Twin Cities Habitat for Humanity

Minnesota Housing Commissioner Tim Marx and First Lady Mary Pawlenty joined Twin Cities Habitat for Humanity (TCHFH) and community leaders on November 20 to announce $1.4 million in funding for land acquisition in the fast growing communities of Scott and Carver Counties.  The land will be preserved for the future development of affordable homeownership.

  In announcing the first of its kind Strategic Land Acquisition funding award, Minnesota Housing emphasized that funding priority was given to Community Developers that possess a reliable track record of success and a proven marketability of their homes.  TCHFH was specifically chosen due to Habitat for Humanity's strong national presence and consistent ability to deliver affordable homeownership solutions to low-income families.  In fiscal year 2006, 86% of TCHFH's homeowners were from emerging market communities, one of the other funding criteria for the award.  Additionally, Twin Cities Habitat was chosen for its thorough homebuyer selection process, which requires eleven homebuyer education courses.  As a result, the organization consistently sees low default and foreclosure rates among the homeowners it serves.

"The decision by Minnesota Housing and Family Housing Fund is a savvy response to the current slow down in the Twin Cities housing market.  This landmark decision will offer Twin Cities Habitat the opportunity to preserve land for the future and partner with communities to reach their affordable housing goals," said Susan Haigh, president of Twin Cities Habitat for Humanity. 

With the funding from the land acquisition award, Twin Cities Habitat leaders said that they will work to leverage an additional $4.5 million in funding from the community to pay for the construction of the homes.

"This is an incredible first step and now we will have to roll up our sleeves, get to work and turn to the community to help us raise the funds needed to make the dream of homeownership a reality for our partner families," said Haigh. 

To date, Twin Cities Habitat has built and sold four homes in Carver County and two homes in Scott County, representing less than 1 percent of the organization's home production in their seven county service area.  Historically, it has been cost-prohibitive to build in Scott and Carver counties due to the high cost of land.  Through the Strategic Land Acquisition grant, TCHFH plans to purchase 28-35 parcels of land, and will construct homes in three phases from 2009-2011.