing and how to apply: https://lnkd.in/gKhSdzjV

This morning, MPHA’s CEO/ED Abdi Warsame was named Outstanding Professional of the Year by the National Association of Housing and Redevelopment Officials (NAHRO)! Abdi is the first Minnesotan to ever win this award. In his time as CEO, Abdi has helped lead the successful efforts to secure unprecedented levels of state and local capital funding support for the agency. This has included securing the funding necessary to install fire suppression systems in all 42 MPHA high-rises, securing a first-of-its-kind $5 million direct appropriation from the state legislature in its biannual budget, and resuscitating a long-dormant housing tax levy in Minneapolis at $5 million a year, the largest ever in the city’s history. The Outstanding Professional of the Year Award is NAHRO’s highest and most prestigious award given to honor an exceptionally qualified person who has made outstanding contributions to the quality of life through service in the field of housing or community development. Recent recipients include Acting Secretary of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Adrianne Todman, prior to her appointment when she served as Executive Director of the District of Columbia Housing Authority.

Yesterday, MPHA’s Family Housing Expansion Project (FHEP) was awarded National Association of Housing and Redevelopment Officials (NAHRO)'s 2024 Award of Merit! 🎉As the largest new-unit project development in more than two decades, MPHA staff are thrilled to see the project recognized. Using modular construction and leveraging unique partnerships in a first-of-its-kind project, FHEP brings 84 new, deeply affordable family homes to 16 sites across Minneapolis. FHEP continues to win local and national awards for its innovative approach to tackling the affordable housing crisis: Bit.ly/CelebrateFHEP