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Affordable Housing

CURRENT WORK

Central Corridor Light Rail Line
Jewish Community Action is part of the Central Corridor Affordable Housing Partnership (CCAHP). The CCAHP is co-convened by the Housing Preservation Project and the Community Stabilization Project.

Vision Statement:
If the existing neighborhoods along the Central Corridor are to benefit from the light rail line, addressing the impact of the light rail line on housing is one of the key challenges, and the one to which CCAHP is dedicated. Our vision is that lower income transit-dependent households will be able to live within walking distance of the line, that existing residents in the adjoining neighborhoods will be able to remain and not be displaced by rising housing costs and redevelopment, and that the community will have a voice in how their neighborhoods change.
 

Foreclosure Prevention
Jewish Community Action is collaborating with the Northside Community Reinvestment Coalition (NCRC) to help at-risk residents work to avoid foreclosure. The campaign has reached North Minneapolis, South Minneapolis, Brooklyn Park, and Brooklyn Center.
More on JCA's community reinvestment work

Congregation Supports Affordable Housing
The Temple of Aaron social justice committee worked with Project for Pride in Living to advance affordable housing in the City of St. Paul. The St. Paul City Council voted 7 to 0 to approve a 44-unit affordable housing project on West 7th St. that includes 10 units for homeless families. Despite considerable opposition by some in the neighborhood, Temple of Aaron members, led by Howard Goldman, Bill Lerman, Vic Rosenthal and Richard Strimling, spoke at neighborhood meetings, Planning Commission and City Council hearings in favor of the proposal. This is another important step forward to meet the affordable housing needs in the city of St. Paul. Read letter from Project for Pride in Living (34K)
 

HISTORY OF JCA INVOLVEMENT

JCA’s affordable housing work includes efforts to build inter-racial and inter-faith partnerships in order to promote the preservation and production of affordable housing. The Affordable Housing Working Group (AHWG) successfully maintained the affordability of Oak Grove Towers, worked with pastors and community members in North Minneapolis to organize several events aimed at preserving affordable housing on the North side, and coordinated an affordable housing conference attended by more than 150 people.

In the spring of 2001, a developer came to South West Minneapolis with plans to devote a large piece of property to affordable housing and mixed use, dense development. In the midst of controversy from the community, a group of concerned citizens saw the importance of affordable housing in their neighborhood. After the victory of ensuring the project continue as planned, the group came together formally as the Southwest Interfaith Neighborhood Group for Affordable Housing, SWING. They have held series of educational forums on affordable housing and created an informative brochure on affordable housing and their organization. They have continued to monitor new development projects, such as the South Lyndale development, and have played an active role in establishing the City of Minneapolis Affordable Housing Trust Fund. They are currently working to support an affordable housing project in Tangletown that would include 40 affordable housing units.  The SWING neighborhoods include: Armatage, East Harriet, Fulton, Kenny, Kingfield, Linden Hills, Lynnhurst, Tangletown and Windom.

JCA, in coalition with other faith-based groups, worked to ensure that Hennepin County will create an affordable housing trust fund and that $50 million of new money will be made available for affordable housing in Minnesota.

Jewish Community Action created the Gateway Interfaith Table For Affordable Housing (GIFT), a coalition of community organizations and congregations that accomplished the following:
• Helped to preserve nearly 550 affordable housing units in Highland Park
• Connected the community to its policy makers
• Been a community resource on Housing issues
• Brought community voice to the process of creating Gateway Village Development, 548 new housing units which were built, including more than 25% that are affordable.
 

Links:

Overview of Affordable Housing in Minnesota

Get Involved in Minneapolis Affordable Housing

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