Minneapolis Public Housing Authority looks to embark on largest new construction project in nearly 2

Minneapolis will soon see one of the largest public housing construction projects in nearly 20 years, with the Minneapolis Public Housing Authority planning to build 84 units at 16 separate sites spread across the city starting next year.

In all, MPHA currently has a little more than 900 housing units. The new projects would increase that total by roughly 10 percent while also adding 17 units designated for people now staying in Hennepin County homeless shelters.

“This kind of undertaking … is a big deal for MPHA,” said Brian Schaffer, assistant director of planning and development. “We have not added this many units since the early-2000s around work we did for Heritage Park.” That project, which has over 400 units, was constructed in 2003.

In recent years, MPHA has tried to add new housing units in response to Minneapolis’ growing need for affordable housing. The agency’s waitlist for family housing — public housing for adults with dependents — now has more than 8,000 applicants on it. In early November, MPHA briefly reopened the waitlist for family housing, and saw another 2,900 applications come in.

Read more: https://www.minnpost.com/metro/2021/11/minneapolis-public-housing-authority-looks-to-embark-on-largest-new-construction-project-in-nearly-20-years/